Theological Issue?

I had coffee yesterday with one of McKinney's mission partners who is serving in Japan. During the course of the conversation he asked me what was in my opinion the biggest theological question we (as a Church) would need to answer in the coming months and years.

I think it's the question of hermeneutics - how we study and understand the Bible.

I could have said "postmodernism," but when it comes right down to it postmodernism within the Church is a belief about how we should understand and apply the Scripture. It's a hermeneutical question before it's a question about worship styles, extent of the atonement, or social justice.

The issue of homosexuality in the Church is a significant issue. The Church is going to have to figure out pretty quickly what it believes about homosexuality and learn to address it in a Christlike way. But that issue is an issue of how we understand the Bible. Homosexuality is not the issue at all - Scripture speaks clearly about homosexuality. Any question we have about homosexuality is a question about how we understand Scripture.

There are some big questions facing the Church this century, but most of them only mask the real question which is a hermeneutic question.

Tomorrow I'll try to talk a bit about how I'm trying to answer the question. But before then, I'm interested: do you agree? Are there other questions you think are bigger questions that the Church will need to answer in coming months and years?