Sep 29, 2008
A working group of the WEA Theological Commission met for three days at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, UK, in August 2008 to discuss and refine a series of papers on contextualization of exegesis and theology. Under the leadership of Dr Matt Cook, FATEAC, Cote d'Ivoire, 14 scholars from eight countries, refined their papers and made plans for their publication and other ways of sharing the insights they had gained on the topic. Arrangements for the group were expertly facilitated by one of its members, Rob Haskell (USA) and the hosts at Wycliffe Hall. Included in the group were two representatives of the WEA Mission Commission which is also working on the same topic and will also produce essays and other materials. Participants were enthusiastic about the nature of the process, the quality of the work and the outcomes, especially the sharing of insights and the fellowship of joint theological reflection.
Dr Cook said, "The process worked very smoothly with each person giving their prepared paper, followed by responses and interaction. The tremendous benefit was the interaction of different cultural backgrounds, different fields of study, and different perspectives. The formal and informal interaction was laced with life transformative conversation, personal development, as well as problem solving (on the theoretical level) of contextualization. At the end we worked together to list (and categorize) significant elements of contextualization. It may be that the greatest benefits of this conference, besides the book, will be the transformation of individuals (and our thinking about contextualization), the networking (an important goal of the TC), and this final listing of elements of contextualization."
Papers, which had been under preparation for many months prior to the consultation and shared electronically, covered topics such as culture, social settings, divine revelation and authority, globalisation, inerrancy, theological praxis, syncretism and others. The papers are now undergoing revision to ready them for publication. It is anticipated that the volume from this consultation will relate to the work being done by the Mission Commission. Consideration is also being given to the translation of the material into several different languages so that it can be used in many places around the world.
Dr Cook said that the next phase of the project involves preparing curriculum materials which will serve as practical guides to the process of contextualization for use at local church and seminary level. Dr Cook added, “I think this tremendous work will require another conference of about 10 individuals who would work on producing a single document of less than 20,000 words that would provide steps for contextualization, probing questions to assist the practitioner, ideas where contextualization may be necessary in areas such as theological systems, folk religion and worship."
Other participants reported on the benefits of the consultation, mentioned especially positive cross-cultural discussion, fruitful interchange between theological disciplines, sharing between scholars in an open and constructive manner, and in particular, "theological reflection for the practicing church, not so much the academy."
In summing up the consultation, Dr Cook said, "This consultation was extremely beneficial for those able to attend, let us pray that its usefulness extends to the whole church through the published work and future projects."
Dr David Parker, Executive Director of the WEA TC, said, "We are extremely grateful to Dr Matt Cook who had the vision for this project and for his leadership in planning it. Rob Haskell's work on the administrative side has been invaluable, and Wycliffe Hall as a venue was ideal. We are also very thankful for those who provided funding for this consultation over and above our normal TC budget, especially Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary, in Nyack, N.Y., U.S.A. which provided the largest proportion, and Langham Partnership for assistance with some air fares. We are now looking for ways to fund the later parts of the venture so its full benefit can be made available to churches around the world. It has been a milestone in our work and we look forward to the next stages of the project, including the association with the Mission Commission."
2 September 2008
Rev Dr David Parker
Executive Director, WEA Theological Commission
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