From the Pastor’s Desk

When you hear the word theology what comes to mind?  Does this sound academic?  A word that only academics would use in colleges or divinity school.  Maybe you feel this doesn’t resonate with your Christian faith.  Perhaps you prefer words like worship, devotion, ministry, etc.  To be fair, the word theology is a bit heady and not the preferred word of most folks.  But I would like you to mull over that word a bit.  Say it a few times.  The word is actually made up of two words from the Greek:  Theos and Logos.  Theos means God and Logos means word.  Together, the word theology means the word of God.  Theology is the effort to make sense of our faith. For example, have you ever wondered about God, Jesus, the Church, the Holy Spirit, the life of faith, how we should live as Christians in this world?  All these questions have been asked by regular folks, pastors, and yes, professional theologians. 

I want us to grow more comfortable with the word.  As we move forward in our relationship my goal is for us to use the concepts, history, and ideas of theology to develop our Christian identity.  Why?  Because theology shouldn’t scare us.  It is an intellectual tool to help us develop our faith and understanding of God.  Again, we shouldn’t let the word seem intimidating.  We should embrace it and claim it as part of our life goal of spiritual growth. 

A famous theologian named Thomas Aquinas has a beautiful quote:

“Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.”

Let that sink in as we work to develop and define our theological views.

Peace,

Pastor Charles