Religious and Theological Journals Online

ABSTRACT

Multiculturalism is less about “the pursuit of recognition,” than about “the pursuit of transformation.” After showing how western theological libraries have been impacted by major western cultural movements such as the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Enlightenment, the author challenges theological librarians to recognize how the experience of western colonialism and imperialism marginalized non-western cultures and believers. The major consequence for theological education and libraries has been to view non-western peoples as “the other,” either hiding their histories or shifting their religious experience to the margins. Sawyer reminds readers that contemporary Christianity is growing fastest “at its old ‘margins’ while diminishing in its historic ‘centers’; therefore, theological librarians must shift their collecting and their collections in response to changing needs and new categories. Otherwise, some collections will become “veritably archival, as use-rates plummet.”     

The Future of Theological Education: A Speculative Glimpse at 20321

Abstract : While the long‐term future is unpredictable, institutions need a way of seeing their work past the present. This article identifies the forces that cause change in theological schools and speculates about the characteristics that theological schools will exhibit in twenty years in light of the most significant forces that will influence them, including denominational and congregational issues, the changing racial/ethnic composition of the American population, the changing character of global Christianity, and the changing practices of American higher education.     

Pedagogical challenges in teaching ESOL/Multilingual writers in theological education

A theological school's international students contribute to and are constitutive of its diversity. Yet while research on diversity in theological education is flourishing, the pedagogical challenges of international ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) theological students and of their teachers have received scant attention. This article probes the pedagogical challenges of international student writers in theological schools, and of their teachers and tutors, by (1) reflecting on those challenges, their context, and responses to them; (2) connecting contemporary theories of ESOL language learning with the practice of teaching and tutoring non‐native English writers in a theological context; and (3) proposing a discipline‐driven, writing‐centered ESOL pedagogy that I call “Writing Theology as a Common Language.” See as well “Responses to Lucretia B. Yaghjian's ‘Pedagogical challenges in teaching ESOL/multilingual writers in theological education,’ by Steed Vernyl Davidson, Sheryl A. Kujawa‐Holbrook (with Ahsah Kyuelna and Angela Wendy Tankersley), Hyo‐Dong Lee, and Carmen M. Nanko‐Fernández, published in this issue of the journal.     

Theological Education in a New Missional Era: A Personal Journey with Seven Theses

The author's personal journey in discovering, developing, researching and practicing adult theological education in the church is rehearsed, pointing out key learning moments along the way. Out of this praxis seven theses are offered that set an agenda for theological education in the new missional era in which the church finds itself.     

Hidden Treasures in Theological Education: The Writing Tutor,the Spiritual Director,and Practices of Academic and Spiritual Mentoring

Mentoring is an important but often overlooked resource in theological education and students' academic and spiritual formation. This essay profiles the mentoring practices and postures of the writing tutor and the spiritual director as exemplars of academic and spiritual mentoring. An extended probe of this analogy affirms the integration of academic and spiritual formation as a core value in theological education; identifies mentoring in theological education as a hidden treasure fostering this integration and warranting attention as a theological practice; and re‐envisions the theological practice of mentoring under the traditional rubric of the “care of souls,” embracing the relational, educational, formational, spiritual, and rhetorical dimensions of this practice.     

Unbinding Lazarus

This article proposes a Wesleyan theological rationale and practical recommendations for revitalized theological education, particularly in university‐based schools of theology. The approach integrates a rigorous life‐long learning system that includes curricular and co‐curricular programmes and contextual learning, with a strong foundation in missional ecclesiology and contemplative, kenotic spirituality. It takes seriously the formational needs of practitioners of emergence Christianity such as the new monasticism, missional communities, and the like, so as to reflect upon best practices of theological education to resource leaders of the inherited church while offering recommendations for empowering leaders of ancient/future expressions of church.     

Well Trained Users in a Small Theological Library?

Abstract

Few published studies report on user training in theological libraries, despite the growing complexity in the task of finding theological information. This paper is a case study of the evaluation of user training in one small theological library. Using information literacy as a framework, the researcher describes his qualitative research design, then interprets the results. He found little formal evaluation. Additionally, library staff did not put together various pieces of information about the quality of user training available to them. Based on this case, the researcher proposes five lessons for other small theological libraries.     

The Context and Shape of Theological Education in Mozambique with Special Reference to Women

In Mozambique, a marked increase in evangelical churches was recorded in the 1980s. This brought the need for pastoral training into sharp focus, and many new Bible schools were founded in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, the shape and context of theological education remains rather different from other African countries, as Bible schools are mostly not accredited by the government and most schools train part‐time in the evening. As of 2017, religious studies cannot be found at universities, leaving theological training firmly in the hands of the churches and mission organizations. The training of women has become increasingly important, but they also face many challenges. To shed light on these challenges, I present the results of 52 interviews with female students at various Bible schools in Mozambique, ranging from lack of family support to the fact that theological training is perceived to be only for men and full‐time/ordained ministry.     

Pan‐African Women's Voices across Borders

This article is structured from the epistemological vantage point of framing theological education within the context of Pan‐African women's experiences of migration, where theological education is defined in the widest sense of creating knowledge, ethos, and practices from within different versions of Christian tradition, as opposed to transmitting a static corpus of knowledge. It begins by examining the deconstructive potential of Pan‐African female migrants, particularly with regard to gendered patterns and projections of theological education. It then describes and analyzes the impact of Pan‐African female migrants on the project of contextual theological education as an act of birthing and bringing to life the dimensions of seeing and interpreting the one life‐giving story through the lenses of the lamenting, celebrating, and transforming stories of many. The article concludes by presenting Pan‐African female migration as an opportunity to revisit theological education as a creative, ecumenical, and intercultural enterprise, seeing the empirical location of Pan‐African female migrants as a paradigmatic lens for revisiting theological education as intercultural enterprise, and not (exclusively) as a contextual – and hence exceptional – historic experience.     

Mainstreaming Gender in Theological Education

This article identifies themes and strategies for mainstreaming gender in theological education, based on the author's experience with theological education in Jamaica, the US, and Canada. It begins with the need to “visit the wounds” in such a way that realism about suffering can be accompanied by strategies for healing, transformation, and celebration of the reign of God already with us and in celebration of our agency to work toward it on earth as it is in heaven.     

Gemeinde transformata semper transformanda evangelio: Theological education for what?

Two factors loom large in the crisis that the church and our institutions of theological education are facing today. The first is that the traditional formulations of the gospel that we have inherited are highly problematic from both a theological and a biblical perspective. The second is a model of church that in many ways no longer responds to our present-day realities. By defining the gospel in terms of transformation and healing and embracing new forms of community, we can enable more people to be immersed in the gospel in the context of communities that are both transformed and transforming.     

Responses to Lucretia B. Yaghjian's “Pedagogical challenges in teaching ESOL/multilingual writers in theological education”

This article consists of four brief responses to Lucretia B. Yaghjian's “Pedagogical challenges in teaching ESOL/Multilingual writers in theological education,” published in this issue of the journal.     

Forum: Quilting as metaphor for theological education

How is quilt‐making both metaphor and pedagogy for early‐career faculty of theology and religion who seek to cultivate critical and creative imagination for teaching, and to probe the challenges and promises of complex identities and vocations within 21st‐century landscapes of theological education? This forum presents essays (with explanatory introduction) by five members of the 2016–2017 Workshop for Early Career Theological School Faculty, who were impelled to story their experience of being “handed over to themselves” by an “arts and craft” project which forced them to think with their hands, speak with found objects, and re‐present themselves in the form of 12 × 12‐inch quilt squares. In self‐reflexive prose, these scholar‐teachers offer through this medium a glimpse of their unexpected moments of revelatory learning, as each was pulled into deeper contemplation of their personhood, experience, know‐how, and practical wisdom, each uncovering valuable hidden sources for more expansive theological query, and each re‐thinking the possibilities for theological education and its pedagogies.     

Considerations for an Inclusive Global Theological Education

This article considers the role of theological education in developing the ministry of the church and the need for it to be relevant to the realities and needs of the people it is to serve. The article considers three factors – racism, imperialism, and tribalism – that influence theological education in different ways. It then turns to a consideration of African‐American womanist theology and African women's theology – as reflected in the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians – and the similarities between these two approaches as expressions of liberation theology and their relevance for inclusive global theological education.     

“Educating the Whole Body”: Addressing and Equipping the Imagination in Theological Education

This paper seeks to explore the relationship of the imagination to the processes of integration in theological education. It describes the way in which the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. addresses the imagination. It draws on those insights to summarise an understanding of imagination, particularly how imagination relates to conceptualisation and the naming of God. It then explores the way in which valuing the imagination effects pedagogy in pastoral theology. In conclusion, it names what might be involved in creating an environment in theological education that values and encourages the imagination.     

Developing a Public Hermeneutic for the Future of Theological Education?

Abstract : This article considers whether there is a need to develop a public hermeneutic for theological education. Churches and theological schools are rethinking the programs they are providing and other new ways to enhance their process of leadership formation for ministry. In a dynamically global context, where churches have been “disestablished”—as in Canada—the religious needs of the wider public remain important. I suggest that more attention needs to be given to the public questions of “belonging.” Perhaps a notion of public ministry as active accompaniment of people and communities provides a helpful metaphor or public hermeneutic for theological schools in charting their future.     

Theological Education as Missional Formation

Theological education is missional in nature. The disability perspective within theological education provides this missional aspect, which is vital for the growth and sustenance of the church. Since its inception, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (WCC‐EDAN) has contributed to this great mission. This paper is an attempt to understand theological education as missional formation from the perspective of disability studies, especially the contributions of WCC‐EDAN.     

Formation for the Whole Church: A New/Old Vision of Theological Education in the 21st Century

This article offers a proposal for a vision of theological education beyond the boundaries of training and teaching for traditional professional ministry roles. Particular attention will be given to the idea of education as formation and the shared role academic institutions have with congregations. Implications for reshaping definitions of student and faculty will be explored.     

Re‐Imagining Theological Education for the Twenty‐First Century: “What Has Theological Ed to do with Higher Ed?”

Abstract : In re‐imagining theological education for the twenty‐first century, Stortz examines two late‐twentieth‐century proposals for seminary education: ecumenical consortia and “clustering,” or merging seminaries within the same communion. Given the relative failure of such proposals, she explores a “back to the future” move—a return of seminaries to the church‐related colleges from which many of them sprung. The move might prove mutually beneficial on three fronts: helping the respective institutions with twin emphases on formation and professionalization, sorting through mission and identity issues, and facilitating a greater awareness of the global context which both theological and higher education serve.     

An ecological pedagogy of embeddedness: Theological education for human flourishing

This paper sets forth a proposal for an ecological pedagogy of embeddedness informed by place-based, challenge-based, and competency-based methodologies. While some theological institutions have begun implementing principles from competency-based models, theological educators have not adequately explored the resources within place-based and challenge-based systems. This paper will contribute to the literature on theological education in three distinct ways: first, this proposal will perform the oft-overlooked task of bringing these three pedagogical models into conversation with one another; second, this proposal will aim the outcomes and effects of the three pedagogical models toward the flourishing of the communities in which institutions are embedded; and third, this proposal will break new ground in its application of these three pedagogical systems to the context of a theological seminary.