Where does my brain meet?

This may sound like a funny question, so let me help to clarify.

As a church leader, I often find myself in the middle of all sorts of philosophical discussions. 'What did God mean when He said this or that?' or 'How does my view of _____________ have any bearing on ________________?' It's a part of my brain that I love to use. I love engaging in conversation.

However, there's this other part of my brain that sees people in situations that defy logic and I wonder how the first part and the second part relate. Do they even mesh at all?

How does my understanding of a person's process of conversion relate to my understanding of a friend losing their job at a church? Any attempts at follow up have been met with impersonal emails saying, "I can't meet with you for 2 months." In other words, a pastor who refuses to be pastoral...

How does discussion the ins and outs my philosophy of ecclesiology relate to a young mother who's been told that her husband's cancer is no longer treatable? How does my thoughts about worship design and order help to bring 'order' to her life and the two boys that will be fatherless...sometime...?

I guess the big question that I'm posing here is, in terms of communities of faith, when does the theoretical become practical?

I can go around and around about abstract ideas about God, communities of faith, and worship, but I can't offer anything (seemingly) of worth to someone who's really in the midst of a very dark time.

So, where does my brain meet?

I get that how we understand communities of faith 'working' has huge implications on how we minister to people. I get all of those things...

...but I don't...

My exhortation to all those reading this today:

My your 'theoretical' be 'eminently practical'...

...because it's about people; people that God loves.