Reclaiming the ‘voice of God’ through word, presence and action

Rev’d Roy Dorey

The title of this conference is Ivory Towers and Muddy Ground.  It is posing a dichotomy which, in part, I wish to address directly.  This is why I have given this brief paper a title that begins ‘reclaiming.’    

The conference title stresses for me a serious dilemma, which is that  theology is generated, substantially, in the academy, and it is required to be applied in the churches. It may be that those that generate the theology and teach it to students preparing for ministry have experience of muddy ground.   For some this is substantial, for others less so.  However the system that generates and teaches theology has its own constraints and professional parameters, and they are not those of the muddy ground.  

A second factor that we need to take into account is the nature of the muddy ground.  We may want to make Christendom assumptions, even modified Christendom assumptions, pointing to state occasions which are shaped by Christian liturgy.  We may draw upon the heritage of the past in relation to the law, the caring professions, and the privilege extended to the churches.   In trying to take the voice of God seriously I want to argue that there is a dynamic of our society that needs to be taken into consideration. We are a minority group.  We need to stop assuming and behaving as if we are a substantial majority.   I hope I do not offend anyone by saying that we are not Manchester United, or even Birmingham City.  We are more like Dulwich Hamlet.  There is much left over from pseudo-Christendom times, some of which is suspect in terms of the voice of God being heard. 

However if we take the population of this country who are not of another religion, less than ten percent are engaged with the Church. The word ‘engaged’ is significant. That is not taking into account those that attend the ‘greetings-card events’ of Christmas and Easter, Mothering Sunday, of baptisms, funerals, and marriages.  

Let us not delude ourselves into thinking that such attendances are significant to the ongoing life of the Church, or that such attendances mean that people are entering into the sacramental community life of the Church.  Add up the hours! Work out the values! Compare this with so many of the other attractions of society.  There is an anthropological and residual attraction felt towards some of the things the Church has on offer, but it is not engagement with God and His Church.  They may hear a little of the voice of God, but the off button is mostly active...

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