Parenting Is Practical Theology
My husband and I are grateful parents to our amazing
daughter Zj. Like all parents we want
the best for our child and we want to instill values and principals which are
rich and true for her context, not only for today but for her bright
future. I’m willing to bet that any
parent you talk with will express a very similar sentiment of desired
inheritance for their child. Even though
we may all have the same prayer for our children the actual physicality or
manifestation of that prayer many look different.
Why is that?
Basically, people are different. We are unique creations of bloodline,
talents, skills, gifts and destiny. Add
in birth country, citizenship, heritage, culture, faith, race, sexual identity,
age, education, economics, socialization, time and season, dreams and include
our myriad of exposures and experiences which shape our ideals. We all need and desire differently according
to our context. These differences guide us as we approach the practice of
parenting. All the dynamics and
demographics inform our decisions and implementations as we parent and direct
our child in the path we believe is right for them.
This is also the process of the practical theology
practitioner.
The Science of Practical Theology is a vast academic field
which studies religious practices to understand the theological principals of said
the practices.
The purpose is to
determine how the theory and practice of theology can be more fully aligned,
changed or improved.
Like a parent the
practical theology practitioner has a wide scope of resources – the tools of
Practical Theology; a very specific set of needs – dynamics and demographics;
and desired objectives within their ministry field.
As with parenting, paying close attention to
the needs of a ministry field and applying suitable practical theological
concepts can help provide the desired results for the collective or individual
needs of a ministry field.
Recognizing
that as a ministry / child grows our application / parenting - tactics and
strategies may need to be adjusted, abandoned or may have the need for
investigation into new practices as the context of life evolves.
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