¶ … theological education is, as Trokan suggests, "to promote personal wisdom," then theological reflection is an essential component of that education (144). According to Paver, there are numerous approaches to theological reflection including ministerial, spiritual, wisdom, feminist, enculturation and practical styles (36). Each of these has relevance and can be part of a holistic and comprehensive theological undertaking that has meaning, value, and practical purpose. Of these styles, the spiritual wisdom style of theological reflection is "rooted in the everyday life experiences of believing people," (Kinast 15). Likewise, Bishop King recommends the spiritual wisdom style of insight because "We do not reflect on things within some kind of void but rather we ponder over things in the light of our encounters with real-life situations," (cited in "Theological Reflection" 1). For pastoral counseling to be effective, the pastor must cultivate deep self-reflection in an ongoing and systematic way, applying the tools of spiritual wisdom to the daily work of pastoral practice.
One example of the ways I have applied theological reflection in the spiritual wisdom style is through my work through the correctional institute and Department of Justice chaplain program....
For several years, I worked with people who believed themselves to be beyond saving, because others had repeatedly reinforced those negative belief systems. I found myself grappling with core issues related to trust between human beings, as several of the persons in my care continually evaded trust by breaking promises and outright lying. Yet I had at this point cultivated a deep sense of optimism in the human spirit rooted in Biblical wisdom. Ours is a God who "who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth," (1 Timothy 2:4). Ours is also a forgiving God, with an endless capacity for mercy and salvation. We as pastors take it upon ourselves to model our teachings and our methods after Biblical wisdom.
I therefore started to delve deeper into Biblical passages related to forgiveness. Whereas most of the people I worked with exhibited a remarkable level of emotional intelligence, there were two in my memory who seemed intractable. These were the cases that can test our faith and our abilities to help others through Biblical wisdom. Reflecting on the theological nature of forgiveness was precisely what I needed to do, in the tradition of spiritual wisdom reflection. I ascertained that forgiveness has a direct theological mechanism,…
