Weekly Videos
What is TAR?
TAR stands for Theological Action Reflection. As disciples, we desire that the whole embodiment of our human experience, the narrative of Scripture, our Christian heritage, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit will shape our thinking, attitudes, and actions in regard to all of our lives.
This method and practice is a step by step journey into understanding and navigating complex experiences through a Christ centered lens. It equips us to see the world and the things that happen to us the way Jesus does. It gives a framework for handling life’s twists and turns in the future.
-
Reflect on a recent incident that invites your further reflection. Usually, this will be an experience that has caused some types of disturbance for you and does not fit easily into your definitions or frame of reference.
It is very difficult for us to describe an experience without analyzing it. However, try your best to describe, not analyze. Don’t ask why. Suspend judgment and enter into your experience and feelings as fully as possible.
Write it out. Enter the experience and explore how you felt. List a few. Identify the heart of the matter.
(The heart of the matter is the central question, tension, problem, or wonderment of the experience. It is not the answer but allows for better questions.)
-
Begin to put your experience and the heart of the matter in conversation with Scripture, theology, and other disciplines to see how they might illuminate your experience in new ways and bring about deeper insights.
You will analyze your experience through these integrated lenses and be open to where God might lead you.
2 Key Questions:
What does the heart of the matter have to say about God’s purposes in the world?
What does the heart of the matter suggest about your place in realizing God’s purpose for the world?
-
Biblical
The way it ought to be
What was good? What happened that glorified God? Where was the image of God reflected?
The way it is
How were God’s purposes distorted? Where did sin interfere? Can you identify the sin (selfishness, disordered desires, pride…")
The way it could be
How could this experience been approached in a more redemptive way? What could a disciple have done to promote redemption or encourage others in that direction?
The way it will be
What is required of me to fulfill God’s intended purposes? What would it look like for me to live my new identity in Christ in tis experience? What would this situation looked like had God’s kingdom already been fully realized?
-
Carefully and slowly look over all that you have written. If you haven’t already, begin to connect the dots, draw conclusions, and make an analysis. With an open mind and heart, let God’s narrative, all of Christian heritage, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit converse with your experience to shape you.
What did you learn about yourself About others? About the Church?About God and God’s purposes?
Have any of your attitudes, beliefs, or positions changed in this process?
What would you do differently next time?
What lessons will you integrate into your future self?
-
Our theological reflection would not be complete if we concluded only with insights and kept this as a solely cognitive exercise. Being faithful followers of Christ compels us to put into practice what God reveals to us and to take our place in God’s redemptive and restorative narrative.
What is God leading you to do as a result of this theological reflection that moves you/others toward his restorative ideal? How will you be different or do differently as a result of this reflection process?
Month 4 Reading
-
Genesis 1:26-2:3
Mark 2:23-28
-
Colossians 2:6-23
Exodus 20:1-17
-
John 5:1-18
Hebrews 4:1-13
-
Exodus 31:12-17
Matthew 11:25-30
“What is so luminous about a day? What is so precious to captivate the hearts? It is because the seventh day is a mine where spirit's precious metal can be found with which to construct the palace in time, a dimension in which the human is at home with the divine; a dimension in which man aspires to approach the likeness of the divine.
For where shall the likeness of God be found? There is no quality that space has in common with the essence of God. There is not enough freedom on the top of the mountain; there is not enough glory in the silence of the sea. Yet the likeness of God can be found in time, which is eternity in disguise.”
-Abraham Joshua Heschel
Sabbath Practice
To help with your practice this month, here are some helpful podcast episodes.
“The Sabbath is the most precious present mankind has received from the treasure house of God. All week we think: The spirit is too far away, and we succumb to spiritual absenteeism, or at best we pray: Send us a little of Thy spirit. On the Sabbath the spirit stands and pleads: Accept all excellence from me...”
-Abraham Joshua Heschel