Theological Provocations:
Theology As If Recovery Mattered

by Dale Ryan

These presentations were originally given as part of a course I teach at Fuller Theological Seminary called Recovery Ministry and Outreach in the Local Church. They are NOT intended to be a kind of 'theology of recovery'. Nor are they intended to provide you with all the right answers to all the right theological questions. The word 'provocation' is the closest I can come to my real intent. . . I hope to provoke you to do some theological reflection on topics that are foundational to doing recovery ministry in the context of the local church. A few additional clarifications may be helpful:

1) While I am apparently sufficiently eclectic theologically to annoy some folks and please others, it will be obvious soon enough that these presentations are shaped primarily by the context of American evangelical theological reflection. I suspect that there may be stuff here that is useful to people from other traditions. . . but you will have to decide that for yourself. My best advice is to take what works and leave the rest.

2) This material was intended primarily for seminary students interested in recovery ministry. So. . . it tends to be a little "neck-up" if you know what I mean. If that is not a good match for what you need right now, then spending too much time here may be counterproductive.

May your roots sink deeply in the soil of God's love