Looking Ahead
A Personal Theology of Hope
by
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So, one may wonder, why should an aging theologian/minister continue Looking Ahead? I continue looking ahead because that is where the future is. That is where Heaven is, and I fully expect to arrive there at some point. It is there, I am confident, that I shall witness the finish of pain, travail, sorrow, doubt and fear. It is there that I shall experience peace, rest and calm. It is there that I shall engage in reunion with those loved ones whom I have lost for a brief while. It is there that I shall know them far better than I ever knew them in this life. Ultimately, it is there that my spirit will be joined with Spirit, and this will be final redemption and a transcendent intimacy of sublime joy. Further, it is there that I shall be prepared by God for continued service and ministry in his Eternal Kingdom. Accordingly, I shall never be retired again! You see, I have a lot to live for and die for! I keep Looking Ahead!
- p. 13
The act of baptism involves getting dunked or sprinkled. These words refer to technique. Theologically, technique is irrelevant. What technique communicates has pertinence. For example, dunking speaks of the end of the old life of sin. Rising from the water speaks of that new, strange and hopeful life given by the relationship of the believer to Christ. Sprinkling provides visual attestation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believer who is indeed born of the Spirit (John 3:8).
So what do we really have when we share in the worship ritual we call baptism? We have an experience in which God's word comes to us in the all-too human involvement of minister and parishioner. In the process, God calls, renews, forgives, nourishes and helps us through that very common commodity known as water. And what about technique (dunking and sprinkling)? Frankly, it seems to me absurd to think that either technique retains redemptive value. After all, neither a few drops of water nor a whole flowing river ever can do what only God can do- wash away our sins and make of us new creatures in Christ.
-pp 56=57
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About the Book
Looking Ahead considers Christianity in our time as it confronts the crisis of the relevance of the church and the challenge facing biblical theology. The reflections and observations in this book are autobiographical in nature because they mirror the personal perspective of one who for sixty-five years has sought to communicate the Christian faith with intellectual and spiritual integrity. In the process, the author provides personal contemporary interpretations of the tenets of the Apostles’ Creed and some of the familiar words of our common religious vocabulary. Ultimately, the summary synthesis holds that historic Christianity must and will prevail triumphantly in this era of unparalleled testing.
About the Author
Dr. Charles L. Holland, Jr. is a retired Methodist minister who is active in interim pastorates, Bible teaching seminars, classes and group studies. In addition, he continues his ministry of interpretive writing of books, articles and sermons. He is a graduate of Mercer University (B.A.), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (B.D.), and Columbia Theological Seminary (Th.M and Th.D). He was awarded the D.D. from Mercer University and the LL.D from Atlanta Law School. His published books include Christianity for Tomorrow and Think on These Things. He has served as pastor of churches in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas and Washington, D.C. In addition, he has served as adjunct professor in several seminaries and universities.
Dr. Holland is married to Jeanette Crowder Holland, his life-long partner in ministry and a retired school teacher. They are the parents of three daughters, and they have nine grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. The Hollands make their home in Fort Worth, Texas.