The theological undergirding of his grasp of the mystery of God in a systematic exploration of the Christian faith:

It is said that souls are not saved nor the Kingdom advanced by academic rigour, intellectual openness or the need to ask the awkward question. True enough. But without the  infrastructure of rigorous theological exploration and intellectual openness, evangelism and mission are all too likely to run out into the sands of irrelevance or superstition, bigotry or fanaticism.

The pastor as local theologian has to embody this stance in himself as he holds the mystery of God present to the everyday lives of ordinary men and women, believer and unbeliever alike.