Practical theology

Theology that becomes life

Theology does not end in the head. The risen Lord told Peter, "Shepherd My sheep" (John 21:16), and Paul explains why Christ gave ministers to the church:

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:11-12

John Wesley explains the ministry Paul speaks of as "The serving God and his church in their various ministrations" Wesley. Practical theology studies that service: preaching the word; the church's common worship and sacraments; the care and counsel of each soul; the teaching of children and adults; mission to the ends of the earth; and practical help for neighbours. Paul charged Timothy, "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2), and James warns, "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).

An old work with a new name

Practical theology was organized as a distinct discipline only in the modern era, but the work is as old as the church. Late in the sixth century Gregory the Great, in his Book of Pastoral Rule, called the care of souls the art of arts, and taught pastors to fit their counsel to each person's condition, as one medicine does not suit every illness Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule. In 1656 Richard Baxter, pastor at Kidderminster in England, wrote The Reformed Pastor, urging ministers to watch over their own souls first and to teach their people family by family in their homes Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor. Early in the nineteenth century Friedrich Schleiermacher, mapping the branches of theology, called practical theology the crown of theological study. Seminaries today teach it under names such as homiletics, liturgics, pastoral care, Christian education and missiology.

Practical theology carries what biblical, systematic and historical theology have learned into the life of the church, and in turn brings the questions raised by that life back to them. The four are one work in the service of one church.

Where the traditions differ

The traditions place different things at the centre of church life. The Catholic and Orthodox churches set the sacraments and the liturgy at the heart of the church's life, with pastoral care flowing from them. The Reformation churches stress the preaching of the word as a means of grace, and Pentecostal churches emphasize ministry in the power and gifts of the Spirit. Evangelicals also differ over how worship is to be ordered. Many Reformed and Presbyterian churches hold the regulative principle, that only what God commands in his word belongs in worship; Lutherans, Anglicans and many others hold that what Scripture does not forbid and what fits the gospel may be used. Both mean to offer the worship that pleases God. See the lesson Historical and practical theology and Why do we need the church?