When I Pretend...

Recent circumstances imply that, at least for the short term, I'm not going to be pursuing the PhD I'd love to. That said, I'm passionate about theology, particularly theology that connects the church and the academy. A key way I try and 'do' that (rather than just tweet about it) is via the work of Theology Network (part of UCCF), and by leading a small group at HTB, a vibrant Anglican Church in London.

Theology is something that demands and encourages conversation. Every 'bit of theology' I've done is aimed at re-igniting, changing or encouraging conversations that I believe need to happen.

2013... 

My first ever conference paper came out of a question - who gets to celebrate communion - in the context of a local church. I was encouraged by a pastor to write my thoughts down, to think through my thoughts, to pray about them. What happened was astounding. I wrote this paper, ended up presenting the paper at the Society of Vineyard Scholars international conference in LA, and that paper eventually morphed into my first little eBook, a few pages exploring the life-giving sacrament of the Lord's Supper. A real highlight related to this paper, though, was sharing it with some of the pastors and thinkers of the Vineyard in the UK and Ireland, at a brilliant symposium in Loughborough.

2014...

After the unexpected joy of writing, presenting, and revising that paper on the Lord's Supper, I began a Master's degree at St John's College, Nottingham. Echoing some of my experience at the University of Nottingham, I found the work of Anthony Thiselton incredibly instructive - which led to my first 'secular' conference paper. I was thrilled to present 'Bodiliness and Relationality: an exammination of key themes in Anthony Thiselton's Summary of Imago Dei' at the SST Postgrad Conference at St John's College, the University of Oxford, in January of 2014. The response(s) was/were interesting - and it sparked a year of wonderful opportunities...

The two papers (SVS and SST) that have impacted my subsequent thought have lead me down some interesting rabbit holes. Firstly, at the Ecclesia and Ethics II conference, conducted entirely online, I contined my explorations in what it means to be human by comparing one articulation of the Doctrine of the Image of God with the modern phenomenon of social media. This seemed to go down well. 

I was thrilled to return to SVS again in April 2014, this time in Columbus, Ohio. I was fortunate enough to be presenting two papers at that conference, which I wrote about here. Firstly, I tried out a rough version of my paper on 'stigmata' in Galatians 6:17, thinking about theological responses to disability and especially mental disability/health issues. My second paper, possibly more original, was "Bodies, Brokenness and Bread: Towards a Vineyard Sacramental Theological Anthropology", which considered how worship shapes us into the kind of humans God wants us to be. You can read versions of both of these papers over at my academia.edu profile. 

The aforementioned topic of the 'stigmata' in Galatians 6:17, and the wider topic of disability and illness in relation to 'religion', is something that inspired my next paper. I was terrified but grateful to be presenting, in the Biblical Studies section, my paper "Proudly Wearing the Marks of Christ - Towards a Recovery of 'stigmata' in Galatians 6:17", at the Stavanger International Conference on Disability, Illness and Religion. If you care at all about people, disability, healing or religion (or the lack/nuance of those terms) then the dialogue around that conference was/is vital. 

The radical idea that all humans bear the 'Image of God' is one that has led me into different dialogues and spheres. As well as the local church, I'm passionate about theology equipping people to advocate for the last, the lost and the least at a national level. I was thus delighted to present a paper at the University of Chester's 'Missio Dei? Evangelicalism and the New Politics' conference in June 2014. My paper, "Dignity Demanding Love: a theological understanding of the relationship between the Imago Dei and the Missio Dei in contemporary British evangelicalism" was well recieved, and looked at how the 'Image' of God relates to the 'Mission' of God, particularly in the praxis and theology of the Vineyard Movement, a movement which has impacted a range of other denominations, particularly in the United Kingdom.

The close of 2014 brought a number of fascinating opportunities. The first of these was a stimulating academic and interdisciplinary conference, organised by the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture (ISRLC), which was held in the beautiful surroundings of Leuven, Belgium. There I was fortunate to present in two categories. My original paper, "The Guiding Trajectory of Love: Embodied Creatures caught up in the Trinity", was part of the 'Anthropos' (theology of Love) section, and thought about how God guides us, as the God that is Love. Secondly, and perhaps even more interestingly, was my contribution to the Biblical Studies section, "Human Embodiment in Contemporary Culture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 in relation to universal and subjective experience". This paper dealt with the thorny reality of human bodies, and the controversial topic of sexual activity in relation to Christian conviction.

My final opportunity to speak 'theologically' and publically in 2014 came at the Christian New Media Awards and Conference 2014, held in London and jointly sponsored by CODEC and Premier. My paper, which I blogged about recently (that blog included a video recording) considered the thorny intersection of Papal Authority, digital theology, and discipleship. I'd love to engage with you about these topics, so check it out here. 

2015...

2015 began with a bang - I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Sacred and Secular Symposium at Goldsmiths - and a whimper: I remain unemployed and not currently doing formal theological research. That said, with the general election only a few months away, I was very grateful for the FaithXChange for allowing me to present my paper, "‘For the Bible Tells me so’ - Evangelical faith and the Complexities of Secular Political Engagement" to an interdisciplinary, international audience. I was encouraged by the reaction, energised by many new contacts (Both established scholars and early postgraduates like myself) and provoked to continue thinking about the role of religion and theology in the public square.

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For the time being, as the title of this post implies, I remain 'pretending' with regard to academic research, discourse, and opportunity. I hope to begin a PhD at some point in the next year or so - and would love to discuss with anyone and everyone what that implies and requires. If you are interested in anything I have written about here, or are involved in more generally, I'd love to connect. Do leave a comment, connect via Twitter, or Facebook. Thank-you so much for reading - I hope something I've written or thought is helpful.