Challenging the Status Quo in Theological Education in Asia

Abstract

Asia is in a constant flux of rapid socio-economic changes. The church is growing rapidly and there is a need for competent, confident and spiritually matured pastors and leaders. The curriculum for theological education in Asian seminaries is often based on the traditional classic fourfold content of biblical studies, systematic theology, church history, and practical theology. There is a tendency for these institutions to focus strongly on content in their curriculums. Their approach to teaching is usually instructional schooling which is the proven pedagogy for content transmission. Unfortunately instructional schooling has been proven not effective in producing graduates capable of complex decision making, creative thinking, reflective in actions, and life long learning. These are essential qualities for spiritual leadership in the information age. Problem based learning (PBL) with its track record in medical education offers the pedagogy to develop these qualities. Seminaries in Asia should seriously consider a radical paradigm shift in curriculum redesign following the Problem based Learning (PBL) pedagogy.

read more

This is an article I wrote about a challenge to theological education in Asia. I have earlier blogged about some thoughts I have while researching for this article.

Are learning ancient languages useful for pastors?
Are our pastors adequately prepared for ministry?
Do theological education forms or deforms spiritual formation?

Here are some interesting comments on theological education made on blogs recently by an Asian student and a seminary lecturer.

Sze Zeng
Local theological study, church and the end of the first semester
Kar Yong
What my students think of us

Please read my article and let me know what you think.

.

Do Theological Education Forms or Deforms Spiritual Formation?

Random musings on theological education # 3: Do theological schools form or deform their students' spiritual formation?

This is continuing my series of reflections on theological education. My earlier musings were on learning biblical languages, and curriculum content. My intention is to limit my reflections to students studying to be pastors, hence the focus on M.Div in theological schools in Malaysia and Singapore.

Imagine a group of bright young people who are designated future leaders of communities. How will you train or equip them to perform their calling as leaders effectively? Do you locked them away in a community, far away from their own, for four years. In these 4 years, you teach them many subjects, the content of which they will find irrelevant when they get back to their own communities after they graduate? Or in other words, are students spiritually formed or deformed by their study for the degree of M.Div in local theological schools?

There are some lecturers and professors of theological schools who claim the spiritual formation of their students in preparation for pastoring must be done full time on campus for four years. Hence the resistance of M.Div being offered as part-time, off campus course. The rationale is that the students needed to be living in a theological school community to be spiritually formed correctly. While there is no proof that this is indeed the case, it must be pointed out that most theological schools do put some emphasis on spiritual formation on campus; however as pointed out in an earlier post, there is little emphasis on spiritual formation in their formal curriculum. Spiritual formation on campus are assumed to occur informally.

Most informal spiritual formation activities planned involves students washing toilets and cleaning up after meals, campus community activities, small group meetings maybe once a week, prayer meetings, chapel service, and a lecturer/professor assigned to a single or a small group of students. Unfortunately students often end up as cheap labor, campus activities are social events, small groups become counseling or complaining groups , prayer meetings are not held regularly, chapel services are boring, and lecturers/professors are too busy to guide them spiritually. The students are often too burdened by their academic studies that they resent time spent in these activities. To be fair to lecturers and professors, they have a heavy teaching load. Also they are specialists in their areas of expertise (very few are specialist in spiritual formation). Hence they feel they are being asked to do more than they are required to.

The point I am making is that a campus community is an artificial environment. The students are taken away from their natural environments or communities. Four years is a long time and most returning students find themselves strangers to their own communities. An artificial communities produce a form of artificial spiritual formation. This form of spiritual formation is often disconnected from the real world outside the theological schools. Too much theological content cause students to be distanced from their own beliefs. Too much skills training make them good managers but not good shepherds. The question is whether after their time in theological schools, are they closer to God than before they began.

There is a big difference between knowing about God, and knowing God.

Spiritual formation is the process of knowing God.

.

Are Our Pastors Adequately Equiped for Ministry?

Random Musings on theological education #2 : Are the curriculum designed to equip pastor for ministry?

In random musing #1, I asked the question whether studying ancient languages (Greek and Hebrews) are essential for training of pastors who will probably not be using these languages in their ministries. Now I will ask whether the curriculum of local theological schools are designed to equip pastors for their role of being shepherd to their congregations or parachurch organisations. Here I will confine myself to the Master of Divinity (M.Div) program as it is taken by many churches as the entry level for ordination and pastoring.

The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in the United States developed the following standards for M.Div in June 1996. Since then, many of the theological schools have been revising their curriculum to conform to these standards [see Foster et al, Educating Clergy: Teaching Practices and Pastoral Imagination (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006)]. The standards are that the curriculum should consists of four equal parts:

(1) Religious Heritage - the teaching and understanding of theology, traditions, languages etc

(2) Cultural Context- understanding the culture of the church and the local context or cultural realities in which the church is in.

(3) Personal and Spiritual Formation - development in personal faith, spiritual maturity, moral integrity and public witness.

(4) Capacity for Ministerial and Public Leadership - development of skills for leadership and ability to do theological reflection on their ministries.

These four categories are essential in developing a well equipped pastor and I can see why the ATS is eager to revise their curriculum to fit it.

What about our local theological school curriculum? I did a very rough survey using information from their websites about their M.Div program, using the credit courses as a rough indicator. It must be noted that I am just looking at the formal curriculum and not the informal and null curriculum of these schools. These are established theological schools in Malaysia and Singapore.

School A has a M.Div program that require 98 credits to qualify, School B (90) and School C (114).
School A have four majors (Christian education, Biblical studies, Intercultural studies, Pastoral ministry). School C has four majors (Pastoral, Missions, Child Development, Youth).



It may be observed that in school A the major emphasis in the "Religious Heritage" category is balanced by "Ministerial and Leadership." "Religious Heritage" are often core studies in OT, NT, biblical languages, historical and theological foundations. School B seems to weigh heavily in the "Religious Heritage" category. School C is interesting because it manages to reduce the "Religious Heritage" category and give room to cultural context and spiritual formation.

The major contribution to the category "Cultural Context" comes from practicum and internship programs.

There is very little formal programs for personal and spiritual formation in these curriculum with the exception of school C. While it must be acknowledged that all three schools are aware of the importance of spiritual formation of their students, not being in the formal curriculum means that it is often not given priority or treated as an optional add-on. It also means that there is no attempt to measure or assessment its learning outcomes.

Somehow the impression from this rough survey seem to indicate that our local theological curriculum is heavy with cognitive and skills development but weak in personal and relevance. This has important implications in the type of graduates produced. This is something worth thinking about.

Addendum

Matthew Green made a similar comment on his blog, Reflections of Spiritual Formation

Are Learning Ancient Languages Useful for Pastors?

Random Musings on Theological Education #1

I know I am going to step on a few toes here as I think through some 'sacred', dare I say, 'cow' in theological education here. I am doing research and preparing a paper on theological education in Malaysia and Singapore and do value your feedback.

I wonder how useful is studying ancient Greek and Hebrews in training people who aim to be pastors. Here I am thinking of certificates, diplomas and degrees up to to M.Div level, and D.Min. Most of these are aiming for a pastoral ministry either in churches or para-church organisations. For those who aspire to M.Th or PhD, I have no argument that a knowledge in ancient languages is essential.

In my limited experience, most of the pastors and seminary graduates I know in pastoral work do not make use of their knowledge of ancient languages. In fact, they begin to forget the languages due to disuse once they have passed the required courses. Most of them prepare their sermons and teaching by use of commentaries. Often commentaries are written by people who spent their life on a single book so it will be a height of arrogance to think that a person with one or two semesters of ancient language will be able to understand the text in the original better than the scholars.

So in view of the tremendous of time and anguish spent on ancient languages in an already tight theological education curriculum, why do we insist that the students learn the ancient languages? Would the time not be better spent equipping the students to use secondary sources?

What do you think?



.

Malaysia Bible Seminary 30 years

Malaysia Bible Seminary in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia is celebrating their 30th anniversary. It is one of the pioneer theological schools in Malaysia.

Thank God for his providence and grace. May he continues to bless this seminary. Amen.

Malaysia Bible Seminary 30 years

Malaysia Bible Seminary in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia is celebrating their 30th anniversary. It is one of the pioneer theological schools in Malaysia.

Thank God for his providence and grace. May he continues to bless this seminary. Amen.

Biomedical Ethics Reader

For those who will be attending the November Institute and for others who are interested in Biomedical ethics, I have compiled a reader.

Enjoy

.

Biomedical Ethics Reader

For those who will be attending the November Institute and for others who are interested in Biomedical ethics, I have compiled a reader.

Enjoy

.

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (22)

Great Paintings from the Great Meoteron (3)

sanctification of the water

prayer

listening

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (22)

Great Paintings from the Great Meoteron (3)

sanctification of the water

prayer

listening

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (21)

Great Paintings from the Great Meteoron (3)

painting icons

holy relics

Holy Communion

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (21)

Great Paintings from the Great Meteoron (3)

painting icons

holy relics

Holy Communion

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (20)

Great Paintings from the Great Meteoron (2)

the Divine Liturgy

confession

the choir

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (20)

Great Paintings from the Great Meteoron (2)

the Divine Liturgy

confession

the choir

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (19)

Great paintings from The Great Meteoron (1)

studying the Holy Scripture

Kostas Adamos is a talented painter who painted his deep appreciation of the Greek Orthodox faith and tradition. His paintings are a reflection of this and is displayed in the Theological Galery of the Holy Monastery of the Great Metereon.

.

Following the Footsteps of St.Paul (19)

Great paintings from The Great Meteoron (1)

studying the Holy Scripture

Kostas Adamos is a talented painter who painted his deep appreciation of the Greek Orthodox faith and tradition. His paintings are a reflection of this and is displayed in the Theological Galery of the Holy Monastery of the Great Metereon.

.

Creatvity in Theological Education

Dr Geoff Pound of Theologians without Borders presented an interesting paper on Creativity in Theological Education at the recent Baptist International Conference for Theological Education (BICTE) held in Prague from 26-29 July 2008.

Read more

Creatvity in Theological Education

Dr Geoff Pound of Theologians without Borders presented an interesting paper on Creativity in Theological Education at the recent Baptist International Conference for Theological Education (BICTE) held in Prague from 26-29 July 2008.

Read more

Certificate in Child Studies (6)

Teaching a module in child studies again reinforce a conviction that I am beginning to understand in the last few years of the importance of the spirituality and spiritual formation of children. Somehow, in our busy churches, we have neglected the spirituality and spiritual formation of children, relegating them to a few volunteers running children ministries.

First, I believe that children are as important as adults in our churches. Our churches are inter-generational churches but somehow the majority of resources are given to adult focused ministries. Children ministries are sometimes not more than child care, where the children are taken care of when their parents attend worship service or church programs.

Second, I believe that children's spiritual formation starts in their mother's womb. This means that children's ministries starts at marriage counselling and continues into adult spiritual formation. In order to develop the spirituality and spirituality of children, children's ministry should include the following

• antenatal classes where the spirituality of the mothers are deepened (one cannot underestimate the role of the mother in the development of the unborn child)
• parenting classes
• ministries to 0-2 years old
• ministries to 2-5 years old
• ministries to 5-8 years old
• ministries to 9-12 years old
• ministries to teens
• ministries to university students
• ministries to young adults

There is a need to divide into these smaller groups because ministries much be appropriate to their mental and spiritual development. Age-appropriate ministries is important because of development in our understanding of stages in development of the human person. No longer must we utilise a 'one size fit all' children ministry.

Third, ministries for spirituality and spiritual formation for children should be holistic. It must be age-appropriate and relevant to the stages of their needs. Children are not little adults and should not be treated as such. Children should be introduced to Scripture, their awareness of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit through contact with God fearing adults. This means we screen our volunteers and not accept just anyone who volunteers. This also means we do not manipulate or indoctrinate the children. We must not use guilt or shame to get their co-operations.

Finally, we must be sensitive to making children 'accept Christ'. Children should be allowed to grow into their 'conversion' rather than forced either through peer pressure or adult pressure to 'accept Christ' without fully comprehending what this implies. While it will be wonderful to report on the number of 'decisions made for Christ', it will be even more wonderful to see the work of the Holy Spirit work in the lives of children.

.

Certificate in Child Studies (6)

Teaching a module in child studies again reinforce a conviction that I am beginning to understand in the last few years of the importance of the spirituality and spiritual formation of children. Somehow, in our busy churches, we have neglected the spirituality and spiritual formation of children, relegating them to a few volunteers running children ministries.

First, I believe that children are as important as adults in our churches. Our churches are inter-generational churches but somehow the majority of resources are given to adult focused ministries. Children ministries are sometimes not more than child care, where the children are taken care of when their parents attend worship service or church programs.

Second, I believe that children's spiritual formation starts in their mother's womb. This means that children's ministries starts at marriage counselling and continues into adult spiritual formation. In order to develop the spirituality and spirituality of children, children's ministry should include the following

• antenatal classes where the spirituality of the mothers are deepened (one cannot underestimate the role of the mother in the development of the unborn child)
• parenting classes
• ministries to 0-2 years old
• ministries to 2-5 years old
• ministries to 5-8 years old
• ministries to 9-12 years old
• ministries to teens
• ministries to university students
• ministries to young adults

There is a need to divide into these smaller groups because ministries much be appropriate to their mental and spiritual development. Age-appropriate ministries is important because of development in our understanding of stages in development of the human person. No longer must we utilise a 'one size fit all' children ministry.

Third, ministries for spirituality and spiritual formation for children should be holistic. It must be age-appropriate and relevant to the stages of their needs. Children are not little adults and should not be treated as such. Children should be introduced to Scripture, their awareness of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit through contact with God fearing adults. This means we screen our volunteers and not accept just anyone who volunteers. This also means we do not manipulate or indoctrinate the children. We must not use guilt or shame to get their co-operations.

Finally, we must be sensitive to making children 'accept Christ'. Children should be allowed to grow into their 'conversion' rather than forced either through peer pressure or adult pressure to 'accept Christ' without fully comprehending what this implies. While it will be wonderful to report on the number of 'decisions made for Christ', it will be even more wonderful to see the work of the Holy Spirit work in the lives of children.

.