Theological Education Reader

New appointment to Morling

2010-09-20T00:05:00.001+10:00

Mr Craig Robotham - BA, GDipEd, GDipIT, GDipBibMin

Distance Learning Coordinator

Craig is a trained teacher and computer programmer with expertise in instructional design, educational technology and distance learning. He is married to Shelley, has two wonderful sons, Jack and Ben, and loves reading and cinema.

Some interesting research projects:

2010-09-20T00:02:00.001+10:00

Research Projects in Progress | Bible College of Victoria

Judi Long
"Developing a method for teaching theology: incorporating insights from educational philosophy, theology and quantitative field research"

Adrian Turner
"Developing the Ministry of Adult Transformation - Andragogy meets Theology"

Between Athens And Berlin: The Theological Education Debate

2007-03-04T12:38:00.000+11:00

Between Athens And Berlin: The Theological Education Debate

2007-03-04T02:25:00.000+11:00

Between Athens And Berlin: The Theological Education Debate: "Between Athens And Berlin: The Theological Education Debate by David Kelsey"

Theological Education - Theopedia

2006-10-28T22:00:00.000+10:00

Theological Education - Theopedia

Article: Philosophers, Scribes, Rhetors . . . and Paul? The Educational Background of the New Testament

2005-09-29T09:18:00.000+10:00

Author: James Riley Estep in Christian Education Journal, Spring, 2005.

Abstract
Of increasing interest to New Testament scholars is the educational background of Paul and the early Christians. As evangelical educators, such studies also engage our understanding of the Biblical and historical basis of Christian education. This article endeavors to ascertain the early Christian community's, and particularly Paul's, assessment of education in first-century A.D. Greco-Roman culture as one dimension of the interactions between the early Christian community and its culture. It will (1) provide a brief review of passages in the New Testament that reflect or interact with the educational community of the first-century A.D., (2) Conjecture Paul's assessment of education in Greco-Roman culture, with which early Christians interacted, (3) Itemize implications of Paul's opinion on Greco-Roman education for our understanding on the formation and history of Christian education, and finally (4) Address the need for further study of the subject.
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Article: Evaluation in Christian education

2005-09-10T08:12:00.000+10:00

Author: Leona English in Christian Education Journal, Spring 2002

Abstract
Evaluation should be an integral part of Christian education, but rarely, if ever, are students and their actual learning evaluated. Rather, churches prefer to count “nickels and noses,” assessing the productivity of a program by how many people attend. This article argues that ignoring evaluation weakens the foundations of Christian education by not making educators accountable to learners or to the sponsoring bodies of our educational programs. Approaches to evaluation are considered and their applicability to church education discussed.
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Conferences: EAA Biennial General Assembly

2005-08-23T08:35:00.000+10:00

European Evangelical Accrediting Association

The EEAA General Assembly is a time where a large number of evangelical theological educators from Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western Europe meet for networking, equipping, fellowship and mutual encouragement. The EEAA General Assembly in 2005 is especially vital since the EEAA is in the process of “reinventing” itself in order to better serve European evangelical theological schools. At this assembly we will also be presenting our new Manual.

Our theme this year is “Connecting Evangelical Educators in a Changing Europe”. Our Plenary Speaker will be Dr. Michael Schluter (Relationships Foundation, Cambridge). >>more

Conference Presentation: The Transforming Power of a Learning Orientation

2005-08-06T00:16:00.000+10:00

Speaker: Ralph Enlow

European Leadership Forum: Leadership and Education Network

Transformational educators have defined educational goals (at the course, program, and degree levels) in terms of learning and they have effective means of designing, promoting, and assessing learning.

Profile: Warren S. Benson

2005-07-22T00:36:00.000+10:00

Talbot School of Theology: Christian Educators

Dr. Warren S. Benson (August 23, 1929-February 15, 2002) was recognized as a professor, pastor, scholar, and author. He was a devoted member of the Evangelical Free Church in America, but his influence extended far beyond the parameters of his own tradition. His greatest legacy continues not in his publications, but in the lives of his many students.
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Article: Megashifts in Global Tertiary Education

2005-07-14T00:11:00.000+10:00

Author: Pieter F. Theron: Synthesis of the ICETE Convention of August 2003, in High Wycombe, England.

Excerpt:
Each one of us has special mandates, we cater for specific local constituencies, and we answer to regional situations, but all of us function within the common context of tertiary education. Our local educational contexts, and our own thinking and practice are or will be affected by these emerging trends. We need to recognize these developments, understand their dynamics, and assess their implications so that we can respond proactively and creatively to them, and not be caught unawares.

We will look at these megashifts from three perspectives:

Global Trends
Global Agendas
Global Constraints

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Review: Reenvisioning Theological Education: Exploring a Missional Alternative to Current Models

2005-06-28T08:08:00.000+10:00

Author: Robert Banks: Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

Reviewer: Michael Lee, S.J. in Journal of Religion & Society

Robert Banks, the executive and academic director of the Macquarie Christian Studies Institute in Sydney, Australia, and senior international fellow at the DePree Leadership Center of Fuller Theological Seminary, has written an excellent book. It presents his vision of how theological education should be done in seminaries, Bible institutes, mission schools, lay theological centers, and church-based training programs (4). The book investigates what ministry and character formation in biblical times might contribute to our understanding of theological education, and it offers numerous practical suggestions for classroom teaching and course design (73).
Full review>>

Review: Reenvisioning Theological Education: Exploring a Missional Alternative to Current Models

2005-06-28T08:06:00.000+10:00

Author: Robert Banks: Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans, 1999.

Reviewer: Philip Turner in Christian Century, Feb 2, 2000.

Toward the end of this critique of the theory and practice of theological education Robert Banks provides his readers with an extended quotation from Karl Barth. In a speech, Barth said this of theological institutions:

Everything is in order, but everything is also in the greatest disorder. All the sails are hoisted, but no wind fills them to drive the ship.... What appears to take place there does not really take place. For what happens is that God, who is supposedly involved in all theological work,
maintains silence ..."

Yet again time has proved Barth prescient. The sheer volume of literature addressing one or another "crisis" in theological education confirms his foresight. As its title suggests, Reenvisioning Theological Education is both a critical review of a portion of this literature and yet another attempt to generate a wind to fill the sails and drive the ship.
Full review>>

Review: Theological Education in the Evangelical Tradition

2005-06-20T23:08:00.000+10:00

Authors: D. G. Hart and R. Albert Mohler, Jr.: Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1998.

Reviewer: Robert W. Paterson at In Trust, Summer 1998.

This collection of papers, presented at a Lilly Endowment-funded conference at the Institute for Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, provides penetrating insights into theological education from some of the nation’s finest theological educators, including Timothy George, Richard Mouw, and David Wells. Also contributing essays are the volume’s editors, two promising educators under the age of forty.
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Article: Theological Education - For Every One, For Every Day Life, For Every Life Stage

2005-06-16T19:34:00.000+10:00

Author: Robert Banks at Macquarie Christian Studies Institute

When most people hear the words 'Theological Education', they think of those seeking so-called 'full-time' ministry as pastors, para-church staff, and missionaries studying in a Theological College. Other forms of learning by believers who are homemakers, in the marketplace, professions and trades, or doing voluntary work are distinguished from this and called 'Christian Education'.
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Article: Theological Education: Confessional and Public

2005-06-16T18:38:00.000+10:00

Author: Charles Wood at Resources for American Christianity

Charles M. Wood has been a participant in ongoing conversations about theological education in a project developed by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. In his essay, he draws on these discussions, first, to consider what the aim, movement and structure of theological education should be and, second, to propose how theological education can and should be both confessional and public.
Full article>>

Article: Content and community: Lifelong learners in the context of small group Bible studies

2005-06-15T00:39:00.000+10:00

Author: Steve White in Christian Education Journal, Fall 2002

Abstract
There appears to be a fundamental disconnect between the predominant existing approach to religious education and the actual responsibilities Christians have to learn and grow throughout their lives. While a biblical approach to Christian growth necessarily incorporates a strong element of content acquisition, there is a great deal more involved in the process. The Bible speaks more of shepherding than teaching; more of growing than learning; more of community than classroom. This study investigates the relationship between lifelong learning and small group Bible studies in the context of religious education.
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Article: A conceptual framework for understanding self-direction in adult learning

2005-06-15T00:34:00.000+10:00

Authors: Ralph G. Brockett and Roger Hiemstra at infed

In this chapter from Self-Direction in Adult Learning (1991), Ralph G. Brockett and Roger Hiemstra argue that self-direction in learning refers to two distinct but related dimensions: as an instructional process where a learner assumes primary responsibility for the learning process; and as a personality characteristic centering on a learner's desire or preference for assuming responsibility for learning.
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Profile: Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy

2005-06-15T00:07:00.000+10:00

Excerpt from infed

A champion of andragogy, self-direction in learning and informal adult education, Malcolm S. Knowles was a very influential figure in the adult education field... perhaps 'the', central figure in US adult education in the second half of the twentieth century. In the 1950s he was the Executive Director of the Adult Education Association of the United States of America. He wrote the first major accounts of informal adult education and the history of adult education in the United States. Furthermore, Malcolm Knowles' attempts to develop a distinctive conceptual basis for adult education and learning via the notion of andragogy became very widely discussed and used. He also wrote popular works on self-direction and on groupwork (with his wife Hulda). His work was a significant factor in reorienting adult educators from 'educating people' to 'helping them learn' (Knowles 1950: 6). In this article we review and assess his intellectual contribution in this area with respect to the development of the notions of informal adult education, andragogy and self-direction.
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Review: God Our Teacher: Theological Basics in Christian Education

2005-06-04T13:38:00.000+10:00

Author: Robert W. Pazmino: Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 2001.

Reviewer: Jackie Smallbones in Christian Education Journal, Fall 2001

I have always appreciated the writings of Bob Pazmino. He is challenging, and I like to be challenged. He is thought-provoking, and I love to think. And so it was with eager anticipation that I picked up his newest book, God Our Teacher. I was immediately drawn into the book. Pazmino deals with an area I am very interested in and one that is crucial for the discipline of Christian education-theological basics. Evangelical Christian educators have been criticized for their failure to think theologically about the discipline. Therefore, I was delighted that we had a whole book struggling with this important emphasis from an evangelical perspective.
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Profile: Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge

2005-05-31T23:53:00.000+10:00

Excerpt from infed

By paying attention to Polanyi's conception of the tacit dimension we can begin to make sense of the place of intuition and hunches in informal education practice - and how we can come a better understanding of what might be going on in different situations. Significantly, his attention to passions and commitments throws fresh light on the praxis (informed, committed actions) that stand at the heart of informal education.
See the full text>>

Article: Seeing Things As They Are: The Subversive Pedagogy of a Christian Teacher

2005-05-31T00:47:00.000+10:00

Author: Thomas J. St. Antoine in Intégrité

A Philosophy of Education
Our disagreements about faith and learning are as much about learning as they are about faith. Most discussions of integration are contingent on one's educational philosophy, and conflicts about the integration of faith and learning have their origins in disagreement about the purpose of higher education. ...much professional practice is informed by one's Christianity, but it will prove difficult to train believers to act in a markedly different way without encouraging them first to think in a markedly different way.

Here is where the subversive Christian teacher flourishes. Unlike more worldly contemporary educators, Christians should be most committed to an education that helps students to see things as they are. Richard Weaver sees education as learning to properly name things (162). Newman calls a university education a 'great but ordinary means to a great but ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of society' (191). This approach to education is best described as doxological learning by Arthur Holmes in Building the Christian Academy. Doxological learning leads to 'broad education and a contemplative approach to life; it involves not just doing things or doing them thoughtlessly, but reflecting on how whatever we do in life relates to its Creator and Lord. It makes life and learning a continuous doxology of praise to God' (5). As Christian teachers, it is perfectly acceptable to be concerned with practical matters and to prepare our students for careers. Our primary concern, though, ought to be making our students more thoughtful people who relate all that they do and all that they know to the Creator.
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Resource: An Assessment Manifesto

2005-05-27T13:12:00.000+10:00

This 10-point manifesto is taken from the end section of 500 Tips on Assessment by Sally Brown, Phil Race and Brenda Smith, Kogan Page, 1996.

We state some values which we believe should underpin assessment, whatever form it takes and whatever purpose it serves. Our thinking on these values owes a debt to the work of the Open Learning Foundation Assessment Issues Group, in which we all participated, and to the values adopted by the UK Staff and Educational Development Association for its Teacher Accreditation Scheme, and Fellowship Scheme.
See the full text>>

Profile: Julie Gorman

2005-05-26T20:14:00.000+10:00

Author: Faye E. Chechowich in Christian Education Journal, Fall 2004.
Excerpt from WOMEN LEADING EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN THE LATER 20TH CENTURY: Six Women Making a Difference

Between the Academy and the Church
Dr. Julie Gorman's life is marked by one great love-her love for God. This love is embodied in her experience with His written and living Word and in her commitment to the People of God. Her devotion to God, to His Word, and to the People of God permeates her conversations, her teaching, and her strategizing. A former student, when asked about Dr. Gorman's most memorable quality, replied, 'Her love for God's Word. She does not just study or teach it, she lives it.' (Rob Gill, personal communication, June, 2004) Julie's commitment to God, His Word, and His People is also evident in her description of her role in theological education as one who 'stands between the academy and the church,' between 'the theological constructs and the practice of our faith.' (Julie Corman, interview, June 4, 2004)
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Review: Community That Is Christian: A Handbook On Small Groups

2005-05-25T01:36:00.000+10:00

Author: Julie Gorman: 2nd edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.

Reviewer: Jackie Smallbones in Christian Education Journal, Spring 2003

Community that is Christian, is a phrase I have thrown around rather too liberally, desiring it and, therefore, frequently advocating it, and yet I've never really taken time out to reflect on what exactly makes community Christian. Julie Gorman's, Community That Is Christian presented a good opportunity for this important reflection. Writing from her years of experience as a professor at Fuller Seminary and active church leader, Julie Gorman challenged me to pause, indeed, wake up, and think about Christian community.
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Article: John Wesley meets Malcolm Knowles: was the class meeting andragogical?

2005-05-23T23:40:00.000+10:00

Authors: Clair Allen Budd and Ronald W Freeman in Christian Education Journal, Fall 2004

To what degree did Wesley employ principles identified more recently as 'andragogical' by Malcolm Knowles? The present study utilizes a methodology of philosophical analysis of John Wesley's class meeting against the backdrop of Malcolm Knowles's concepts of andragogy as a way of thinking about engaging adults as learners. The paper describes the principles of andragogy as developed by Knowles, and then analyzes the practices of the class meeting as formulated by Wesley against these andragogical principles. Finally, conclusions and implications are offered for contemporary small group ministry for adults.
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Review: Practical Wisdom: On Theological Teaching and Learning

2005-05-19T16:14:00.000+10:00

Editor: Malcolm L. Warford: Peter Lang, NY, 2004.

Review by Carol E. Lytch in Christian Century Feb 22, 2005.

I believe I had a rare experience in my doctoral program in theology. I was given a seminar on the art of teaching. Often the challenge of mastering a discipline is so great that no attention is paid to this main activity of the theological professor's vocation. I still remember a comment that was made during the seminar: 'Teaching is imparting knowledge; helping people to learn means teaching them to teach themselves.' That valuable distinction became increasingly important to me as I entered the teaching profession. Practical Wisdom: On Theological Teaching and Learning offers theological educators the opportunity to reflect on their vocation.
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The entire book is now online here.

News: Dr. Peter Jensen on Theological Education

2005-05-19T10:45:00.000+10:00

European Leadership Forum - European Theologians Network:

Dr. Peter Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, a keynote speaker at the forum, will also be running two sessions on Theological Education.

In theological education, the correct order is first faculty, second library, third campus. The key question therefore, is who teaches? Where do they come from? How are they prepared for what they do? The current favoured method of recruitment from the ranks of Ph Ds from graduate school is misconceived. Among other defects, it promotes specialisation on the faculty and hence in the syllabus, when the syllabus needs to have a central focus, namely the knowledge of God. This forum is devoted to the nature of a theological education, which will develop preachers of God's word who will pastor God's people. It develops the insights above and shows their practical relevance to the task of shaping the ministers of the new covenant.

Dr. Jensen is also the former Principal of Moore Theological College, Sydney. The forum will be held in Sopron, Austria, June, 2005.

Websites: The Disseminary: Wisdom wants to be free

2005-05-19T01:02:00.000+10:00

The Disseminary Home and News

The Disseminary stands for an approach to education and educational materials apart from the constraints of institutional education: credits, fees, restrictive copyright limitations, grades, and other limitations. The project envisions a variety of educational resources offered at no charge, for no formal credit. Such resources may in the long run include publications, asynchronous seminar discussions (kept available in archives), chats, interviews, audio and video recordings.

Review: On Being a Christian in the Academy: Nicholas Wolterstorff and the Practice of Christian Scholarship

2005-04-30T00:09:00.000+10:00

Author: Andrew Sloane: Paternoster Press, 2003.
Review by Erich von Dietze in Australian Theological Book Reviewer

Readers seeking a simple ‘how to’ book about being a Christian within a university setting will not find what they are looking for here. Sloane offers a far more significant exploration about what it means to participate in intellectual inquiry from a Christian perspective. The framework for this exploration is found in a philosophical investigation of Nicholas Wolterstorff’s contributions to scholarship in general and to epistemology (from a Christian perspective) in particular.
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Call for Papers: Adult Education For The Laity

2005-04-24T18:29:00.000+10:00

Journal of Adult Theological Education, Winter 2005.

Deadline 15 May 2005 (must be received by this date) REACH.

We are inviting submissions for a special issue of the Journal of Adult Theological Education that focuses on the education of laity. The Journal provides a refereed, scholarly, written forum for the dissemination of research on all areas affecting the education of adults. This issue will feature North American and Australian writers and will be published in early 2006. Education of the laity occurs in a number of formats: formal for-credit programs, either in schools of theology or church sponsored diploma programs; nonformal seminars, workshops and retreats; and informally through homilies, dialogue, mentoring and self-directed learning projects. This issue focuses on the adult education questions that undergird this educational and learning experience.

Conference: Redeeming the Academic Mind

2005-04-22T15:28:00.000+10:00

The weekend conference is designed to encourage Christians to critique contemporary culture and will be suitable for all Christians who are or have been involved in undergraduate study and who desire to communally develop distinctive Christian scholarship.

There will be an opportunity for those interested to present papers, the application needs to be received by 16 April 2005

Welcome

2005-04-19T07:00:00.000+10:00

Welcome to a blog about Christian theological education and Christians and adult education. I am seeking to encourage Christians to approach adult learning more rigourously and more intentionally.

I believe we need to be continously asking how we can better prepare ourselves, our students and our congregations to understand the Bible, Theology and our world, within the overarching context of Christ's revealed purpose.