pat loughery

“Practice without theory is blind, but theory without practice is dumb.”

– N. T. Wright, New Testament and the People of God, p. 118

Good ol’ Tom Wright. In a densely packed book full of tricky phrasing, big words and deep concepts, Tom whips this out and hits me right between the eyes.

I’m finishing up this book as the last part of my New Testament Theology & Practice class, and before getting to dive into my Celtic Trail reading in earnest (I’ve cheated ahead a bit, reading 3 of the books for that class before I finished up the reading and writing for NT Theo).

This line comes as I’m considering my future, and it seems like a good place to jot down what’s happening in my life lately.

Wrapping up some loose ends from a while back, I posted prayer requests for “a big surprise” a while back. I realize I’ve never circled back around and finished up on that one. bottom line is, the grad school I’ve been studying with has moved me into the doctorate program – technically the “extended D. Min”, which basically means, “do the theological foundation for the master’s program and then do the doctorate work, and we’ll give you a doctorate”.

I’m thrilled with this change. I basically jumped into the master’s program knowing that it’s a stepping stone to a doctorate, and I know that a doctorate may open doors that I would like to pursue -most specifically in teaching. Honestly, I don’t know what that looks like, but time will tell. I know that I enjoy the teaching discipline, spiritual formation as a practice, leadership in that realm. I also know that I connect well with 20-somethings and folks into their 30s. I think there’s something in this but I know little about the academic world or how to enter it.

Separate from all this, I note that one of the things I love about studying at Bakke is that all the professors are actively involved in some form of ministry outside of teaching: pastoral, church planting, coaching, etc. It makes what we learn real, organic. I know that if I enter a world in which I teach something, I only want to do that from a place of practical experience, not just from book-learnin’. I also think there’s a component of this which is writing as well.

I don’t know if I’m called to plant a church again. I suspect so, but there are so many questions to be answered before I can answer that big one again. More than I can begin to enumerate here. Some of my church planting coaches have asked me to go through another evaluation, just basically taking stock of who I am and what I am good at, and not so good at. I’ve begun that process and will ask God to speak to me in this. Here are my concerns: I place extremely high value on authenticity, and I’m simply unwilling to do things that are effective but I’m not comfortable with being “right”. I’m not at all interested in the normal church planting model of creating a big splash, gathering a large crowd, identifying from within the crowd people who want to actually be disciples, but letting the crowd generate a sense of excitement and momentum. That works for some (many), but I have a hard time that way. I wonder if I can plant and grow a church that I’d be comfortable being in – the kind of church I’d want to be a part of.

In the education field, another point of confusion. I can choose a specialization. Bakke currently supports these five specializations:

1. Church & Ministry Multiplication

MLT 701 Raising Leaders

MLT 702 Emerging Movements

MLT 703 Multiplying Mission

2. Leadership

LDR 722 Leadership & Self-Deception

LDR 723 Leadership Organization, Culture & Change

LDR 724 Strategic Planning & Ministry Contexts

3. Ministry in Complex Contexts

MCC 701 Consulting the City

MCC 702 Church in Community Development

MCC 703 Nature & Mission of the Church

4. Theological Reflection

THE 731 Spiritual Retreating

THE 732 Spiritual Christian Disciplines

THE 733 History of Christian Spirituality & Praxis

5. Urban Youth Ministry

UYM 701 Adolescent Development & Youth Culture

UYM 702 Ministry Strategies for Working with at Risk Youth

UYM 703 Theology of Urban Youth Ministry

I find myself deeply drawn to the emphases in Leadership, in Theological Reflection, and in Ministry in Complex Contexts. There’s a lot of good stuff in each of those emphases that I really would like to learn from. So I’m not sure where to focus my time. I’ve really been impacted by the spiritual disciplines, prayer practices that incorporate mediation, reflection and contemplation. I’ve been just as impacted by considering the role of non-profit community development efforts. I’ve also been re-invigorated to learn about leadership models in corporate and community culture. I can learn from each area – I just don’t want to be in school forever ;-).

So that’s where things are at the moment. Much will change, I’m sure, but you can imagine that in each of these areas, there is much that is not written nor can it be. Lots of details, lots of decisions, plenty of choice and chances and fleeting glimpses of potential. As always, I covet your prayers.