Confronting the Evangelical Gaze: Christian Theology as Story and Song

This paper explores evangelical theology and its limitations from being a global theological enterprise. Part one will explore how the evangelical imagination informs the theological task and prohibits the emergence of minority theological voices. In part two, the paper investigates an approach to Christian theology encompassing story and song to mitigate the shortcomings of an evangelical theological imagination. The dualistic nature of story and song provides a holistic approach to theology that accounts for knowledge, experience, and performance. Christian theology’s task is to communicate God’s story before the world through vocalization, dramatization, and annunciation.
Furthermore, in the final section, this paper concludes with an assessment of how a Black Church Dogmatic supports the matriculation of global evangelicalism through Christian theology, being the communication of the Gospel message through story and song. Black Church Dogmatics is a theological investigation and communication of Christian theology for Black Christians and the edification of global Christian communities. Evangelical theology needs to hear every voice part, choir member, and vocalist communicate the story and song of Christian theology. This essay concludes by detailing the necessity for theological formation and contextualization for Black Christians in America.