Sometime ago a magazine asked the Swiss theologian Karl Barth what he would do if in the light of past experiences he was only now beginning his work as a theological teacher.Karl Barth graciously declined saying his method had never been to work to programs but rather his thinking and writing and speaking had issued from living encounters with people and conditions that spoke to him.
Barth said he felt like a man in a boat which must be rowed and steered diligently but which swims in a stream that he does not control. It glides along between new and often totally strange shores, carrying him toward the goal set for him, goals which he sees and chooses only as he approaches them. He said, “As I see it now, my theological career has been a succession of present moments.”
Geoff Pound
Image: Karl Barth