Review: John McClean, From the Future.

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Review: John McClean (2013). From the Future. Getting to Grips with Pannenberg’s Thought. Paternoster. 157 pages plus endnotes, references and indices.

Wolfgang Pannenberg illustrates some dilemmas in modern theology. How can the faith of the Bible as further defined through the years be re-presented in a listenable form to the modern reader? And again, how can complex matters (described as seeing through the window darkly) be explained in a way that both befits the world of the theologians and the world of every-person?

From the Future arises from the author’s doctoral thesis and sets out to explain and comment on central ideas in Pannenberg’s ideas. The book is well-presented, although there is an error on p16 (last para).

McClean sets Pannenberg in context, introduces his theological method and key themes and then proceeds to an explanation and discussion of some of these themes. McClean has deep respect for Pannenberg but is not afraid to critique his views from within the confessional Presbyterianism with which the author identifies.

Why should anyone apart from professional theologians read this book? Firstly, Pannenberg is a major modern theologian. He is one of those people that serious Christian readers need to be familiar with. Secondly, this is a lucid work both in the exposition of Pannenberg’s views and in McClean’s interactions. Thirdly, it is a book that will help beginning theological students come to grips with a major modern theologian and also think about how to do theology in the present age.

Pannenberg is a difficult writer and leaves readers peering at the glass dimly. McClean makes the glass clearer and resolves some dilemmas for readers of modern theology.

(David Burke is a colleague of John McClean at Presbyterian Theological Centre, Sydney Australia.)

The missing link in worship

--> It was a great gathering of God’s people. The welcome was warm, events started on time, announcements were efficient, music was superb and the word was well preached. Even the coffee  was good!

What’s missing?

I attend many church services in different places and notice that many modern services go light when it comes to prayer.

This ‘going light’ has two dimensions.

First, prayer is somewhat absent.

These simple tests can be applied. How many prayer slots were there? What share of the gathering was taken up with prayer, and what share by other activities? Anecdotal evidence is that services nowadays have fewer and shorter prayers. Meanwhile announcements, music and various sharings have grown in prominence.

Second, prayer is often on a low horizon.

Consider the prayer that taught (Matt 6) and the prayer that Jesus prayed (John 17). Both start on high horizons. Jesus prays on the horizon of God’s glory and teaches his followers to pray on the horizons of God’s name, kingdom and will. These are big horizons.

Consider now the prayers typically heard in Christian gatherings. My impression is that we pray for immediate needs (troubled relatives and friends, work pressures etc) and conversions (well worthy of prayers). These are worthy prayers, for all dependence on God to meet needs is an act of worship. However, where are the prayers that take in the world outside the local church and its connections?

Further on this, the kind of prayers we pray are changing. A recent pattern was to work with ‘ACTS’.  That is, with prayers adoring (or admiring) God, prayers on confession, thanksgiving and finally supplication (prayers that ask for things). It is commonplace now to focus prayers around the theme of asking. It is especially now rare to hear a prayer of confession, coupled with suitable words of gospel comfort.

And of course it’s not just in church services that we go light on prayer. The congregational prayer meeting has all but disappeared. Prayer times in small groups is often related to the rushed interval before supper and, again, are often prayed just on the low horizon of our immediate needs.

Prayer seems a bit like washing hands after we go to bathroom. Everyone agrees that it’s a good idea but not many do it.

It is such a contrast to look at the book of Acts. 2:42 sums it up as it speaks of a church ‘devoted to the prayers’. The church of Acts had nothing but God to rely on. And so they prayed.

This is the missing link.

Hearing well

What’s wrong with this scene?

The worship leader introduced the service theme with care and led a carefully crafted opening prayer. Later on, someone else preached and someone prayed. While they did so the worship leader opened his ipad, looked at his face book page and read a page from a book.

We expect that those who preach and teach the Bible do their job well (eg 2 Tim 2:15; Jas 1:1). This means that the preacher is well prepared, devoted to his task and executes it with dependence on God and the best use of his gifts. A preacher who fails to do rightly comes under criticism.

But what of the listeners?

I was present at the above scene with the inattentive worship leader. I was appalled. It was made worse by the fact that he holds a senior ministry post. It’s the kind of scene that makes you wonder if this is an aberration or is it the real person. If it’s the real person, his fitness for a key ministry role is doubtful.

But then I thought. What kind of sermon listener am I? Maybe I am don’t give such obvious outward signs of inattentiveness, but what is going on inside me. Am I listening or are my thoughts wandering? If I am listening, am I listening as one who delights in God’s word, desires to know it as well as I can and who bends my will to live according to the word that I hear?

Jesus tells those who can hear to hear and warns that the measure of our hearing is the measure of what God will give us to hear (Mrk 4:9, 23-24). This coupled with his earlier words about the parables hiding things from outsiders (Mrk 4:11-12) is a warning that the hearing of the word of God is as serious a task as it’s preaching.

How can I be a responsible hearer of God’s word when I read it or hear it preached?

·      Prepared I can read and pray over the text before coming to the meeting. I can ensure that I am well rested an unhurried rather than rushed with last minute activities.

·      Focussed I can ensure that nothing needlessly distracts me during the preaching. If I am using a devise to read the Bible or take notes, put it to airline mode so that no distracting push-alert diverts me. I can keep my eyes in two places only: on my Bible and on the preacher.

·      Engaged I can engage with the word by taking notes. Even if I discard them afterwards, the act of taking them requires engaged listening rather than superficial attention.

·      Responsive The word is meant to change my beliefs and behaviours and make me a more complete Christian (2 Tim 3:15-17). Do I pray the word that I hear into my heart and life? As I listen am I looking for applications that I personalise and then pray into my heart, will and hands? Doing this avoids the problem of unprofitable knowledge (2 Pet 1:3-8).

It’s easy to criticise the way the worship leader was inattentive to the word. Perhaps I am better to look to myself and ensure that I learn from the bad example and become one who hears well.