Why Practical Theology is So Important: A Method for Christian Living → A More Beautiful Life Collective

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Do you want to live for God, but are unsure how to take all the things you know about him and synthesize that into a way of living for him? This post is for you! We are talking about the method of Practical Theology. In this post, we break down how Christian Living into 3 steps: Create a statement of faith, Determine Guiding Principles, and Apply those Principles Faithfully with discernment. This is part of our series on “Why What You Believe Matters.”

S2E15 – What You Need to Know about the Christian Creeds – A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast

In this episode, we are talking about the high-church confessional documents and why you should engage with them. No matter what denomination you belong to, these confessional texts – like Christian creeds, confessions of faith, catechisms, and liturgies – have been incredibly influential in the history of the Church. We need to wrestle with what they say and determine how it fits in with our own personal statement of faith. Today, we are going to talk about why you should read these texts, and then, turn our focus to the Christian creeds in particular. Read more on the blog: https://amorebeautifullifecollective.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-christian-creeds/ Get a PDF copy of the Christian Creeds here: https://a-more-beautiful-life-collective.kit.com/d080819cc1 Get the Doctrine and Theology Cheat Sheet Here: https://a-more-beautiful-life-collective.ck.page/bd897d28d0 Get a list of the names of God here: https://a-more-beautiful-life-collective.ck.page/43d2d5cf6b Get a copy of our personal statement of faith creation guide here: https://amorebeautifullifecollective.com/product/we-believe-your-personal-statement-of-faith-workbook-pdf-download/ Get “Building Our Foundations: 10 Week Study” here: https://amorebeautifullifecollective.com/product/building-our-foundations-11-week-systematic-theology-book-bible-study/ Visit our Shop to get a copy of any of the resources mentioned in this episode: I’m your host, Cayce Fletcher, and you can learn a little bit more about me here. While you’re here, would you consider leaving a comment, rating, or review? You can find our podcast, A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube. Subscribe to the blog for access to our latest content and some freebies. I love creating and sharing resources with you. You can find all of our resources at A More Beautiful Life Collective Shop. Keep creating a life you love, and cultivating your heart for God.

This is Season 1 Episode 29 of the Podcast, and we are starting a new series today, called “Why What You Believe Matters!” Over the next month or so, we are going to be talking about our beliefs. Specifically, we are going to focus on how right doctrine leads to right living.

Whether you’ve grown up in the church or have come to faith later in life, we know that the Christian faith is based on belief. But, there’s so much noise in culture that says that what we believe doesn’t really matter. How can we really know what’s even true? They talk about right actions and social justice while denying the very existence of truth.

This leads us to be wishy-washy about what we believe.

But, this goes against the very commands of the Bible. In 1 Peter 3:14-16, it says, “14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 16 Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.”

Do you know what you believe? Do you know what your theology is?

Do you think it’s even important? Even practical to think about the deep things of God in the midst of diaper changes, deadlines, and meal prep?

Today’s episode is for you.

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What is practical theology?

When we hear the word theology, we often picture scholarly texts and professorial lectures. It doesn’t seem to hold much weight in the ‘real world’ with toddlers climbing over couch cushions while the timer for dinner is beeping off in the distance. In the messiness of real life, it seems like theology is far removed. If I know that I love God, that’s all that matters right? I just need to love God and love people.

Which is true. Those are the two greatest commandments. The truth of the gospel and what Jesus has done on the cross means that there is nothing that you need to do to save yourself. Jesus has already done the saving.

That being said, I struggle with the tension between faith and works, and as a society, I think we all do. We recognize that Jesus has ‘done the saving work,’ but if we go on living just as we did before we believed in Christ, it is like ‘we are crucifying Christ over again’ (Heb. 6:6). We need to necessarily change the way we act based on our beliefs.

“So how then should we live?”

Much of the focus of Christian circles is the continual calling back to Christ. People are so easily distracted by the cares and worries of this life that we seem to need to be reminded day after day that God is the only one worth living for. This is the repetition of the gospel

Links about being gospel-centered:

Practical Theology is the application of our beliefs to our actions. Through practical theology, we make our faith alive and active, and we become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today.

What is A Method?

As a prospective homeschooler, I’ve immersed myself in lots of books detailing different approaches to education. With each one, I hold up the vision that they set for schooling against my own experiences in public school and as a middle school teacher.

The most attractive of the methods – filled with high ideals and purposeful intention – is the Charlotte Mason method. If you read any books by her or any podcasts or books about her method, one thing you will hear over and over again is that it is a method.

You may gloss over this distinction, but it is crucial to understand the nuance of what it means to be a Charlotte Mason educator. A method is different from a process or curriculum. A method is not a step-by-step scope and sequence, detailing what you will do each day. A method is also not a collection of good books to read.

Instead, a method is established on a set of principles, which then inform everything that you do. (You can find Charlotte Mason’s set of 20 principles here.) Mason’s first principle is that “Children are born persons.” This principle then informs every aspect of the Mason method. Because children are not blank slates, then you should approach their education with a recognition that you give them the opportunity to learn about a wide array of topics and ideas. They have a unique personality and a God-given set of talents so they need a ‘feast of ideas.’

The principle informs the practice.

Whereas some forms of education focus on the process of learning (start with one concept move to the next and the next) and others focus on the curriculum of learning (with a booklist for grade 1 and so on), the Charlotte Mason Method gives you principles that guide you. The details of the method (which books, etc.) are determined by your own specific situation.

Method vs. Process

From this example, we can see that a process is:

Details that must be followed
Can follow without knowing the ‘why’ behind it
Legalistic
Step-by-Step
Requires strict adherence
Assumes you are moving linearly to the end goal
Requires conformity

A method on the other hand:

Guided by principles
Flexible
Principles create certain “guidelines” that act as boundaries
Actual ‘living out’ is unique to everyone’s circumstances
Principles are informed by a holistic vision of the end goal

A method is guided by a strong sense of principles and ideals, but it allows much flexibility. As Sally Clarkson once said, ‘Each person must figure out how to fit together their own puzzle pieces of life.’ A method helps to guide the way for how to put the puzzle together, but each person will find that they struggle in different areas and find new solutions to handle their particular circumstances.

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Practical Theology: A Method of Christian Living

It is clear to see how a method of education can provide what children need so much better than just a process or curriculum. But, what does this have to do with theology? Or Christian living? What does a method have to do with practical theology?

In the days of the high church, I believe that everyone was guided by a clear method (and sometimes a process or curriculum too). People were told very clearly how they should act through catechisms, the church calendar, and the trappings of the Catholic church. The Reformation made clear the work of the gospel and worked to eradicate some of the corruption of the church, but in doing this, stripped away the method for how to be a Christian.

We see different dominations (or faith groups of the past) try to salvage this – with the Puritan Pilgrims, Amish, and other more legalistic faiths. For the most part, I think we all look skeptically at these dominations or faith groups. In our modern age, we chaff against the idea that anyone would tell us how to live – it seems so anti-gospel. So legalistic. So Pharisaical.

At the same time, we are hungry for a method of living. In recent years, I have seen book after book on how to create good habits and formulate a rule of life. I have focused on that extensively on the blog for the past year.

We want someone to tell us what to do.

Some people have started to try to live out what is called biblical femininity by wearing only dresses and skirts (which I actually do – but for different reasons) and head coverings (which I’ve looked into but haven’t made up my mind yet).

These groups that lean towards legalism have formulated their own version of practical theology based on their understanding of scripture. Often this legalism is influenced by other voices that have been added on top of scripture – weighing down the yoke so to speak. We recognize that legalism is not what the gospel is about and that, with discernment, we can see through some of these laws and understand they are not biblical.

We want someone to tell us how to live, but what we don’t want is a process or curriculum. The legalistic tendencies of some faith groups (you have to wear an ankle-length skirt, no dancing, no alcohol, no holidays like Christmas or Easter) are enough to send us running. We recognize that some of these groups put more laws in place than what exists in the Bible.

Social media exacerbates these tendencies because we can so easily see what other people are doing. If we follow a group of people who are #hotmessmomwholovesJesusbutcussesalittleontheside, we will likely want to also be that person. If we follow a group of people who are busy taking care of their chickens and sourdough starters in their prairie dresses while homeschooling a gaggle of children, we will want to be that person. We become like what we fix our eyes on. We become what we behold.

It’s important to make sure that we are surrounded by godly influences. But, in the case above, both of those people say that they love Jesus and God and that they have the correct way of living. So, how can we sift through the noise of everyday living and figure out what God wants us to do? How do we figure out our practical theology?

Does God actually care how you live?

Well, really the first question should be: Does God actually care about any of this stuff? Does he care if you homeschool? Does he care if you take care of your body? Does he care what clothes you wear?

(If we were sitting in class together, this is where I would take a sip of water while I practice the 10-second rule. Go ahead. You really need to answer that question based on what you honestly believe.)

I believe that God does care what we do. Yes, we are saved by grace, but we are also saved for a purpose. We are meant to glorify God, and glorifying God requires that we live in a way that is holy and pleasing to him. We cannot choose to be the Lord of our own life, and then assume that living that way is glorifying to him.

God cares about our practical theology. What we do in the everyday matters to him.

So, if God cares about what we do after we ‘get saved,’ then how should we live? How can we figure out what ‘commands’ are from the world, from the Christian sub-culture, and from the Bible itself? What should our practical theology be?

Restoring your faith vs. Deconstructing your faith

There is a current trend in society to deconstruct your beliefs. It comes from the postmodern movement that was determined to deconstruct culture because culture was ‘misogynistic, racist, classist, etc.’ Most of the current attitudes towards history, gender, and truth are based on this deconstructionist movement.

As is the case of most things in the Christian culture, trends often infiltrate the church about 5-10 years (or in this case about 60 years after the fact – since deconstruction in academia started in the 1960s). People are now trying to deconstruct their faith. When most people say this, they are just trying to tear down any semblance of doctrine or truth, and most of the time they are left with no beliefs or a vague sense of the presence of God. Deconstruction leads to agnosticism.

Deconstruction is one of the great evils of the modern age, and we need to fight against that.

What I am advocating is not deconstruction. I’ve heard various terms for untangling cultural influences from biblical truth to live it out more faithfully, including reformation or restoration. I like both of these terms: you are living out Romans 12:2, as you make it a point to not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. If we do this, we can test and approve what God’s will is.

When we deepen our understanding of beliefs, we are strengthening them. By strengthening them, we can live our practical theology fully and point others to God through Christ.

Isn’t this what we want? If we want to figure out how we should live, we must learn how to test and approve what God’s will is. Then we can hold up our beliefs and actions and determine if they line up with his will.

We want to be restorationist, reformationalist. Restoring our own selves while reforming Christianity to be holy, biblical, and faithful.

How to: Practical Theology

So, we need a way to figure out how to live out Christianity in every area of our lives. How to navigate parenting, money, possessions, marriage, work, sabbath, and yes even cleaning and decluttering. Our faith has a bearing on all these aspects of our lives.

But, how do we figure out what our faith has to say about this?

Practical Theology is the method for living out our beliefs. It requires something of you though, you need to (1) know what you believe, (2) create principles based on those beliefs, and (3) use discernment regularly to figure out if how you are behaving lines up with the beliefs that you’ve stated.

In the upcoming episodes, we are going to break down each part of this process. Here is the basic guide for what you will need to do.

Step 1. Create your statement of faith

A statement of faith is your basic beliefs. It is your doctrinal theology which consists of your theological doctrines (we’ll use both of those terms as we talk about how to follow this process). A doctrinal statement is just something that you hold to be true about God, his son, his word, etc. These are the ways we conceptualize our beliefs.

This is doctrinal theology. Most of our understanding of theology is encompassed in your statement of faith.

You need to create your statement of faith that includes your basic theological doctrines. It can be helpful to do this by following a systematic theological process. Systematic theology is just moving in an orderly fashion through beliefs normally starting with Who is God then moving through the doctrine of salvation, baptism, end times, etc. Catechisms can also walk you through what you believe in an orderly fashion. (Systematic Theology is a different form of theological study than Practical Theology.)

Most churches and institutions have statements of faith that you can refer back to. You can ask your church for their statement of faith and go through it yourself.

Importantly, you are not doing this to really change your convictions about any of your beliefs. You are doing this to make yourself aware that you have these beliefs. We can easily go through life without ever considering what we think about God’s word, Satan, or infant vs. adult baptism. You may have a gut reaction about those topics, but you need to have scripture to back up why you believe what you believe.

You have to start with your statement of faith before you can move forward.

Step 2. Create a List of Biblical Christian Virtues to base your life on.

After you determine the foundations of your belief in your statement of faith, then you will create a list of Biblical Christian Virtues. These virtues are the values that you can base your life on. They will help you to develop your biblical principles.

As the name suggests, Biblical Virtues are found in the Bible. They are not values that you can superimpose on the Bible based on your own opinion. As such, developing this list will help you to develop principles that are good and righteous.

We’ll give you some ideas for Christian Virtues in a later post.

Step 3. Determine Biblical Principles you can live out daily.

After you create your statement of faith, you need to consider deeply how this faith impacts your life and create ideals that you can base your life on. Ideals are guiding principles, things that can help you to live wisely by measuring what you are currently doing against what you said you were going to live your life like. They are guideposts, boundary markers, lines in the sand.

The book of Proverbs is a book full of examples of biblical principles to base your life on. These principles are a form of wisdom. You are synthesizing what the bible says into statements you can memorize and then build your life on. Through this process, you are deepening your understanding of practical theology.

Because you want to memorize these things, you should aim for no more than 20 or 30 principles. They should be flexible and encompassing while being biblically true.

For example, a doctrinal belief could be (or really should be) that God’s word is infallible and God’s way of communicating with us and teaching us how to live. So my principle could be: “I read my bible regularly as my daily bread, trust what it says, and apply it faithfully to my life.” So, we move from a statement of belief about what a thing (i.e. God’s word) is to a principle that says how I interact with that thing.

We are formulating our practical theology in this step as we create these guiding principles based on our beliefs.

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Step 4. Apply your principles faithfully with discernment.

After you determine what your principles are, you then need to figure out how to apply what you believe to your everyday life. This is where the rubber meets the road, where your faith is lived out. This is where practical theology is made apparent. Importantly though, this is where the application may vary based on people’s life circumstances.

I truly believe that our biblical principles should be very similar to one another. There should be a commonality about what we believe on principle.

But, the application of those principles will change based on what our life circumstances are. We should all be reading God’s word regularly and attempting to live it out faithfully. But, for me, that may look like waking up early-early in the morning to read a devotional book, while for you it may look like a bible study over your midday meal with your coworker. We have the same principle, but it can be lived out in a different way based on our unique circumstances.

We should all believe that marriage is an institution created by God made for a purpose to be the building blocks of the family. And that family is the building block of the church, used by God to disciple his children. But, the application of this principle is lived out differently by a single person, versus a person with young children, versus an empty nester with grandchildren.

This is why a method is not legalism. It is not a law that you have to follow, but instead, a way for you to examine your beliefs and determine how to live them out faithfully. It is an intentional way of pursuing wisdom in your life.

This is the step where you can begin to incorporate what we have talked about concerning habits and productivity in order to continue to create a life you love and cultivate your heart for God.

Let’s Recap

Theology impacts everything we do in our lives. We want to be sure of what we believe so that we can understand the implications of our faith. When we understand what practical theology is we can begin to create a method of Christian Living guided by right beliefs and solid guiding principles.

The way we do this is to:

Create a statement of beliefs.
Develop a list of Christian Virtues.
Create principles based on that statement.
Apply those principles faithfully with discernment.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to be breaking down this process on the blog and podcast. Be sure to check out the shop to get a resource that will help guide you through this process.

Until next time keep creating a life you love and cultivating your heart for God.

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