From an Anglican perspective, a Kingdom of God theology offers a fruitful way to see chaplaincy.
The Kingdom of God is the organising principle of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus enacts the Kingdom, in word and miracle, in anticipation of a promised new creation. The Kingdom is a gift: it begins to emerge as the transformation of the world, within the existing fabric of the world, for the sake of the world. Reality is understood in the light of what it can become with and through God.
In this light, chaplaincy has to do with life in all its fullness wherever this may be glimpsed. Chaplaincy concerns the renewal and revitalisation of life, anticipating what could be through God’s possibilities. Foretastes of the Kingdom include acts of kindness, the search for truth, the opening up of creative prospects, or the grace to endure that which will not change.
These Kingdom purposes for chaplaincy must be realised within twenty-firstcentury universities. Different understandings of what universities are for exist, as Barnett (2011) proposes: the mediaeval notion of ‘the metaphysical university’ open to the transcendent realm; ‘the research university’ concerned with ‘knowledge for its own sake’ pursued via ‘academic freedom’ of enquiry; and the contemporary ‘entrepreneurial university’ focussed on performance as the ‘impact’ of its ‘knowledge products and services’. These notions exist in varying portions in every university.
Chaplains must be multilingual: able to understand themselves within, and make themselves comprehensible to, a competing range of perspectives on the university’s purpose.
Kingdom of God theology meshes with some of the key findings of this project. As a ‘sacrament’ of the Kingdom of God, chaplains can be seen as harbingers and anticipatory agents of a better future. In the performance-driven ‘entrepreneurial university’ they witness to the priority of gift: that inherent worth is not dependent on performance. Students and university staff, we found, receive chaplains in this way, appreciating chaplains as good news, unique contributors to the university.
It follows that if chaplains only allow themselves to be judged by a framework of measurable performance, this undercuts their symbolic value and actual function. Chaplains point to a beyond that cannot yet be achieved: the consummation of creation. This means there is a theological basis for chaplains’ reluctance to ‘record’ their ‘impact’. Yet chaplains need to find a way to live within an audit culture and celebrate the tangible difference they make, while resisting this culture’s ultimate claim. Chaplaincy is the offering of a gift in response to the prior gift of God.
Kingdom of God theology suggests that chaplaincy’s primary aim is theological – it is about enacting the Kingdom of God – yet most Christian chaplains we interviewed expressed their primary aim in generic ‘secular’ language. They may be using language they think will be understood by their universities. In universities where the metaphysical aspect of a university finds endorsement, chaplains are more inclined to speak in explicitly Christian terms. In universities where the research aspect of a university is emphasised, chaplains may prefer to express a prophetic aim or desire to encourage spiritual exploration outside specific religious traditions. Finally, in universities with an ‘entrepreneurial’ conception of their role, with an emphasis on ‘customer care’ and service provision, chaplains emphasise their pastoral and religious aims. Kingdom of God theology provides a way to integrate the seven primary aims of chaplains we identified within the conception of mission. Through loving care, religious symbol, presence and availability, concern with the spiritual, the prophetic quest for justice and the building of good relationships, the mission of the Kingdom goes forward. This broad conception of mission stands in tension with some readings of the present ‘Renewal and Reform’ initiative of the Church of England in response to declining church attendance. Renewal and Reform’s emphases on evangelisation and numerical growth could be read as an attenuated view of mission as more concerned with the self-replication of the church, than the wider flourishing of life.
From the perspective of other forms of religion and belief might the notion of the Kingdom constitute a form of Christian imperialism? Given that Christian chaplains provide 84% of all paid time and 71% of all volunteer time across university chaplaincy dissonance can arise between the ‘multi-faith’ labelling of chaplaincy and its actual day-to-day functioning. Christians have a responsibility to use their position of power to open up ways of working collaboratively with others while seeking to safeguard the religious integrity of all involved. Kingdom of God theology can help. Central to Christian theology is the discernment of a fundamental distinction between the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet’. Just as the coming of the Kingdom in its fullness must be awaited, so must the final unveiling of the truth. Living ‘between the times’ Christian chaplains cannot claim to possess the whole picture.
Kingdom theology can nurture an authentic Christian identity that is genuinely relevant to the needs of universities. In a context where the ultimate purpose of a university is disputed, at a time when chaplains are increasing asked to view themselves as an extension of professional support services, theology is vital. Theology can provide a frame of significance within which the work of chaplaincy can find meaning, value, affirmation and orientation. Universities are inherently theological in nature; they are places where chaplains do not just work, but belong.