I should share with you that late last week I was reminded by some of the staff that I ought to keep my remarks brief. Perhaps they were afraid that since I normally teach block classes which run for nearly three hours, and since the Eucharist service is not scheduled to begin until 5:00, that I might lecture until the prelude for the Eucharist service. Fear not.

The seminary’s long range plan, summarized in “Eight Directions for the Decade” has as its first statement that Gettysburg Seminary “develops public theologians and mission leaders who are outreach oriented.” In the first part of my address, I want to map out a range of perspectives on what is meant by public theology. This spectrum of perspectives on public theology may point to important issues and complexities in the challenges facing the church and in the seminary’s task to prepare public theologians. Secondly, I’ll touch upon the ways these varying descriptions of public theology inform the notion of mission leader. Finally, I’ll address our common vocation in attending to these matters.

I.          What is the task of Public Theology?

The task of public theology addresses the question of the ways in which the church speaks in the public arena. This question presumes that the church does indeed speak in ways that are meaningful both within our own tradition as well as in the wider arena of human relationships. How we understand the task of public theology may help inform the kinds of curricular, intra institutional and para-curricular commitments we make as a seminary. 

What is meant by “public theology?: a spectrum of definitions”

Public theology can be a buzz word which when used presumes a common meaning. Martin Marty coined the term ‘public theology’[1] and David Tracy in his work The Analogical Imagination described various notions of ‘publics’ which he defined as the academy, the church and the wider society. I want to map the terrain of public theology using the categories developed by H. Richard Nieuhr, one of the great public theologians of the last century in his classic work, Christ and Culture. As I lay out the spectrum of positions concerning public theology, one must be careful not to presume that the following typologies are self-enclosed or that one can play off against another.

The challenge is identifying what is at stake for a seminary which seeks to ask questions concerning the ways that God is at work in the world and subsequently assist students to negotiate this terrain, critically ask the important questions of justice and concern for the neighbor, remain clear in a passion for the Truth of God’s Word and sensible concerning the demands of ministry.

Invisible public theology
There has been debate about whether there is such a thing as ‘public theology’ since any theology that is done is in some sense public. William Willimon has argued that the notion of so-called “public theology” won’t be around for very long. He writes that “The current theological fad of ‘public theology,’ which implies that there is something called ‘private theology,’ is a specious and pretentious distinction. Whenever theology is done in a language like English, it is ‘public,’ that is, it adheres to a given set of linguistic rules, practices, and traditions which are ‘public.’ Unfortunately, much so-called ‘public theology’ means theology which bows to what the dominant culture says can be uttered in order to gain a hearing.”[2]

Willimon’s argument is akin to H. Richard Niebuhr’s description of Christ of Culture. That is to say, public theology is indistinguishable from other kinds of public discourse. Willimon is criticizing the way in which such intentional ‘public theology’ capitulates to the pressures of the culture and attempts to engage in the public arena in ways that are indistinguishable from other voices and in so doing loses the church’s authentic voice. This position is one end of the spectrum and Willimon’s is an important critique for a seminary to bear in mind.

However, the kind of ‘private theology’ which Willimon argues is an oxymoron is in fact quite prevalent. There can indeed be theology which is ‘private’ in the sense that Robert Bellah describes in Habits of the Heart. He describes this kind of privatized religion through one of the persons interviewed for the book. “Sheila Larson is a young nurse who … describes her faith as ‘Sheilaism.’ I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheilaism. Just my own little voice.”[3] It is clear in this view of public theology that there is no great tension between the church and the world. There is indeed a collapse of church and world which emphasizes my own personal spirituality over against religion, faith, or church. It is a ‘new age’ or power of positive thinking approach which is unconcerned about the history of the tradition. This kind of privatizing of religion is part of a contemporary context within which ‘public theology’ attempts to respond. This means that if theology is to be public, then it must speak in ways which are accessible to others and in ways that touch the deepest existential human experiences. It also challenges us to speak as the church in addition to speaking as individual citizens.

Antagonistic Public Theology (church communitarians-Christ against Culture)
There is another view of public theology, which I’ll call “antagonistic public theology” that sets the faith community over against culture. A gift of this perspective is its internal focus primarily on the nurturing of the life of faith within the community.

The great challenge is that Public theology is expressed not as interaction, or a dialogue with sources outside of the tradition but as an in house conversation. When the attempt is made to speak it is often done in such sectarian ways that the voice is ignored in the public arena.  One wants to avoid the world-denying or sectarian approach which is not especially interested in secular or public conversation of the ways that God is at work in the world.

Superior Public Theology (Christ above Culture)
In this type the church and theology teach authoritatively in the world. It functions on the basis of the ‘teaching magisterium’ which seeks to provide a scholarly case for the ways that the church speaks in the world. A gift of this perspective of public theology is that it takes seriously that the church indeed has something meaningful to say in the public arena, and makes a compelling argument. The challenge is just how ‘public’ and accessible that voice is must be examined. William Placher describes his notion of the term public theology which hints at this kind of “superior” public theology as follows: “I’m not sure I’d ever heard the term [public theology], but I guess I wanted to be a theologian in order to have a chance of becoming a public intellectual. I haven’t really changed my mind in the ensuing years, and therefore much of the recent discussion of ‘public theology’ has disappointed me. It often seems a conversation about how intellectually elite Christian theologians can more effectively engage other members of the intellectual elite. A worthy purpose, no doubt-but I got into the business in part because I wanted to address a much larger ‘public,’ to connect somehow with ‘ordinary’ folks.[4] As we live into what it means to be public theologians perhaps we need to ask ourselves the extent to which we are connecting to ‘ordinary folks.’

Transforming Public Theology (Christ Transforming Culture)
Another type of public theology I’ll call is “transforming” public theology. The notion is that through laws and institutions individuals and churches and the nation can help transform the world. Perhaps Social-Scientific communitarians such as Robert Bellah along with Jean Bethke Elshtain represent this place along the spectrum of public theology. They are deeply interested in the conversation between the church and social/political/economic powers for the sake of the common good.

Paradoxical Public Theology (Christ and Culture in Paradox)
The penultimate type to which we will turn reflects a dialogical imagination which takes seriously the history of the tradition as well as the ways ambiguities are prevalent when interpreting that tradition in post-modern, secular, plural arenas. Public theology which maintains the tension of paradox embraces what Martin Marty describes as an attempt “…to interpret the life of a people in the light of a transcendent reference. The people in this case are not simply the church but the pluralism of peoples with whom the language of the church is engaged in a larger way. The public church, then is a specifically Christian polity and witness.”[5]

Barbara Holmes, professor of ethics at Memphis Seminary, in her work on Barbara Jordan’s speeches on ethics, public religion and law, (you may recall that Barbara Jordan was the first African American Congresswoman elected from Texas since reconstruction) writes, “…public theology acknowledges its rootedness in a particular tradition, but then speaks from and to that tradition and others by translating incommensurate rhetoric into shared language.”[6] Holmes goes on to quote the philosopher Gadamer, “..Through the mediation of language, interpretation, and dialogue, irreconcilable differences can be reassessed and approached from innovative angles.”[7]

Public Theology is discourse which is informed by the history of the religious tradition and addresses contemporary issues that intersect with both the local congregation and the wider society. Jürgen Moltmann, in his book, God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology, writes, “There is no Christian identity without public relevance, and no public relevance without theology’s Christian identity, since for Christ’s sake theology is kingdom-of-God theology, while on the other hand kingdom-of-God theology gets lost in the clouds of utopia unless it is based on the person and history of Christ, and unfolded out of the experiences of his Spirit.”[8] One must describe or ‘make one’s case’ in ways that are accessible and plausible to those from outside of the tradition. Public theology requires us to hone the skills of critical thinking, faithful interpretation, holy imagination and innovation for the sake of the truth of the Gospel.

This is a tall order for a seminary curriculum. 

In the spectrum of models of public theology proposed, the way is opened to creative possibilities in constructing public theology which gives attention to the meaning of Christian truth claims, the grounding for such claims, the coherence within one’s own tradition and the plausibility/intelligibility as it is conversant with other disciplines. Rebecca Chopp writes, “…theology functions to criticize … and to anticipate new possibilities, to create communities for the training of citizens, and to offer discourses of subjectivity, or morality, for the well-being of the common good.”[9]   

Delegated Public Theology
A final typology which extends the typology developed by Niebuhr is the notion that the discipline of public theology properly belongs in the university, not in the church. Moltmann goes on to say, “As public theology, Christian theology is relatively independent of the church itself, since in addition to its ecclesiastical mandate it also has political, cultural, economic, and ecological mandates (Bonhoeffer). To that end, it needs institutional independence over against the church, as for example, in the theological faculties at state universities.”[10]

This vision of public theology which has its center outside of the church is an important challenge to a seminary. It challenges in particular the office of dean to attend to the academic freedom both for faculty and for students for it is in the freedom to risk the reinterpretation and reappropriation of the ways that God is working in the world for us and for others, that the possibility for an authentic public theology exists; to attend to collaboration with scholars in non-traditional theological disciplines. Examples of this include our collaboration with Gettysburg College and the ethics seminar; work with lay people who bring particular expertise in a profession, or pastors, diaconal ministers, deaconesses and associates in ministry who have particular ministry experiences which can help inform our students in new ways; the youth ministry certification program is another good example where those from outside traditional disciplines engage with us so that in Moltmann’s words, theologians avoid the risk of irrelevance and those outside the church avoid the risk of meaninglessness.

Pointers to Assessment of Public Theology
One of the things that our corporate attention to public theology provides is a way to think about the institutional coherence of the variety of programs, curricular requirements, para-curricular programs and events we may host here or elsewhere that have developed and may yet be developed. How will we know when we are living into this vision? How will we know when we are living into a faithful, authentic public theology? It might be fruitful to use Luther’s classic marks of the church, as a way of testing the vitality of public theology in this place. In what ways does our proclamation take us to the cross and resurrection of Christ?  How baptism, Eucharist, Office of the Keys, Ordination, Catechesis and Discipleship open ways for us to think how we are living into an authentic public theology.

I now want to draw implications for how we understand public theology and the ways that informs the mission of the seminary and our common vocation.

How does this constellation of definitions connect with the kind of leaders in mission outposts which the church requires and for which many students are preparing?

To be mission leaders is to presuppose there is something of value in the respective traditions from which our students come. The centrality of a personal and corporate mission or ‘vocation’ is rooted in God’s action in the world. The gospel, God’s action in the world for us and for others, is central to the ways we describe, interpret, reimagine our common life. We are grafted into that vocation through baptism. We live in freedom of this vocation because the outcome of history has already been secured in Christ.

The contours of what it means to be a mission leader are dynamic and informed by the richness of the context. The office of dean, as a steward of vocation as it is lived in this community draws attention to a richness which is possible in this kind of vision. Let me flesh out what it could look like, institutionally, for us to be attentive to various expressions of personal and corporate vocation.

What is the role of the dean in this call?
In the beginning of this paper I mentioned David Tracy and his seminal work The Analogical Imagination, in it he writes “…all theology is public discourse…If one is concerned to show the public status of all theology, it becomes imperative first to study the reference groups, the ‘publics,’ of the theologian…”[11]

In Tracy’s language of “publics,” the various “publics” to which the dean must give attention is worth noting. These publics include students, board, faculty, staff, alumni, as well as various institutional relationships. I want to comment on the particular gifts and challenges of attending to vocation in these “publics” within a seminary setting. Vocation captures the emphasis on academic matters reflected in responsibilities of the office of dean and addresses wider issues of our common life with a richness that I think is helpful.

Attend to Vocation
I will be using the word attend throughout this section quite deliberately. It has the meaning of both applying one’s mind to something as well as to deal with something. The dean must be one who first listens to understand the issue, concern, possibility, initiates wider conversation, thinks critically about matters, takes action, then reflects on ways things could be better and starts all over again. Central to that task is discerning when and how to move from critical thinking to action.  

Attend (turn one’s mind to) to the vocation of faculty:
One way to give attention to the vocation of faculty is to host conversations among faculty both within the institution and with faculty from other institutions around issues/ideas/projects which open creative ways to exercise our stewardship as faculty of the curriculum. It is also important to find ways to celebrate the creative scholarship and solid teaching that is happening and continue to find creative ways to further develop this as a community of scholars. In attending to the vocation of faculty it is important to look at the ways the curriculum provides space for faculty to continue to flourish as scholars and teachers. When that wanes or gets crowded with the general administration of the seminary, to invite conversation to imagine creative solutions.

Attend to the vocation of students
Listen to our students and alumni about the changing face of the church from where they have come and in the places where they serve. We must be a place where we encourage, invite, challenge, critique students to “turn your minds toward God,” in order that your will have honed the critical thinking necessary to be faithful and effective public theologians. Continue to attend to the various expressions of your baptismal vocation, hone the art of balancing multiple and often competing demands on your time and to find ways to invite you to share your own stories of faith and the ways that God is at work in you in ways that are publicly accessible.

Attend to the vocation of staff
We are blessed with a gifted and dedicated staff. In attending to their vocation we must celebrate their gifts, listen to the wisdom of experience they bring, think critically about how we can be faithful witnesses to the truth of the Gospel in the day in and day out ministry of administration and support.

Attend to pursuit of excellence
Attention to the pursuit of excellence for faculty as scholars, as teachers; excellence for students in equipping them to pursue excellence in their vocation, excellence for staff as they labor, often behind the scenes, to make it possible for us to flourish institutionally. Another way to attend to excellence is to keep the dialectical tension fresh. May this institution be a place where holy conversation about things that matter occurs with regularity and that the space for taking theological risks, for disagreement, and for different ideas may be hospitable.

The office of the dean attends to the overall synthesis of academic schedule and policies, community life, use of resources and institutional structures that are currently in place and which on occasion may need to be reimagined to better serve both within the institution as well as through the interface of the seminary and the community, congregations, synods, region, cluster, the academy.

Transparency is essential as there are invariably competing claims concerning any of the above mentioned areas which need to be negotiated.  That negotiation is most faithful to our claim of ‘public’ when our own systems for negotiating these competing claims are clear, open, receptive to new possibilities, informed by resources outside of our own.

What it means to be a learning community which seeks to prepare public theologians and mission leaders is a daunting one. We don’t enter this alone, it is as a learning community, attentive to the critique of others, alert to bold new ways of thinking, open to the possibilities which emerge when we come together to worship, to celebrate the sacraments, to study, to think, and to pray.

We conclude this academic convocation with a commissioning where we ask on behalf of one another diligence, joy, and constant sense of God’s presence for the flourishing of community, for we cannot do this alone.

The British two pound coin has on its rim engraved a phrase attributed to Isaac Newton, a one time Cambridge student, which says, “standing on the shoulders of giants.” The statement actually begins with the phrase, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Whatever can be achieved by each of us in our vocations and together as a community, by me in the office of dean during my tenure, is related to the giants upon whose shoulders we stand, in the history of this institution, Herb Stroup, Herm Stuempfle, Gerhard Krodel, Dick Thulin and Norma Wood…, in our own stories of the ways that God is at work in our lives through the public witness of others.

I ask for your steadfast prayers for the ministry of all the seminary’s of the church, for our students, for those who teach and serve here that we may be faithful as we live into our common vision for “preparing public theologians and mission leaders who are outreach oriented.,” Let us do so mindful of Christ himself, the One upon whom we all stand, the one who has gone ahead of us, the one who bears our frailties, vulnerabilities, strengths, disappointments, hopes, and possibilities.

Thank you