Theological Colleges Research Articles

Developing church leaders in Kenya for transformative leadership: Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic presented the world with a new, unanticipated challenge, more scandalous than we had experienced before. For the first time in history, the world encountered the collapse of socio-religious, political, and economic structures. The closure of learning institutions, the transport sector, public gatherings, economic hubs, worship centres, and so on proved to be more hazardous than what had previously been experienced. In Kenya, the church leaders remained helpless and powerless as people, including Christians, lost their lives, businesses closed down, institutions collapsed, the socio-religious and political web crumbled. Poverty encroached into every sector of the society. The question we need is, ‘Are church leaders in Kenya and Africa a whole well-equipped to meet unanticipated emerging challenges as Covid-19 was? This study investigated whether church leaders in Kenya receive holistic training to enable them handle every situation that may come among Christians at any time. Are church leaders trained to become transformative leaders who can help their followers amidst disconcerting challenges such as Covid-19? Investigations were made at some selected universities and theological colleges in Kenya where church leaders are trained to find out whether the leadership training they receive in helps them become transformative leaders. To achieve this, the curricular of some purposely selected universities including St. Paul's University, Catholic University in East Africa, KAG-EAST University, Africa International University, Kenya Methodist University and the Presbyterian University of East Africa. 100 respondents including 50 priests/ministers/ and 50 ordinary Christians drawn from various Churches in Kenya, provided information that was used in the compilation of this article. Although the Church has remained one the main agents of change in the world over the centuries, in Kenya she has failed to offer the urgently needed socio-economic, religious and political transformation. This can largely be attributed to the church leaders' lack of transformational leadership skills. The article suggests that the intuitions where church leaders in Kenya and the rest of Africa are prepared and the in-service training should prepare them to become transformational leaders.

PERAN ORANG TUA TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN IMAN ANAK DI GEREJA KELUARGA TABGHA ALMA JAYA MALAYSIA

Parents are men and women who are bound by marriage and are ready to assume responsibility as the father and mother of the children they give birth to. Parents are two different individuals entering life together by bringing views, daily habits. The writer of Proverbs also emphasized to parents to use the "rod of discipline" with their children in guiding them to have faith in God. He who does not use a stick hates his children, but he who loves his children chastens them in time (Proverbs 13:24). It is also said that there is a time when children are so easily guided to know God. This time should be used by parents as soon as possible. “Behold your child as long as there is hope, but do not desire his death (Proverbs 19:18). The results of this research can be used as a theoretical basis regarding the role of parents in the growth of children's faith. The results of this research can be studied theoretically and academically by Theological Colleges and Christian researchers. In writing this thesis the researcher used qualitative research methods. And the author uses basic theories from various sources, namely: books and the Bible. From this research, it was found that parents have played a role in the growth of children's faith so that the results can be that children who experience growth in faith experience spiritual formation and the children provide themselves to be involved in service at the local church.

Institutional Change in the Church: A Theological Reflection

The church in many parts of the north Atlantic world is experiencing a period of institutional change as parts of the church combine with or fold into one another. This essay is a theological reflection on one such process of institutional change, namely, the work of two Canadian theological colleges to form a new ecumenical institution. That process was assisted by and deepened theological reflection on the nature of the church as the body of Christ, the importance of Christian hospitality, and the significance of people committing to other people in the context of the Christian faith. Institutional change will continue to happen in the church and must be resourced by adequate theological reflection to ensure its success.

Who is my Neighbour? Theological Education in the Global Village of the 21st Century (Responses)

Chukwuemeka Anthony Atansi’s keynote address offered a series of reflections on how the Igbo theological anthropology of the neighbour can enrich theological education in diverse contexts such as Montreal. The Igbo theological anthropology of the neighbour offers a relational understanding of the neighbour, a relationality which comprises a crucial component of Karen Finch’s response, one which argues that good pastoral education in today’s polarized world strongly resembles good ecumenical formation. For Finch, ecumenical formation is about relationality and the dialogues that this relationality provokes, and she argues that, when approached with openness and transparency, such dialogues can be truly generative for pastoral education.
 Alyson Huntly’s response offers a series of reflections about the state of theological education in Quebec, reflections which also highlight relationality, or, more precisely, the need for Western institutions, hitherto predominantly white, to re-evaluate and re-envision how they relate to – and thereby dialogue with and learn from – the “Others” who now represent a majority demographic in Quebec’s theological colleges, many of whom come from the Global South or formerly colonized nations. This, she argues, represents the path to renewal for theological education in twenty-first century Quebec.

Origins of University Federation in Canada

Abstract: This paper will examine the evolution of university federation in Canada in two periods, one from approximately 1875 to 1925, involving mainly secular instruction, and one beginning in the late 1950s and continuing into the early 21st century, involving mainly theological colleges, in both cases seeking to define different models of federation and affiliation, and the academic and fiscal motivations for each.

First Vernacular Tafsir in the Caucasus

The Azerbaijani language (also referred as Azerbaijani Turkish) is one of the most important languages of Islam in the South Caucasus region. Nowadays spoken by at least 25 million people in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran and Georgia, usage of Azerbaijani as a vernacular language has played an important role in the rise of Islamic reformism in the area during the first decade of the 20th century and, almost a century later, in the Islamic revival that has taken place since 1991. At the turn of the 20th century, two vernacular Qur’ān commentaries by Azerbaijani scholars, Kashf al-Ḥaqāʾiq ʿan Nukat al-Ayāt wa’l-Daqāʾīq (1904–1905) by Mīr Muḥammad Karīm al-Bākuwī and al-Bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān (1908) by Muḥammad Mawlā Zādah al-Shakawī, opened new avenues in the debate about the translatability and interpretation of the Qur’ān in non-Arabic discourses, as well as the status of those sources in local Islamic education. This study argues, despite the many dramatic changes brought about by atheist Soviet policies between 1920 and 1991, the impact of these two early 20th century tafsir on modern-day Azerbaijani Islamic education and scholarship has remained substantial, and their influence can be seen in everything from Qur’ānic studies courses in the current curricula of theological colleges to the most recent translations of the Qur’ān in Azerbaijan and beyond.

Relationship between Discipline Cultures and Students' Retention in Chartered Christian Universities in Kenya.

This study sought to address the Relationship between Discipline Cultures and Students' Retention in Chartered Christian Universities in Kenya. The study was based on the Students' Integration Theory by Tinto (1993) and the Cultural Model of Educational Management by Bush (2011). The descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study found that religious cultures were related to student retention (r=0.482; p=0.000). The study recommends that chartered Christian universities in Kenya take advantage of their religious cultures and develop policies to strengthen the existing cultures as they develop new ones. The study recommends further that the Ministry of Education develop policies that could facilitate student retention and review the existing guidelines on students' retention in institutions of higher learning in Kenya and beyond. In addition, studies are recommended in other Christian universities that did not start as theological colleges and other private universities in public universities to establish the relationship between religious cultures and student retention.

Analyzing The Reasons Behind Suhento Liauw's Rejection On Theological Seminary Accreditation

Since the enactment of accreditation regulations within the Theological College, there have been Christian groups that have rejected the Theological College Accreditation on theological grounds or the principles of belief held. This Christian sect has established Theological Colleges in Jakarta and West Kalimantan and even holds graduations and issues diplomas and gives academic degrees to graduates, even though they have never submitted an accreditation form to BAN-PT (National Accreditation Board-University). Then how is the existence of this Theological College in the eyes of law and education in Indonesia and the theological response based on the beliefs of the Christian faith? To answer this question, in writing this article the author conducts library research to describe the logical consequences for the Theological College Institutions that do not heed the accreditation activities.

The Educational System and Current Situation of Chinese Theological Colleges and Universities

The Educational System and Current Situation of Chinese Theological Colleges and Universities

Nurturing students’ spiritual development in secular contexts: a case study of Evangelical theological education in Australia

The awareness of secularisation may not have served as a focus for curricula development in theological education, yet it critically shapes the entire educational process influencing values and practices. Australian theological colleges need to be aware of, and alert to their secular, westernised culture that places a high premium on individual rights, personal liberty, and freedom. This article reports on an Australian study discussing the nature of secularised contexts and the relevance of evangelical theological education to these contexts, especially the role of spiritual formation as a key component to better equip theological students to deal with their secular context. The article argues for stronger awareness of, and preparedness for robust engagement with secularised contexts. It highlights the importance of engaging the influence of secularisation values in theological education.

Dampak Perkuliahan Daring terhadap Prestasi Belajar Mahasiswa Teologi Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Cipanas

[THE IMPACT OF ONLINE LECTURES ON THE LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT OF THEOLOGY STUDENTS AT THE CIPANAS THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE] The Covid-19 pandemic has "forced", the education sector is no exception for religious higher education, such as STT to change face-to-face lectures into online lectures. There are many obstacles faced by universities in carrying out online lectures, such as the lack of absorption of lecture material delivered by lecturers, poor internet connections, difficulty adapting to online lectures. Generating worry will have an impact on decreasing student achievement. Several studies on the impact of online lectures on student achievement have been carried out by several universities, but for religious universities, it is still very rare, so it is necessary to immediately conduct research related to the impact of online lectures on student achievement in religious universities. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of online lectures on student achievement in theological colleges. The research method used in this research, namely the experimental method, by comparing the average student achievement before online learning and after online learning. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the average student achievement before online learning and after online learning, where student learning achievement after online learning was higher than before online learning.

Eric Mascall and the responsibility of the theologian in England, 1962-1977

ABSTRACT Eric Mascall was one of the most prominent and prolific theologians in the Church of England in the post-war period. This article examines a series of polemical works, in which Mascall attempted to assess, and largely reject, several trends in liberal theology in the 1960s and 1970s. Mascall detected a systemic crisis in the whole relationship of theology, theologians and the Church, that reached down to the foundations of human knowledge and radiated out to the parishes, via the universities and theological colleges in which their ministers were formed. The article examines his view of the relationship of human nature, grace and the eucharistic Church, and its consequences for the theologian. Mascall’s polemics are read, as a group, for what they reveal of his understanding of the responsibility of the theologian, and how far his liberal interlocutors had, he believed, lost sight of the true shape of their vocation.

The Study of Religion and the Canadian Social Order

In his book From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study of Religion in Canada, Aaron Hughes provides a unique analysis of how the study of religion developed throughout the history of Canada by examining the evolution of its institutional context, that is, from faith-based seminaries and theological colleges to secular departments of religious studies. He situates these institutional changes in the development of the Canadian social order. In this uniquely Canadian context, the study of religion moved, Hughes notes, “from religious exclusion to secularism, from Christocentrism to multiculturalism, and from theology to secular religious studies.” While this is an important and original argument, Hughes offers only a cursory analysis of the unique developments in francophone Quebec universities (as he readily admits) and ignores the study of religion in other disciplines. Moreover, while Hughes traces the motivation for the transformation of the study of religion in the 1960s to the new ethno-religious diversity of Canada, I argue that it should be traced to a growing liberal cosmopolitanism that had infiltrated Canadian society, including its churches, seminaries, and theological colleges. Hughes does not adequately explore the religious roots of why Canadian Christians decided to secularize the study of religion. Finally, while Hughes examines patriarchy and colonialism in his analysis of the study of religion in earlier periods, he drops these topics in his discussion of the secularization of the study of religion, which did not address either of these issues sufficiently.

An Analysis of Mediators’ Conflict Resolution Strategies of Selected Africa Inland Churches in Kangundo, Kenya

The African Inland Church has undergone leadership wrangles at the national offices. These conflicts have however percolated to the local level which has resulted into schism which have caused some churches to separate completely and some factions went to courts to seek regress despite the mediation process that have taken place. The aim of this study is to analyse the mediators’ resolution strategies of selected African Inland Churches in Kangundo. The objectives of the study are to analyze which conflict resolution strategies the mediators used in handling the conflicts and if they were balanced and to map out a pragmatic way of addressing and handling related conflicts in the future. The study adopted a qualitative research design. The target population was 11 KRCC churches where members of the congregation of all categories of men, women, pastors, adult youth and leaders were purposively selected. The researcher sampled 100 respondents from the 11 churches, approximately 25% of the total churches selected. The data was collected using questionnaires, focus group and narrative interviews which were administered by the researcher. The researcher used NVIVO 11 to analyse the data. The data was thematically analysed where responses were organized according to themes with the aid of the analytical tool. The predominant strategies mostly employed by DCC/RCC going by the numbers in QSQ2 were litigation and police force. Litigation received more responses and thus was the mode. Mediation and arbitration were the second key strategy. The DCCs involved together with the RCC did these efforts to their LCCs according to the responses. But the nature of these mediations was highly critiqued by the LCC elders, pastors and congregants. The other strategies to curb the conflicts were expulsion of the pastors, dismissal of the DCC chair and closure of churches. Litigation and court orders issued to churches were not balanced. Being authoritative and not giving the LCCs time to air their views was also imbalanced. On the side of LCC, sabotage and insubordination was an avoidance mechanism to face the real issues. The study recommends that LCC should be made to participate in grass root mediation process. There should be national dialogues and outlined mediation policy procedures in AIC church concerning conflict, schisms, mediation, and conflict transformation and the theology of mediation must be re-emphasized in theological colleges and universities.

My pilgrimage in Adult Theological Education

ABSTRACT After 20 years of working in Adult Theological Education (ATE) this article has offered me the opportunity to look back and to reflect on my pilgrimage. I explore the influence of my training in and experience of teaching English as a Foreign Language on my subsequent career in ATE, highlighting pedagogical similarities between this and paper-based and online distance learning. Much of my career has been impacted by questions on, and about, faith, and I examine these through the lens of my MSc and PhD research together with a consideration of the challenges faced by theological colleges where ordinands and independent students study alongside each other but whose intellectual and faith requirements may be quite different. Finally, I look at the role of theological reflection as an important component of the process of becoming and being more ‘Christian’, more Christ-like. As my formal academic career in ATE moves into retirement, I join the two ends of the circle by becoming an Academic English Coach, able to bring together English Language teaching, theology and my academic experience in a new way which offers new possibilities for the future.

PARENTAL AND PEER INFLUENCES ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS COUNSELLING AMONG STUDENTS OF CAC THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, AKURE

Positive attitude of students towards counselling is necessary in any level of education. Many studies had investigated self-esteem, social-economic status, emotional intelligence on attitude towards counselling of students in secondary schools but not in theological colleges. This study however investigated parental and peer factors as determinants of attitude towards counselling of students in CAC Theological Seminary, Akure. All students were used for the study. Reliable instruments were used to collect information from the respondents. Parental Factors Scale (r = 0.75), Peer Influence Scale (r = 0.74) and Attitude Towards Counselling Scale (r = 0.85) were used for data collection. Pearson product moment and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The result shows that peer influence was related to (r = .365) while parental influence (r = .122) did not relate to attitude toward counselling of students in CAC Theological seminary. The independent variables jointly contributed to students’ attitude towards counselling (Adjusted R2 = 1.09, F2 = 5.261) and accounted to 13.4% contribution to attitude towards counselling. The parental influence (= -.025) did not contribute to students’ attitude towards counselling while peer influence (= 3.75) contributed to students’ attitude toward counsellings. It is recommended that parents of student should be more helpful in motivating the students to seek counselling and parents should train their children on how to associate themselves to friends who could help them to seek counsel in appropriate place for good performance in life and ministry.

Pursuing the ideal of integration in Pentecostal theological education: A case study of Pentecost Theological Seminary, Ghana.

Theological colleges aim at training well-formed, well-resourced Christian leaders who possess a compelling personality and moral authority for impactful and transformational leadership. This is achievable largely through an integrated approach to the curriculum that places equal value on the development of the “head, heart, and hands”, the institutional ideal of holding the cognitive, affective and psychomotor dimensions of theological training in equilibrium. In addition, the contextual and contemporary relevance of such a curriculum is critical for maximum effect. The initial slow and hesitant approach of the Pentecostal movement to theological education has made them dependent on other Christian persuasions for models in theological education. This article reports on an empirical study to describe and evaluate the curriculum of Pentecost Theological Seminary in Ghana, in order to appreciate the extent of integration and relevance accomplished, and to contribute to institutional efforts at further integration.

Out Of The Ashes: The Alberta Consortium For Supervised Pastoral Education Program.

In Alberta, Canada, supervised pastoral education has grown and thrived for over 50 years. In 2008, due to healthcare funding changes, it was nearly eliminated. This article describes regenerative processes by which former structures have transformed into a new configuration for supervised pastoral education program delivery, including innovative roles for spiritual care preceptors and theological colleges. Out of the ashes, a phoenix is rising. It is called the Alberta Consortium for Supervised Pastoral Education program.

Unbounding learning communities: Ako-empowered research in life-long ministerial formation

ABSTRACT While formation is an essential practice of local church communities, the formation of ministers for ordination, along with continued professional education, is generally located in the context of higher education. ‘Ako’, describing a teaching and learning relationship grounded in reciprocity, and employed as an approach to researching life-long learning needs among ordained ministers in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, challenged this separation. Research among 285 lay and ordained leaders challenged the location of postgraduate provision, not in the context of higher education but in communities of practices for living differently, with a focus on educating educators in relationally embodied ways. Educational experiments clarified ways of unbounding learning for local communities. The life of Jesus and Irenaeus’ theological anthropology of recapitulation clarified these praxis-derived discoveries. Hence theology informs an understanding of ako as reciprocity and invites a reimagining of theological colleges as facilitators of unbounded local learning communities.

The Fight against Corruption in Nigeria: A Biblical Perspective

This study investigates contemporary challenge of ways to fight corruption in Nigeria and explores into Biblical perspective in the fight against corruption. The Bible clearly shows that God is against corruption in all its ramifications and that God will bring every corrupt nation, family, or individual to judgment. The methodology adopted in the study is historical and exegetical. The result of the study reveals that proper exegesis of Biblical truth, its application and enforcement by all stakeholders will reduce corruption in any society including Nigeria. It further shows that peaceful, secured, and prosperous citizens can develop if government adequately funds and monitors quality of training in theological colleges and seminaries in Nigeria where pastors and religious leaders are trained. This study recommends adequate Biblical and theological training of pastors and religious leaders as prerequisite for a corrupt free Nigeria. These people instil morals and develop the consciences of the people any money spent to prepare them adequately for this all-important work is justifiable. This will greatly restore social order, foster economic development and reduce to the barest minimum greed and avarice that are the mother and father of corruption in Nigeria.