Slipper Theology

I had a great sharing session with Sherman last night that ran till almost 2:30am in the morning! Talk about deep personal, theological and spiritual issues! It was an excellent night to morning of insight as we shared about theology, personal experiences, reflections on past experiences and mission. There's something that we both share as friends that strikes me hard - not many other Adventist ministers have relationships where they share and grow together spiritually with a non-Adventist! Why is this so? Is it because of doctrinal differences? If anyone dares to say it is, I'd like to say that it would be a total bunch of nonsense! If you're an Adventist minister reading this, do think it over carefully - what you've just read.

Meanwhile, I'd like to encourage you guys to pop by Sherman's blog - this is not an advertisement but a recommendation for some good theological reflection! Here's an excerpt from one of his latest posts:

Just yesterday, a student (who isn't sitting in my class) asked me why he frequently sees me hanging out with my students in shorts and slippers. He said it's a sight seldom or never seen in the seminary. And so I explained my slipper theology to him. Theology is the language of friendship. Theology is a language that is spoken when friends come together to talk about God. If we're not trying to embody the relational nature of God, we have no business talking about God. So I believe that it is in the sharing of life together that real theology takes place. If I am to impart real theology, I must put on my shorts and slippers and open my life to the cultivation of friendships with my students.

Without friendship, I have no theology to speak about. All I have is an ivory-tower conjecture of what God must be like. There will be no collective experience of God's presence in community, or how God works to shape my life through relational agents that I call friends. The Christian faith has always been a communal faith.
But I also realise that opening up my life in this manner and allowing myself to be seen in shorts and slippers places me in a position of vulnerability. I am liable to be misunderstood, and sometimes threatened to be trampled upon or even betrayed. But this only helps me to understand the vulnerable position in which Jesus chose to place himself. Being the seminary lecturer who is seen in shorts and slippers with his students also makes me an odd person, because I am not behaving consistently with the stature that has been accorded to me. It makes people wonder who I am. And admittedly, it sometimes make me wonder who I am too. Or who I'm trying to be.
But it all makes sense in the instance that I hear a student tell me this: "You have not only trained my mind. You have also trained my heart." And I, in turn, am able to tell these students, "Friend, you too have trained my heart". And I realise that I no longer seek to change institutions or established policies. I seek to change myself. That's my ridiculous slipper theology. How about yours?

Okay, that's it for this morning before I skip off to classes! Exams are round the corner so GOOD LUCK to all you guys taking exams!!