We Are Theologians: Strengthening the People of God

Description

A "thoughtful, clear, and stimulating" look at how lay people can fully participate in the life of the church (John Coburn). With its focus primarily on clergy, Christian churches have often been behind the times in pursuing the fullness of the biblical vision of all the People of God. In fact, all of us are natural theologians, people with theological commitment, preferences, and liberating insight about God, willing and able to think through questions of belief and relate the insights to our public and personal lives. In this clear and engaging celebration of the power and influence of the laity, Fredrica Harris Thompsett gives us the tools to think theologically by grounding us in the history, spirituality, and biblical foundations of Anglican belief, particularly that of the Episcopal Church. Her readings of the Bible reveal to us our distinct calling. She considers the insights of the Reformation to the importance of the laity and the contribution of lay people, particularly women, to the expansive mission of the nineteenth century in education and social work. And she explores the different aspects of Anglican identity, and lay movements of liberation in the global South—all toward encouraging each and every one of us to claim our own theological voice. In We Are Theologians, Thompsett "uses a wide-angle lens to give us a revitalized understanding of the church. She summons us all to the adventure of change" (Marianne H. Micks).