DMin Course Two: Theology

I'm in the midst of the second of two Foundational Courses for my Doctorate of Ministry.  This course focuses on methods of theology.  Here's a quick overview of the books for this course:

Theological Reflection: Methods by Elaine Graham, Heather Walton and Frances Ward
This book is a good overview of many different theological methods.  It is comprehensible and does a good job connecting, comparing, and contrasting different theological methods with one another.  It was a good introduction for this course.
One thing I learned from this book is that the key tasks of theology are 1) to form character, 2) to build up a community of faith, and 3) to communicate faith.

Practical Theology and Qualitative Research Methods by John Swinton
Practical Theology was also readable and helpful for those of us who are working with theology in both parishes and a more formal, academic setting.  It helped bridge the gap between our previous course on qualitative research methods and this course on practical theology.

Graced Vulnerability: A Theology of Childhood by David Jensen
We read this book with the intention of learning how Dr. Jensen created his theology of childhood.  The book was well-written for our task.  The author wrote in a way which helped us to see how he got from point A to point B.  In his writing, it is clear his thought process began with the birth of his own child.  He then examined history and culture and gave solid reviews of both as he then went on to develop a new theology of childhood.
This book is particularly helpful not so much for it's theological content but more for the ease with which the reader can see the author make his case.  This book will be helpful both when we are crafting our papers at the end of this course and, more especially, several years from now when we will be crafting our final DMin project. It will help us structure a strong theological case for our project.

The Nature of Doctrine by George Lindbeck
This was a required book for my MDiv.  I didn't like it the first time around.  It hasn't grown on me in the last 15 years.  It's not that I don't agree with him, but rather it seems to me he makes things more difficult than they need to be.  There is so much jargon it is exhausting. 
Lindbeck posits that historically there have been theologies based on doctrine, and theologies based on feeling.  He suggests a new theology based on a melding of those, one based on rules in the same way that language is based on grammar.
It was interesting to note that out of our class of 6, four students had a difficult time with the book and two students really liked it. 

Transforming Christian Theology by Phillip Clayton
This book was by far my favorite.  I've already posted about it and about how I might use it both with a Youth Group and with an interfaith group at Kenyon.  I'll be presenting the book to our class in the morning.  I look forward to hearing whether everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did or if some others didn't connect. 

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What a blessing to be able to work on my doctorate.  I love being rector of Harcourt Parish for many reasons.  That they allow me the time to work on this doctorate is one of those reasons.  I am blessed.