Theological Education In Africa Research Articles

From Crossroads to Holistic Impact: Charting a Praxical Course for Transforming Theological Education in Africa

Theological education in Africa is currently at a crossroads and requires a thorough re-evaluation. The framework for teaching and learning introduced by missionaries during colonial times, which often prioritized Western perspectives and ignored indigenous African contexts, does not adequately address the complex issues and needs of African communities today. As a result, the impact of theological practice lacks both relevance and sustainability within grassroots communities. There is therefore a need for a theological framework that is more relevant, contextual, and responsive to the realities and aspirations of African people in the present context. This article advocates for the decolonization of theological education for a praxical approach rooted in lived experiences. It is essential to firmly anchor theological reflection and action in African traditions in order to effectively address contextual issues. This calls for action beyond academic reform towards meeting the pressing needs of the population. This article sheds light on the inadequacies of the colonial framework within theological education, serving as crucial indicators for holistic and sustainable transformation within the field. Case studies drawn from theological institutions, and local churches from selected countries in East, Central and Southern Africa provide nuanced insights into the importance of this transformative process.

Marilyn Naidoo (ed.) 2021. Making Connections:

Theological education has a remarkable impact on the Christian leadership, mission, and other ministries of the congregations. Therefore, it is of utmost significance to regularly review theological discourse, curriculum, pedagogy, and institutional systems (pp. 4, 35). The book mentioned above is one of the seminal works edited by Prof Marilyn Naidoo concerning the development of theological education in Africa. It explores how integration within African theological education is understood and can be implemented by applying appropriate theological, philosophical, and pedagogical tools (pp. 4, 6).

Hashtagged and Black? A South African Black Theological Engagement from Stellenbosch with Contemporary Student Movements

Hashtag movements, also amongst contemporary student movements, present a new charge towards decolonization. This also happens at the Faculty of Theology of Stellenbosch University. The group also identified as a Black collective. This contribution argues that this charge is therefore at a deeper level, directed at older generations of Black theologians, and this is assessed critically through a reading of some proponents of third-generation South African Black theologians. It is concluded that there needs to be a conscious nurture of creative tension and challenge, transformative encounters to decolonize theological education in Africa.

Shifting Centres of Christian Vitality

Abstract This article highlights for African Pentecostal Christianity some implications of the current shift in the centre of Christian vitality to the south, as well as the rapid growth of Pentecostalism. Through a qualitative analysis of the activities of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement in Africa, the article explores the implications of the two phenomena for Pentecostal-Charismatic theological education in Africa as well as African Pentecostal-Charismatic leadership. The article concludes by inviting both scholars and practitioners of Pentecostal-Charismatic mission in Africa to take advantage of the opportunities and at the same time confront the challenges facing Pentecostal mission on the continent.

Making Connections: Integrative Theological Education in Africa, M. Naidoo

Stellenbosch: SUNPRess, 2021. xiv + pp.180 ISBN 978-1-991201-46-1

Integrative networking for theological education in Africa

No abstract available.

Making Connections

Theological education has a remarkable impact on the Christian leader-ship, mission, and other ministries of the congregations. Therefore, it is of utmost significance to regularly review theological discourse, curriculum, pedagogy, and institutional systems (pp. 4, 35). The book mentioned above is one of the seminal works edited by Prof Marilyn Naidoo concerning the development of theological education in Africa. It explores how integration within African theological education is understood and can be implemented by applying appropriate theological, philosophical, and pedagogical tools (pp. 4, 6).

Theological education, spiritual formation and leadership development in Africa: What does God have to do with it?

Theological education, spiritual formation and leadership are all contested issues in the Church, especially within the African context. Although these topics are thoroughly discussed, the relation and the interdependence are not always clear. This article discusses these topics in relation to each other and in relation to the One who calls servant leaders to guide his church for her service in the world. The importance of the local church as missional church is emphasised in the article. Thus, what the faith community believes and teaches about God determines our ecclesiology, theological education and leadership. What does God have to do with theological education, spiritual formation and leadership development in Africa? The answer is everything! The article used a literary study to research the relationship between the different topics and the church and concluded that dependence exists between them.Contribution: Much is written on theological education in Africa. However, students come into theological education with an already established spirituality formed by other agents. The article contributes to the discussion about the relation between formal theological, spiritual formation and leadership. It emphasises the relation between the theological institution and the local church.

Emerging apologetics Themes in contemporary African youth ministry: A Kenyan perspective

Contemporary Christian ministry and theological education in Africa cannot neglect her children and young people. Engaging effectively with the children and youth in Africa’s cities presents a rising challenge to scholars and practitioners. In addition to the developmental issues surrounding children and youth, there are worldview issues at play among young people. Urban African cities like Nairobi contain a mixture of African traditional religious worldviews, modern worldviews, and postmodern worldviews. This means that Christian ministry with the emerging generations will often take an apologetic mode. The scholarly literature on apologetics in the continent is scanty. Further, much of the research is merely theoretical and lacks empirical insight from practical ministry. This article will use an empirical methodology among African church leaders to collect salient themes in the discipline and practice of apologetics and draw conclusions for ministry and theological education.

Theological education and the COVID-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Malawian perspective

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought a unique disruptive moment of unprecedented proportions in world history affecting all spheres of life. Theological education in Malawi, Sub-Saharan Africa, has not been spared in experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study argues that the effectiveness of theological education in Africa contributes towards the future of Christianity on the continent, because it serves as a foundation for a vibrant missional church. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities for creativity and innovation which could ensure the survival and sustainability of theological education in Africa. It is therefore crucial to critically reflect on how the provision of theological education in Malawi in particular, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, in general, can be sustained during the uncertain and challenging times when the COVID-19 pandemic is devastating the African continent and the entire world. This article investigated the challenges and opportunities for theological education in Malawi in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In view of this, the following five objectives emerged: (1) to evaluate the Malawi government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) to discuss the history and importance of theological education in Africa; (3) to examine the challenges of theological education in Malawi in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; and (4) to assess the prospects of theological education in Malawi in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative research methodology was used, namely a literature review and interviews with members of the faculty of theological institutions in Malawi. Six main findings were established: First, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented both challenges and opportunities for theological education in Africa. Second, the effectiveness of theological education in Africa has contributed towards the future of Christianity on the continent. Third, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the dominant models of theological education in Africa. This entails a shift from face-to-face teaching to online teaching and learning. Fourth, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities for the sustainability of theological education in Africa. Fifth, theological education has encountered misleading theologies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixth, theological education has the opportunity of constructing life-giving theologies in Africa. This study has two implications: (1) navigating the changing terrain of theological education in Malawi; and (2) theological education’s employment of digital technologies during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.Contribution: This study has contributed to the discourse of theological education in Africa by providing solutions to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Book Review: Making connections: Integrative theological education in Africa

Acta Theologica is the official and accredited theological journal of the Faculty of Theology of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Acta Theologica is an accredited South African journal publishing independently reviewed research articles on broad Christian-theological and religion topics, aimed at a national and international academic audience/readership. The Editorial Board accepts and considers for possible publication articles in English, written from a responsible point of view on subjects in a relevant field of study within the Christian-theology science. The opinions expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board. Acta Theologica appears bi-annually. Occasional monographs or longer contributions are published in a concurrent series of Supplementa.

An Africanised theological education

The transformation of theological education in the context of Africa has motivated this research. It discusses ways an Africanised theological education could help integrate knowledge with understanding and wisdom. The article stresses the need for theology students to be given more time for practical learning. It also stresses that epistemological diversity should be adopted so that nobody’s knowledge acquisition preference is neglected. It also stresses the need for theological education to help students to be integrated into their cultural diversity. It finally stresses that students be exposed through teaching to their African predecessors for inspiration. It concludes that a meaningful Africanised theological education is possible if steps are taken to integrate the above-mentioned points it stressed into theological education in Africa.

‘To Engage in God’s Mission of Struggle for Abundant Life’: Nyambura Jane Njoroge’s Ecumenical Theological Education Vision for African Christianity

Nyambura Jane Njoroge is one of the most courageous, impeccable and emancipatory African theological voices who have engaged in the unceasing search for transforming theological education in Africa. This article takes an appreciative inquiry in engaging Njoroge as a lens to conceptualize what is seen as her main concern in ecumenical theological education for African Christianity. The second aim is to investigate what she has perceived to be significant and how that has continued to influence her theological thought.

Towards a missional hermeneutic informing missional ecclesiology and transformative theological education in Africa.

Towards a missional hermeneutic informing missional ecclesiology and transformative theological education in Africa.

A missional hermeneutic for the transformation of theological education in Africa

The wide acceptance and maturation of the theology of missio Dei is the most important development in the theology of mission in recent times. It introduced a radically new understanding of mission and theology, and flowing from that a re-appropriation of ecclesiology. Mission studies are also characterised by a new appreciation of mission from the margins: liberation theology and the associated discourses on decoloniality, deep engagement in contextuality and the explosion of missional ecclesiology (missional church). This apostolic orientation of the church is of the utmost importance in the reflection on the future of theology. This research attends to the postcolonial discourse as an important critique of colonialism and understands the emancipation of Africanised or decolonised theological education as an inevitable and positive development. Contextual sensitivity, attention to diverse power structures and a predisposition to appreciate diversity open imaginative possibilities for theological education. This leads to the argument that decolonial African theology must confront issues of biblical hermeneutics. The proposal of this research is that missional hermeneutic is an excellent starting point. It describes the contours of a missional hermeneutic, attending to mission as central to the Biblical story, the meaning of mission and the conviction that reading Scriptures constitutes an essential part of missional praxis. Missional hermeneutic is a centring vision and purpose for theological education. The argument is for a missional curriculum that defines a centre that unifies the various disciplines, one that places mission and missiology at the heart of theological education.

The Decolonising content of African Theology and the Decolonisation of African Theology: A Decolonial Analysis

This article offers an analysis of the decolonising content of selected African Christian theologians namely, Kwame Bediako, John Mbiti, Jesse Mugambi and Mercy Oduyoye. Given their self-conscious and deliberate critique of western and missionary theologies, these African theologians were not only in the vanguard of theological decolonisation but also initiated a species of post-colonial African theology. Given the limitations of these theologies and on the basis of the African critique of the myth of postcoloniality, contemporary critiques of postcolonialism and recent calls for the decolonisation of theology and theological education in Africa, this contribution argues for the significance of the decolonial epistemic perspective in African Christian theology. In charting a decolonial trajectory, the article further highlights possible challenges which decolonial imagination may pose to a traditioned discipline such as theology.

Theological education in tropical Africa: An essay in honour of Christina Landman and a Kenyan perspective

Christina Landman is a professor of Theology at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion, University of South Africa. As an East African serving under her as a research fellow at the Research Institute of Theology and Religion since 2014, and as somebody whose articles have been published in the two journals where she has been the editor, I can only honour her by contributing to her festschrift and in basing my reflections on my understanding of theological education in tropical Africa, where she plays a critical role – despite my bias towards East Africa, and Kenya in particular. In other words, the goal of this article is to focus on the future of theological education in Africa, with special reference to Eastern Africa, and Kenya in particular. How has Africa journeyed with theological education since its inception in the 19th and 20th century? How is it reflected in the academic institutions of higher learning, in ministerial training, in general academic contexts and in local congregations (churches)? Is it Africanity without ethics? Does it have a future? In addressing these concerns, the article employs historic-analytical design in its endeavour to assess the efficacy of theological education as an agent of social transformation in 21st-century Africa. Considering that Africa cannot be identified as a single geocultural context and/or as a monolithic entity, the article builds its case by mainly referring to the Kenyan context. Its methodology includes an extensive literature review of some materials that are connected to theological education, participant observation and personal reflections as an educationist in an African context. The methodology will also include the Protestant divinity school that was established in Frere Town, Mombasa, and later shifted to Limuru, Central Kenya, in 1929. It is set on the premise that the future of theological education in Africa is guaranteed by the growing interest in theological education among the youth, especially in the 21st century.

The Goodhall-Nielsen Report and the Formation of the United Church of Zambia Theological College

Following resolutions of the World Missionary Conference of May 1948, Norman Goodhall and E. W. Nielsen were assigned by the International Missionary Council to conduct a survey of theological education in southern Africa. The present article discusses the Goodhall-Nielsen report and its recommendations for theological education in Africa. It reflects on how the Goodhall-Nielsen report inspired the formation of the United Church of Zambia Theological College at Mindolo mission station in Zambia. The article traces the development of this college and its search for a paradigm shift in theological education and ministerial formation.

Africanisation as an agent of theological education in Africa

This article focuses on the response of Africanisation to Western theological education in Africa, which has for centuries become a theological problem for the African context. In this 21st century, Africanisation is at the centre of the African discourse and focuses on the realities of our African context. Therefore, theological education in Africa should be Africanised in order to seriously engage the aspects of Africanisation. The struggle against colonial education was to ensure that Africa is liberated from unjust educational oppression, socio-economic oppression, poverty, racism, political oppression and gender injustice. In this regard, Africanisation is an agent to address the introduced Western theological education in Africa. Yet the two concepts, namely commercialisation and commodification, have an influence on theological education in Africa.

Christian ministry and theological education as instruments for economic survival in Africa

There is a conflict over whether Christian ministry and theological education should be pursued with an expectation for economic survival. The rise of Christian ministry practice emphasising wealth and prosperity has heightened commodification of the Christian ministry. Church ministry and theological education are being used as instruments for economic profit. The link between theological education and Christian ministry, among other things, is that church practices and ministry expressions reflect the underlying theology. In such a situation, this article reflects on the following questions: How are Christian ministry and its undergirding theology being utilised as instruments of economic prosperity in Africa? What is the theological education approach that is employed to support this ministry approach? The article attempts to establish an understanding of ministerial practise that has biblically and theologically informed views of material wealth. It begins by examining the traditional missionary model of ministry as a sacrificial act and responses by African clergy. This is followed by examination of the development of the view of ministry as a means of economic survival and commodification of ministry and theological education in Africa. It concludes by providing an evaluation and proposing a way forward.