ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how community provides the context for the activity of the spirit and the presence of the word. It shows that theological method is itself shaped by these various contexts on the one hand, and yet works transformatively on the various disciplines associated with these contexts if accomplished in a manner that is faithful to the task of theology on the other. The object of theological interpretation flows forth from the stories—narratives, traditions, myths—that are told, retold and embodied because they mediate a soteriological experience. Theological reflection serves the practical purpose of transforming the community of faith so that it lives rightly, according to its core convictions, in an alien world. Theological interpretation therefore requires discerning the divine will—what the Spirit is saying and doing—precisely in order to imitate and follow after the Spirit, whether in worship, mission, or socio-ethical activity. Theology directed toward ecclesial praxis must therefore correct and be corrected by theology as ecclesial identification.
