My Theology Paper

2047 Words9 Pages
United Church of Christ

Ordination Paper

By

James Paul White

To

Committee on Ministry

October 1, 2012

Committee on Ministry

Kansas-Oklahoma Conference

Part One

Personal Theology

“Theology of Community”

In this paper, I am going to share my ideas of theology. I believe that one of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was that I was afraid of being rejected, so I wrote a theology paper and tried to give the previous COM what I thought they wanted to hear instead of what was truly inside of me. Fortunately for me, even though I was not given a green light in order to see the Eccleastical Council, I was licensed to preach and this gave me time
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So it is ultimately God who initiates the relationship between God and people.

2. Imago Dei and our gifts

In Genesis 1:26-27 the Bible talks about how we are made in the image of God, or have what is known as the Imago Dei. Some people would say that this means that human beings have a conscious, and live at a level that is more complex than just living on mere instinct. I believe that there is more to it than that. Romans 12:6 says that “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” In other words, as you read the rest of the chapter you can see how each of the different gifts given to people can be used to edify and strengthen other people. We were created to be a blessing to other people, and those other people were created to live in harmony with you.

III. Sin

When we focus on our own needs, and we ignore the plight of the people around us; then we are living in a way that is contrary to the will of God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to sin as selfishness, and Karl Barth said that the root of sin is pride.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talked about how the Pharisees and tax collectors did some things that on the surface appeared to be good, but if you looked at their heart you realize the ulterior motive. Matthew 5:46-47 says, “If you love
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