Abstract
In Collaborative Practical Theology, de Roest presents a ‘turn to the community’ (p. 158) in practical theology. With the goal of renewing Christian practice for the sake of the world, he argues the case for academic practical theologians to pursue research in collaboration with practitioners, students and everyday believers.
Part 1 demonstrates practical theology to be well placed to meet current needs in social research and ministry training. The first three chapters review the increased significance of including practitioners at all stages of the process of social science research; the need to bridge the gap between formal theological training and the demands of professional ministry practice; and the need for continuing education for people working in Christian ministry. In response to each challenge, de Roest demonstrates the relevance and utility of practical theology, while also pointing out the need for greater collaboration between academic practical theologians and practitioners, students and everyday believers. Chapter 4 rounds out Part 1 with a historical survey of the broadening scope of practical theology, and also discusses the relationship between practical theology and biblical and systematic theology on the one hand, and the social sciences on the other.
Opening Part 2, Chapter 5 considers the case for collaborative practical theology from the side of practitioners. Relying on established routines will not suffice. Collaborative practical theology is a helpful avenue for identifying the knowledge and skills needed for effective ministry in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. De Roest reaches the heart of his argument in Chapter 6, outlining six sets of reasons for collaborative research: collaborative practical theology helps create theologizing communities, draws on knowledge available to practitioners that is otherwise inaccessible to academics, promotes innovation and professional practice, functions as a postcolonial methodology of healing, and improves the utility of research for practitioners and everyday believers.
Chapter 7, the longest in the book, provides a useful toolbox of collaborative research strategies and methods. After identifying their general characteristics, de Roest outlines the particular features of 19 different approaches and supplies concrete examples. Despite his clearly stated goal of promoting greater collaboration with practitioners, he does not ignore possible objections. Chapter 8 responds to significant questions such as the tension between relevance and rigour – is there a place for the ‘ivory tower’? How can academics mitigate asymmetric power relationships with practitioners? How can researchers manage constraints of time, distance and diversity when working in collaborative teams? Finally, having laid out the case for academic practical theologians to expand their research teams and collaborate with practitioners, Chapter 9 goes one step further in arguing that practitioners – rather than academics – take the initiative in practical theological research.
Although de Roest envisages his audience to include practitioners and everyday believers, it is more likely that academic practical theologians and graduate students in practical theology will read this book. Those who do will benefit greatly from it. Collaborative Practical Theology is set to become a significant textbook for understanding contemporary approaches to practical theology and a handbook to guide academic practical theologians in pursuing greater collaboration in practical theological research, and therefore greater effectiveness in serving the renewal of the Church.