To Know Whose You Are and Whom You Serve

To Know Whose You Are and Whom You Serve

The Challenge of Praxis Thesis

Robert Martin

Most students come to the writing process not really sure what a praxis thesis is, how it should be constructed, and what they would say. This is to be expected. Saint Paul requires a praxis thesis for many reasons, but two very important ones come to mind:

a) The church desperately needs its leadership to have a clearly reasoned, well-informed faith that they can articulate well.

b) Most students need to learn how to think theologically and to articulate their faith clearly and persuasively.

 

Proclaiming the faith is not given to pansies. It takes strength and determination to be a disciple and proclaim the Good News. It takes training. To do it well requires skill. Theological proclamation is the ｅxpression of something more fundamental, something prior: theological thinking. And the kind of thinking that makes a strong argument, that is able to give a reasoned and persuasive account of the faith is not given to you or valued by this society. In many respects the dominant worldview in this society would rather that you not learn how to think deeply or critically. Our economic and governmental institutions would rather you watch TV and order more stuff on the internet. Theological reflection is a subversive activity; it makes people uncomfortable; it will make you uncomfortable. This is to be expected; the discomfort is a sign that you are breaking chains that bind you, that you are investigating new lands, that you are taking greater control over your life. It is your opportunity to distinguish the God who has called you from all other gods (and there are many!) and, like Joshua, commit yourself and your congregants to serving and worship the one God.

 

The Praxis thesis is not a “hoop” to jump through. This is an educational opportunity to do some very serious learning that has the potential to intensify your ministry. I’ve heard so many students during my first year say that writing the praxis thesis was hard but it was the most important learning experience of their seminary education. To think of it as a hoop will make the task much harder and will sabotage your learning.

 

So the first thing I would want you to remind yourself is the purpose of the praxis thesis. This you can find in the student handbook, but let me give you my version. The purpose of the praxis thesis is to

1) help students clarify and state clearly and reasonably your perspective on the Christian faith and its enactment/manifestation in light of one or more Christian traditions and the nature of Christian ministry within the context of ecclesial life,

2) be a means by which faculty can assess whether your perspective on the Christian faith and practice is stated clearly and reasonably in light of one or more traditions,

3) contribute significantly to the life and work of the church as it strives to manifest the divine life. That’s it, basically.

 

Second, look in the handbook at the description and outline of the praxis thesis. If you do not have a handbook, get one immediately. It is the standard by which faculty will assess every praxis thesis. Your praxis thesis will need to have all the elements that are listed in the handbook.

 

Then in a very deliberate fashion, one step at a time, devise your outline that is a mirror of the particular kind of outline that you have chosen. Why???? A systematic approach to theology and Christian faith and practice is exactly what the seminary training is supposed to develop. There are many reasons why such an approach is important, but let me give one of the most important. Having a systematic approach to theology lends a critical component to one’s faith. If one does not and cannot think about faith in terms of 1) assertions, 2) reasons and evidence, 3) counter positions, 4) implications, then one cannot think critically about faith. And if one cannot think critically, then we are held hostage to our particular faith and the transformative power of the Spirit is hindered (There are other ways that our faith can be transformed, but critical reflection is one of the most important.) So to be able to think clearly about the reasons for our faith is simply an effort to love God with our whole being: body and mind, indeed our full self as an embodied spirit. Critical thinking keeps us accountable to ourselves, to the tradition, to one another, to God.

 

Ok, so far I’ve suggested that you outline your praxis thesis after one of the examples you have. Obey the outline. If your thinking and writing tends to go here and there (like mine) and pick up little bits of this and that, the outline will help you discipline your thoughts. When I and other professors read the praxis thesis (as well as any course paper) we are looking for a well-developed argument/description. And in the best papers, we are able to discern the outline easily.

 

Once the outline is mostly put together, then you can work with it technically. That is, insert the various components that the handbook wants. When you have the outline before you, it is much easier for you to determine whether you are doing what it wants you to do. once you have written 10+ pages, very often it is extremely difficult to see whether all the elements are included and are working together. The writing tends to moosh together; we get confused and befuddled. An outline helps us to be clear about what is happening in the document. Some of you will want to write parts of the praxis thesis as you feel inspired. That’s great. But don’t use those parts until they have been checked with your outline.

 

There are essentially 4 parts to any argument. I suggest that within the outline, you put these 4 elements under every heading, under every point that you will be developing. These parts are:

 

1) Assertion: what is the point you are making. Two parts of the assertion. A) one sentence thesis. In your praxis thesis, I would underline every thesis statement so that they are easily recognizable. When you turn in the praxis thesis, take out all the “helps” that you’ve put into it, but the reality is that the reader should be able to pick out the theses as if they were underlined.  b) explanation of the assertion. Say what the assertion means; explain the terms in the thesis statement. Connect the present assertion with the previous one. Every paragraph should have a thesis statement.

 

2) Reasons: why you are making the assertion. For every thesis statement you must give reasons for the assertion. Without reasons, the logic or rationale of the statement will not be apparent. There will be no reason for the reader to believe you or agree with you. Reasons come in at least three versions, all of which are important:

a) reliance upon an authoritative source: tradition, author, etc. How is your assertion informed and rooted in a tradition that extends beyond you? How is it consonant with some part of the tradition? In a theological praxis thesis as you are writing, it is important to trace your thinking back to its sources, but this alone does not mean that your assertion is correct or legitimate. It needs two more components….

b) evidence. What evidence is there for your claim? Usually the evidence is in the form of facts: i.e., this person did that; this happened at this time, this word occurs this many times in Matthew, etc.

c) reasoned argumentation: logic. Is your statement reasonable, believable? Do the sentences fit together in the paragraph in a way that the progression of your thought is apparent to the reader? Does the evidence really support the thesis?

 

3) counter positions: who would disagree with you and why? What are their disagreements? Why is your position preferable to others?

 

4) Implications: what good and bad consequences follow from the assertion? Why is it important? How will it does it affect practices? With respect to many of your theological assertions, there might be several implications or ways that the assertion plays itself out in ministerial practices, and you might need several paragraphs to talk about them. These consequences/implications might be subtheses to the main thesis statement in that section.

 

These four parts might seem overwhelming at first, especially if you are thinking about them with the whole of your praxis thesis in mind. If so, work on one point at a time. Develop the outline. Usually an outline is a series of assertions. Under each of these assertions, indicate that the assertion needs a resource reasons/evidence, counter positions (if any), and implications. Then as you come to that part of the outline, you can think about the specific point you are making in terms of these four parts. After a while, it will come much easier. But at first, it will seem cumbersome.

 

Two more suggestions about writing. Wherever you are writing (and if possible it should be in one place), 2 things might help:

1) write down the most important suggestions about writing  and tape them on the wall to remind yourself about the various parts of writing. (also tape up encouraging statements and reminders).

2) tape up a picture of 1 or 2 intelligent persons that you know well. one of them should be someone whom you feel accepts and respects you and your perspective. The other could be your best critic; someone who will agree with you onLY after you have ‘proven’ your point. Write the praxis thesis to them (knowing that your faculty committee is looking over your shoulder). When you get stuck, look at their picture, imagine what kinds of questions they would ask you about the specific topic you are working on, and explain yourself to them aloud. Then write down what you have said.

 

Writing the Praxis Thesis is difficult. It is a matter of investigating the depths of your worldview, your hopes, your convictions, and your vocation in ministry. It is a matter of creating a model of ministry and testing it to see what work and what doesn’t. It is a matter of writing all that up so that it is beneficial to others. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth doing. May you have a “spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed” (Eph. 1:17-23)