This Is Theology on the Way

What we say about God—and by extension, everything else—happens on the way.

Our thoughts, even our conclusions, are always incomplete, always in process, always moving toward the restoration, reconciliation, and consummation of all things in Jesus the Messiah.

This journey is the Way, as the first Christians were called (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14). The Greek word translated as way (hodos) refers most basically to a path, a road, or a highway—and by extension a trip or journey. The term then takes on metaphorical uses that signify a manner of conduct, a way of life, or even an entire moral and spiritual viewpoint. The premier biblical Greek lexicon identifies the uses in Acts listed above as instances of the last sense. It suggests teaching as a translation of this usage.

The traditional word for the church's teaching is doctrine. The implication is suggestive: the Way is our doctrine. In context, of course, these passages in Acts lend themselves to the conventional understanding—that the Way is a name (the earliest recorded name!) of the church. But, upon reconsideration, it is obvious enough that the statements in those texts are referring to the church particularly in terms of its teaching about Jesus. The "sect" (Acts 24:14) of Jesus-followers is constituted by its teaching—its theology!

This strikes me as an exceedingly fitting designation for the church. The resonances of the metaphor capture a deep truth. We are a pilgrim people, seeking the kingdom of God, seeking a homeland, seeking Jesus. We see in part and know in part, as the apostle Paul says (1 Cor 13:12–13), because the fullness of truth is a horizon beyond our experience, toward which we journey in humility and hope. Theology necessarily happens on this journey. Theology on the way—in process—is the essence of our life together in Christ.

But I have more in mind with the name Theology on the Way. Anyone else love a triple entendre?

Theology is on the way—about—the God revealed in Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Too many Christians are satisfied with an anemic vision of Jesus—and, therefore, of God. Too many Christians represent this vision to the rest of the world. I recently heard a respected missiologist say that we have enough theology, and what we need now is practice. I reject the dichotomy absolutely, and I disagree absolutely that we have enough theology. Much more on the dichotomy to come. But here, what needs saying is that we can never have enough theology because we are always on the way, and we must speak of God wherever we find ourselves as we go. This God-talk is theology, and we can't understand our way of life without talking about it again and again, in ever-new languages, contexts, and circumstances.

And theology is, I believe, the best response to much of what ails us. So often, we lack an unapologetically theological response to the difficulties we face. We need theological intervention. I realize, of course, that many Christians experience "theology" as arcane, convoluted, and irrelevant to real life. There are significant problems to address in this regard. I hope to do so. But any theology worth its salt is on the way—en route—to help. It may not have arrived yet, but let's grant that (many? most?) theologians intend to serve the church. So I'm interested in contributing to the work of bringing theology farther down the road toward the local congregation in the concrete circumstances of the twenty-first-century.

The church's theology is in process, about God in Christ, and meant to make a practical difference.

Welcome to Theology on the Way.