The true work of the Church is what happens in the Bible study and in worship.
And if all that happens in Bible Study is a discussion about what possible meanings it may have; and people return home not having learned anything new, not having come to a deeper understanding of God and God's grace - then, no, I don't believe sitting around and talking is the true work of the church.
Proper Bible Studies should be life transforming. They force participants to make decisions about God and their own lives.
Note again: my contrast is between just discussing and making-decisions / coming to conclusions. Worship happens because someone or some committee made decisions about what liturgy would be used, what hymns would be sung, what would be said in a sermon.
That is primary. The decisions committees, council, and assemblies are secondary. Their purpose is to make sure that what is primary gets done.
Sermons and liturgy are not meant just to be the sharing of information, but to evoke decisions from the worshipers: a decision to repent of sins. A decision to believe the gospel. A decision to respond with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to God.
However, when you use phrases like "spinning our wheels" and "talk is cheap" to describe doing theology, you imply that it is of secondary importance. When we do theology, we just "sit around and discuss things", but when we "make decisions" we get things done.
I believe that I used those phrases to describe
discussing theology. How does one "do" theology? It's a topic of study and debate and discussion and then making decisions about which words better describe the God who has revealed himself in the Word of Jesus and Scripture.
In our Bible study today, we looked at Luke 4:14-21. For Jesus, the proclamation of good news meant changing people's lives. Another minister raised a good question - which we didn't answer. In applying this text to our preaching, do we need to figure out in what ways our people in the pews are the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed and how Christ's presence in our sermon and sacrament brings good news to them? Or, do we see the people outside the church walls as the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed and we try to figure out how our people in the pews can become Christ-figures, having been anointed with the Spirit at baptisms, to bring good news to them? We could discuss that all evening; but eventually we have to decide which (or both) we are going to do during the worship service.