Download or read book Beyond Profession written by Daniel O. Aleshire and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2021-03-18 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What should theological education become? Theological education has long been successful in the United States because of its ability to engage with contemporary cultural realities. Likewise, despite the existential threats facing it today, theological education can continue to thrive if it is once again reinvented to fit with the needs of current times. Daniel Aleshire, the longtime executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, offers a brief account of how theological education has changed in the past and how it might change going forward. He begins by reflecting on his own extensive experience with theological education and then turns to reviewing its history, dating back to the seventeenth century. Amid this historical survey, he uncovers an older model of the field that he believes must become dominant once again—what he calls formational theological education—and explores educational practices that this model would require. The future of theological education described here by Aleshire would return seminaries to their original role as places where a “deep, abiding, resilient, generative identity as Christian human beings” is fostered within emerging Christian leaders. This, he argues, more than professional preparation, is what theological education must be most essentially about.
Download or read book The End of Theological Education written by Ted A. Smith and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2023-05-26 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to envision theological education in this time between the times The dominant model of theological education is coming to an end—but Ted A. Smith looks to its ultimate ends as sources of hope and renewal. Smith locates the crisis facing theological education today in a sweeping history of religion in the United States, from the standing orders of the colonial period to the voluntary associations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He then connects today’s challenges to shifts in contemporary society, including declining religious affiliation, individualization, rising desires for authenticity, and the unraveling of professions. Smith refuses to tell the story as one of progress or decline. Instead, he puts theological education in eschatological perspective, understanding it in relation to its ultimate purpose: “knowledge of God, knowledge so deep, so intimate, that it requires and accomplishes our transformation.” This knowledge is not restricted to a professional clerical class but is given for the salvation of all. Seeing by the light of this hope, Smith calls readers to reimagine church, ministry, and theological education for this time between the times.
Download or read book After Whiteness written by Willie James Jennings and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On forming people who form communion Theological education has always been about formation: first of people, then of communities, then of the world. If we continue to promote whiteness and its related ideas of masculinity and individualism in our educational work, it will remain diseased and thwart our efforts to heal the church and the world. But if theological education aims to form people who can gather others together through border-crossing pluralism and God-drenched communion, we can begin to cultivate the radical belonging that is at the heart of God’s transformative work. In this inaugural volume of the Theological Education between the Times series, Willie James Jennings shares the insights gained from his extensive experience in theological education, most notably as the dean of a major university’s divinity school—where he remains one of the only African Americans to have ever served in that role. He reflects on the distortions hidden in plain sight within the world of education but holds onto abundant hope for what theological education can be and how it can position itself at the front of a massive cultural shift away from white, Western cultural hegemony. This must happen through the formation of what Jennings calls erotic souls within ourselves—erotic in the sense that denotes the power and energy of authentic connection with God and our fellow human beings. After Whiteness is for anyone who has ever questioned why theological education still matters. It is a call for Christian intellectuals to exchange isolation for intimacy and embrace their place in the crowd—just like the crowd that followed Jesus and experienced his miracles. It is part memoir, part decolonial analysis, and part poetry—a multimodal discourse that deliberately transgresses boundaries, as Jennings hopes theological education will do, too.
Download or read book The History of Theological Education written by Dr. Justo L. Gonzalez and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2015-03-17 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theological education has always been vital to the Church’s life and mission; yet today it is in crisis, lacking focus, direction, but also resources and even students. In the early Church, there is no doubt that to lead worship one had to be able to read and interpret the Bible. In order to lead, it was necessary to know at least something about the history of Israel and the work of God in the Gospels, and interpret that history, making it relevant to daily living. Quickly the Church developed schools for its teachers, whether lay or clergy. A catechetical system was organized through which candidates prepared for baptism were given a basic form of theological education. Hence to be a Christian meant persons knew what and why they believed. But over the years, theological education has come to mean education for clergy and church professionals. It has drifted, seeking new moorings.
Download or read book Theologia written by Edward Farley and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2001-01-26 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reenvisioning Theological Education written by Robert Banks and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A top leadership theorist offers a compelling proposal for renovating the way religious education is practiced today. Christian colleges and seminaries have not been immune from the cultural influences shaping contemporary education. Challenging the conventional wisdom advanced by the educational debate during the last fifteen years, Robert Banks builds an innovative new model of theological education based on how ministry formation took place in biblical times. Banks takes full account of key issues raised by our current educational context and shows how a "missional model" of education is more holistic, inclusive, and practical than recent versions.
Download or read book Transforming Fire written by Mark D. Jordan and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “We don’t need books about teaching so much as books that teach.” Considering Jesus himself taught in a variety of ways—parable, discussion, miracle performance, ritual observance—it seems that there can be no single, definitive, Christian method of teaching. How then should Christian teaching happen, especially in this time of significant change to theological education as an institution? Mark Jordan addresses this question by first allowing various depictions and instances of Christian teaching from literature to speak for themselves before meditating on what these illustrative examples might mean for Christian pedagogy. Each textual scene he shares is juxtaposed with a contrasting scene to capture the pluralistic possibilities in the art of teaching a faith that is so often rooted in paradox. He exemplifies forms of teaching that operate beyond the boundaries of scholarly books and discursive lectures to disrupt the normative Western academic approach of treating theology as a body of knowledge to be transmitted merely through language. Transforming Fire consults writers ranging from Gregory of Nyssa to C. S. Lewis, and from John Bunyan to Octavia Butler, cutting across historical distance and boundaries of identity. Rather than offering solutions or systems, Jordan seeks in these texts new shelters for theological education where powerful teaching can happen and—even as traditional institutions shrink or vanish—the hearts of students can catch fire once again.
Download or read book A New Church and A New Seminary written by David McAllister-Wilson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2018-04-02 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many churches are “mule churches”–strong for a generation but unable to reproduce themselves. As a mule comes from a horse and a donkey, they were the product of demographics and cultural conditions conducive for a generation of strength but did not produce many offspring in new church starts or strong candidates for ministry. Mule churches create a generation or more of pastors, superintendents, and bishops who think they knew what made for strong church, who think their approach to ministry is the key reason for their success. And it produces churches with a nostalgia for the way things used to be. This makes it hard for churches to adapt to change. We've been declining for a long time due to changes in secular and consumer culture, demographics radically adjusting normative family structure, and a theology based in consumer marketing rather than mission-driven vitality. Now we realize that the church is free to not just make the gospel relevant to life but to make life relevant to the gospel. Conservative evangelical Christianity was able to focus on relevance prior to its ascendency on the national stage. Methodism requires a similar period of confessional self-definition. We are going through these confessions now in the debate about our stance toward homosexuality. Most students and most professors go to the seminary "to fix the church," because they realize that the future of the church and its seminaries are inseparable. Seminaries provide scholars for the church, who learn how to think, who learn how to take the long view, who shape identity, who foster a "culture of calling." A new kind of Methodist progressive evangelicalism is regenerating, which lives the great commandment (love) and the great commission (reproducing disciples) on a global scale. Before, seminaries prepared pastors to maintain healthy churches in stable neighborhoods. Now, every neighborhood is changing and many churches are losing their members and their confidence. They long for a recovery of their sense of mission and a new kind of leadership. A new kind of seminary is regenerating to foster hope, wisdom, creativity, and engagement with the great issues of our day.
Download or read book Character and Virtue in Theological Education written by Marvin Oxenham and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2019-07-31 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr Marvin Oxenham expertly uses the genre of the epistolary novel to help the reader understand the nature of character and virtue education and their relationship to theological education. This book will help educators respond to the increasing demands for formational and transformational education and enact concrete virtue related practices. Dr Oxenham draws on a vast array of disciplines, from educational philosophy and political science to theology and andragogy, in this winsome story that explores how global theological education can better contribute to the formation of virtuous students. Written from the perspective of a seasoned educator from the Minority World who engages with correspondence from his friend and peer in the Majority World, this is the honest story of two friends who struggle with their challenges and dreams. Academics will find this book compelling reading that, like good works of fiction, they won’t put down, and, like good reference works, they will return to again and again. This book offers a chance to rediscover an ancient tradition and explore a new frontier in theological education.
Download or read book Between Athens and Berlin written by David H. Kelsey and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-07-20 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1980s produced an unprecedented large amount of literature and a vigorous debate on the purpose and nature of theological education in North America. Surveying and probing the major positions in this debate, David H. Kelsey argues in this book that the central differences between various voices in theological education emerge most clearly when viewed in light of "Athens" and "Berlin." For Kelsey, "Athens" and "Berlin" represent two very different--and ultimately irreconcilable--models of excellent education. In the case of de facto, says Kelsey, that modern North American theological education, for historical reasons, is committed to both models, resulting in ongoing tensions and struggles. Kelsey shows how a variety of significant thinkers--Newman, Niebuhr, Farley, Stackhouse, and several others--fit in the Athens-Berlin framework. In presenting a keen analysis of major themes and patterns of movement in the theological education debate, Between Athens and Berlin itself makes a significant contribution to the debate.
Download or read book Transforming Theological Education 2nd Edition written by Perry Shaw and published by Langham Global Library. This book was released on 2022-01-31 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For several decades concern has been expressed about the need for greater integration and contextual significance in the curricular design of theological education. In addition, there has been a growing awareness of the role theological schools should play in strengthening the missional vision and practice of local churches. Drawing on Dr. Perry Shaw’s experience as faculty member, educational engineer, and acting academic dean for Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, Transforming Theological Education provides theoretical foundations and practical principles for purposeful curriculum design, as well as tools for facilitating integrated and contextually significant learning in the classroom. This updated second edition has been reorganized for thematic clarity and expanded to provide a stronger foundation for thinking theologically – rather than just educationally – about theological education. It also contains a wider range of curricular examples from innovative theological programs around the world, along with practical advice for implementing change in change- resistant environments. This handbook continues to be a one-of-a-kind resource for theological educators and all those involved in Christian leadership training.
Download or read book What to Expect in Seminary written by Virginia S. Cetuk and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-08-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In What to Expect in Seminary, Virginia Samuel Cetuk looks at the various facets of theological education -- the call to ministry, classroom learning, community life, field education, financial realities, time-management challenges -- through the lens of spiritual formation. In each chapter she challenges readers to view the particular topic as an avenue to spiritual growth instead of as an obstacle to the same. Offering readers the conceptual tool of reframing, she draws upon psychology, Scripture, and her many years' experiences in theological education to help readers see both the challenges and the rich opportunities of theological education related to ministry and spiritual formation.
Download or read book Exploring Christian Theology Volume 3 written by Nathan D. Holsteen and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2014-01-21 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dallas Seminary Professors Make Basic Theology Accessible for All Theology doesn't have to be complicated. In this book, trusted Dallas Seminary professors present a concise systematic theology that distills the essential spiritual truths in a way that makes sense to readers--students, lay people, and pastors. Here are introductions, overviews, and reviews of key tenets of orthodox protestant evangelical doctrines. The book also includes an annotated list of key applicable Bible texts, a quick-paced story of doctrine throughout church history, heresies or distortions to be aware of, and more. Exploring Christian Theology is useful for discipleship, catechism, membership training, preview or review of doctrine, or quick personal reference. It can also be used by ministry training programs, Bible colleges, or seminaries as an introductory primer to orient students in preparation for a more in-depth study of theology.
Download or read book Notes of a Native Daughter written by Keri Day and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-17 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bearing witness to more liberating futures in theological education In Notes of a Native Daughter, Keri Day testifies to structural inequalities and broken promises of inclusion through the eyes of a black woman who experiences herself as both stranger and friend to prevailing models of theological education. Inviting the reader into her religious world—a world that is African American and, more specifically, Afro-Pentecostal—she not only uncovers the colonial impulses of theological education in the United States but also proposes that the lived religious practices and commitments of progressive Afro-Pentecostal communities can help the theological academy decolonize and reenvision multiple futures. Deliberately speaking in the testimonial form—rather than the more conventional mode of philosophical argument—Day bears witness to the truth revealed in her and others’ lived experience in a voice that is unapologetically visceral, emotive, demonstrative, and, ultimately, communal. With prophetic insight, she addresses this moment when the fastest-growing group of students and teachers are charismatic and neo-Pentecostal people of color for whom theological education is currently a site of both hope and harm. Calling for repentance, she provides a redemptive narrative for moving forward into a diverse future that can be truly liberating only when it allows itself to be formed by its people and the Spirit moving in them.
Download or read book Young Restless No Longer Reformed written by Austin Fischer and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-01-13 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does it really matter? Does it matter if we have free will? Does it matter if Calvinism is true? And does what you think about it matter? No and yes. No, it doesn't matter because God is who he is and does what he does regardless of what we think of him, just as the solar system keeps spinning around the sun even if we're convinced it spins around the earth. Our opinions about God will not change God, but they can change us. And so yes, it does matter because the conversations about free will and Calvinism confront us with perhaps the only question that really matters: who is God? This is a book about that question--a book about the Bible, black holes, love, sovereignty, hell, Romans 9, Jonathan Edwards, John Piper, C. S. Lewis, Karl Barth, and a little girl in a red coat. You've heard arguments, but here's a story--Austin Fischer's story, and his journey in and out of Calvinism on a trip to the center of the universe.
Download or read book A Little Book for New Theologians written by Kelly M. Kapic and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-07-05 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whenever we read, think, hear or say anything about God, we are doing theology. Yet theology isn't just a matter of what we think. It affects who we are. In the tradition of Helmut Thielicke's A Little Exercise for Young Theologians, Kelly Kapic offers a concise introduction to the study of theology for newcomers to the field. He highlights the value and importance of theological study and explains its unique nature as a serious discipline. Not only concerned with content and method, Kapic explores the skills, attitudes and spiritual practices needed by those who take up the discipline. This brief, clear and lively primer draws out the relevance of theology for Christian life, worship, mission, witness and more. "Theology is about life," writes Kapic. "It is not a conversation our souls can afford to avoid."
Download or read book Welcome to Theological Field Education written by Lee Carroll and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010-12-21 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Field education is an opportunity for students to develop ministry skills, practice ministerial reflection, discern their call, experience professional collegiality, and undergo personal transformation. Field education offers them a place to practice ministry and a space to reflect on it, to integrate theory and practice, and grow towards competency. In Welcome to Theological Field Education! eleven directors of field education in seminaries and divinity schools across North America pass on their wisdom to both students and their supervisors. Edited by Matthew Floding, director of field education at Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan, this volume covers critical topics such as the art of supervision and formation, the use of case studies and peer reflection groups, self-care and ministerial ethics, and assessment. Formation for ministry is especially challenging at this time in the church's life. First, the explosion of knowledge, pluralism, and consumerism and a host of other complicating factors make huge demands on what a minister must know to be effective in ministry. Second, with the erosion of thick religious subcultures, the novice minister has fewer sources of practical wisdom to draw upon. The next generation of ministers, if they are to be more fully formed for ministry, depends on skilled mentoring alongside wise supervisors. This book is the tool to help them make the most of their field education experience.
