Theology as Discipleship
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THEOLOGY AS

DISCIPLESHIP

KEITH L. JOHNSON

An imprint of InterVarsity Press

Downers Grove, Illinois

InterVarsity Press

P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426

ivpress.com

email@ivpress.com

©2015 by Keith L. Johnson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple

Images: Washing Feet by Laura James/Laura James Fine Arts, laurajamesart.com

ISBN 978-0-8308-4034-2 (print)

ISBN 978-0-8308-8017-1 (digital)

As a member of the Green Press Initiative, InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources. To learn more, visit greenpressinitiative.org.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johnson, Keith L.

Theology as discipleship / Keith L. Johnson.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-8308-4034-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Theology, Practical. 2. Christian life. I. Title.

BV4.J64 2015

230—dc23

2015033926

For my students

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

1 Recovering Theology

Concerns with Theology

What Went Wrong?

Rebuilding the Discipline

2 Being in Christ

Reframing Reality

God’s Eternal Plan

Theology by Participation

3 Partnership with Christ

The Pattern of Partnership

Life with Christ

Theology with Christ

4 The Word of God

God and Human Words

God and Written Words

Christ and Scripture

Test Case: Jesus and the Pharisees

Reading with Christ

5 Hearing the Word of God

Reading in Love

Hearing with the Church

Test Case: Circumcision

Theology of the Word

6 The Mind of Christ

The Pattern of Christ’s Mind

Imitating Christ

Thinking After Christ

7 Theology in Christ

Subject Index

Scripture Index

Acknowledgments

This book was written in conversation with my students at Wheaton College, particularly those who have participated in my introductory courses. The opportunity to teach them theology has been one of God’s great gifts to me, because the challenge of doing so has propelled me further on the path of discipleship. This book is dedicated to them.

I particularly want to acknowledge a few students whose questions and insights have prompted certain lines of thought in this book. The importance of figuring out the place ...

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About Theology as Discipleship

For many people, the word "theology" evokes something dry, academic, irrelevant and disconnected from the everyday concerns of life. We surely would not say that about God, so why is our talk about God any different?

In this engaging and accessible introduction, Keith Johnson takes a fresh look at theology. He presents the discipline of theology as one of the ways we participate in the life of the triune God. Without suggesting it should be removed from the academy, Johnson argues that theology has to be integrally connected to the traditions and practices of the church. If academic theology is to be genuinely theological, then it has to be carried out in obedience to Jesus Christ and in service to the church.

Unlike other introductions, Theology as Discipleship avoids the usual overview of doctrines according to the creed, which traditionally move from the Trinity to eschatology. Johnson instead explains the content of theology by describing the Christian life—being in Christ, hearing God's Word, sharing the mind of Christ. Theology not only leads to discipleship, but is itself a way of following after Christ in faith.

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