Practical Theology comes of age with “Together in Love and Faith”?
By any standard the publication of Together in Love and Faith: Personal Reflections and Next Steps for the Church (Oxford: Bishop of Oxford) in October 2022 is a remarkable work. It sets out the metanoia in thinking and action over discernment regarding same-sex relationships and marriage (p. 2) that has taken place in the Evangelical Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft and his recommendations on the subject for the Church of England. Reactions to its publication have inevitably been strong and diverse with respondents stating he has gone too far or not far enough. It is not my intention in this short paper to evaluate his arguments, rather I am wanting to point out his theological method which strikes me as an exemplary instance of the combined disciplines of practical theology and missiology (I have made the case in the past for the relatedness of these disciplines). For me, I wish to make one simple point here; that the practical theology community might rejoice and celebrate the fact that such a major contribution to such an important debate utilises a method we have spent much of our lives learning, honing, and commending to the Church and the wider theological academy. Therefore, the points at which Croft utilises the common methods and moves in practical theology are highlighted in bold italics.
Croft starts, as practical theologians have learnt to do with his own reflexivity and position as a “white, male, heterosexual, episcopal, sixty-something-year-old” (p. 2). He then shares his personal journey (4-10) as a disciple, priest, theological educator, national leader for Fresh Expressions and bishop. He recognises his shortcomings at times in this journey, “keeping my head down” (p. 4) and remaining “silent” (p. 6). He goes further in admitting complicity in allowing an outward uniformity amongst the House of Bishops against any liberalising of the Church’s position in 2017 when there were clearly dissenters present (p. 8). Croft recognises the risk he is taking in speaking out, but feels he must do so as a bishop and not wait until he retires, as others have done (pp. 9-10).
The argument begins with experience borne of deep listening. Practical theology has foregrounded experience as a source of theology since its inception. Missiologists know that authentic participation in the missio Dei always begins with listening. It is my conviction that it is the taking of the experience of LGBTQ+ people utterly seriously that drives a change of heart amongst the naysayers who do not wish to change the status quo. I know it is only anecdotal evidence, but the people I have met and listened to who have changed their minds on this issue have all come to know well an LGBTQ+ person, whether in their own family or as a friend. Of course, this does not convince everyone, but for those who have a change of heart they have all listened closely to experience just as Croft demonstrates (pp. 12-16). Listening here is a deeply serious business as it involves deep pain and even the reality of suicide (p. 12). Listening and discernment involve noticing what is really going on and Croft in his listening notices the compatibility of his own marriage with the fruitfulness of long-term faithful and stable same-sex relationships (p. 17) and he connects this with the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian Tradition from St Augustine of Hippo and St Ignatius of Loyola (p. 18). Thus, it is also worth noting the interdisciplinary nature of his argument. While not referring explicitly to scientific arguments readers are referred to the Living in Love and Faith materials (p. 19) and wider backdrop of the influence of other disciplines in pastoral practice is noted (p. 41). More important to Croft is the crossover with the field of Christian ethics as he discusses the goods of marriage (pp. 20-22).
Croft uses up almost 30% of the work (pp. 25-39) on his arguments from the biblical tradition. One would expect this from an Evangelical and these pages are at the heart of the book and change that has taken place in him. There is a significant and sophisticated biblical hermeneutic on display here which looks at what is and isn’t said in the bible on the subject, often in the fine detail of particular texts, without whitewashing what Brueggemann has called “texts of rigour” (p. 34). In addition, the whole trajectory of scripture is accounted for in the discussion of fruitfulness (p. 37) and the development of Croft’s fresh thinking on theological anthropology and gender (p. 38).
The argument is also a missiological one which takes the prevailing culture and society absolutely seriously (pp. 13-14) and draws on missiological thinking and literature (pp. 40-41). Included in this is the classic seminal text of Vincent Donovan (a Catholic evangelist amongst the Maasai in Tanzania in the 1960s) which I was pleased to see got a mention (p. 40). There’s a lot more to be said about Donovan’s work, but the point is well made that going back to first principles when addressing a changed culture is essential.
Finally like all good practical theology there is action to be taken. This is outlined in two sections which largely repeat the recommendations (pp. 23-24, 43-48) and they do not duck specifics or the some of the risks that making those moves might entail.
So, might we rejoice that practical theology and missiology ‘come of age’ here as they combine to deliver a significant change of heart. Might we also argue for the value of what we do and argue for its continued development and resourcing by the Church and the academy?
© Nigel Rooms, 2023.
This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Cover Image: Image of the book’s cover from the Diocese of Oxford’s website.
Nigel Rooms is a practical theologian and missiologist, amongst other things. He edits the journal Practical Theology and co-edits the journal Ecclesial Futures.
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