Dietrich Werner, David Esterline, Namsoon Kang and Joshva Raja, editors, The Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity: Theological Perspectives, Ecumenical Trends, Regional Surveys.

Oxley, Simon

Dietrich Werner, David Esterline, Namsoon Kang and Joshva Raja, editors, The Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity: Theological Perspectives, Ecumenical Trends, Regional Surveys, Oxford, Regnum Books International, 2010, xxix+770 pp, GB49.95 [pounds sterling].

In the course of my life, particularly my service with the World Council of Churches (WCC), I have encountered theological education in many contexts, with a mixture of delight and despair. Delight where I encountered creative and lively engagement, often with few resources. Despair where I felt that, instead of helping students learn how to do theology and be church in their own context, the priority was developing prestigious institutions and unsustainable buildings or memorizing theological issues of previous centuries and another continent.

It was with the hope of delight that I received the review copy of The Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity. As might have been expected, given those on the list of 97 contributors, the Handbook contains plenty of creative thinking and practice, together with a commitment to ecumenical formation. The Handbook emerged from the process of preparation for the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of Edinburgh 1910 through collaboration between the Ecumenical Theological Education programme of the WCC, the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI), the Institute for Cross-Cultural Theological Education of McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, and the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Birmingham. It is a significant as well as a sizeable work.

The editors' objectives are expressed in the titles of the parts into which the Handbook is divided. 'Theological Education in Global Context: Issues and Themes' (Part I) consists of 39 articles, including the historical development of theological education, and issues such as mission, gender, race, ecumenism, contextualization, accreditation, quality, communication, spirituality, interfaith dialogue, disability, and HIV/AIDS. There are also considerations of methodologies and models, libraries, partnerships and funding. 'Regional Surveys of Developments in Theological Education since 1910' (Part II) consists of 26 articles from across the regions of the world. 'Theological Education from Denominational and Confessional Perspectives' (Part III) has 15 articles considering theological education in the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Messages, Baptist, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. Last, but not least, for the benefit of those who wish to undertake further exploration, there is a long list of relevant websites.

It is difficult to do justice to so many articles, many of which arise from specific experiences and contexts. Therefore the review will pick out some of the broad themes that emerge. Page numbers are given as examples where discussion on issues may be found. It would have made it easier for readers to identify themes across different contexts had there been a topical index.

The term 'theological education' may be interpreted in different ways--from the formation of religious identity and character within the Christian community to the specialist education for those entering the professional ministries of the church (p. 119). The Handbook concentrates on the latter, although it must be said that for over four decades, the WCC has recognized that there is no theological justification for distinguishing between Christian education, ministerial training and laity formation. The Introduction emphasizes that theological education is vital to the future of world Christianity (p. xxv) and, in one of the three Forewords, Ofelia Ortgea points to the long-standing concern of the ecumenical movement for quality, authenticity/contextualization, and creativity of methodology and models (p. xix).

Steve de Gruchy has left us in his debt by stating plainly that theological education involves an orientation towards the world, furthering God's purpose in life, learning from engaged praxis and being intentionally interdisciplinary (pp. 42-44). These are themes that run through the Handbook. Learning needs to be contextualized, but there also needs to be an inter-contextuality--exposure to more than just one way of conceiving the world, God and theology (p. 126). Learners should be equipped to engage critically and to appreciate the faithfulness of the past while rejecting cultural captivities, compromises and reductionisms (p. 53). However, criticality does not imply treating all contexts or cultures is as if they were inherently sacrosanct (p. 131). Contextual theological education requires a 'democratic classroom' where all are able to contribute and where divergencies of opinion stimulate discussion (p. 134).

One analysis of the current situation is that the theological curriculum is in disarray, with minimal integration among the disciplines and a tendency to functionalism (p. 189). There is no concern that theological knowledge has been fragmented or for the transformative impact of theological education (p. 287). Faculty need to be able to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary style, offering rather than protecting 'their fragments of knowledge', which 'blows up the traditional patterns of ex-cathedral of teaching' (p. 291). Theological Education by Extension (TEE) offers a different pattern of theological education, but may suffer from the same faults. A perceived conflict between TEE and residential institutions may offer an opportunity for mutual improvement (p. 261). There is also some exploration of the possibilities of online and hybrid theological education (p. 298).

The WCC has long had a concern for women in theological education, both as students and as teachers. The process of engendering theological education has challenged the powerful Western theological model, widened access for all and made the curriculum life affirming for both men and women (p. 61). It has also reinforced the need for a paradigm shift to an integrated, holistic approach and an interdisciplinary pedagogy (p. 73).

The discussion on spiritual formation raises the positive need for the development of the whole person (p. 187), but also recognizes that students are not to be shaped according to some preordained pattern (p. 188). Processes that engage the affective and produce spiritual growth require a re-examination of educational assumptions, methodologies and contexts where knowledge is viewed as instrumental and not as an end in itself (p. 200). A successful theological institution will integrate beliefs and practices articulated and see study, prayer and service as a complex whole (p. 193).

If spirituality should naturally run through theological education, other themes have also claimed a place. As ecumenism is about the whole inhabited earth, our relationship to people of other faiths must be taken seriously (p. 203). This view implies not only learning about religions but acquiring the basic tools and knowledge of dialogue (p. 217). With HIV/AIDS, it is more than medical awareness but theological reflection and gender transformation (p. 248). Similar comments are made about people with disabilities (pp. 230-41). With each of these topics, there is a tension between having dedicated modules that ensure in-depth study and a permeation of the curriculum that mainstreams the issues. With all of them, the theological institution has to model good practice in its life, policies and staffing.

Faculty tend to be appointed to theological institutions on the basis of their academic credentials in an appropriate discipline. Yet the demands of theological education highlighted above require the ability to facilitate learning as much as to impart specialist knowledge. The former WCC Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation drew attention to the necessity for theological educators to be educators, and therefore the need for training to be developed. I noted only one article that emphasized such a need (pp. 701ff).

Educational excellence has often been identified only with standards set by dominant institutions of higher education (p. 281). This situation raises the question of how accreditation can assure quality in theological education without distorting values and objectives (p. 149). The ability to think creatively and critically and put ideas into practice needs to be assessed, as does the whole person with their skills and abilities, and not just their theological knowledge in the formation of ministers. Even though it may be difficult, Christian values should not be used as an excuse for not attempting to achieve high quality (p. 151).

One of the strengths of the ecumenical movement's concern for theological education has been the establishment and support of regional associations. The work of the Association of Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA) (pp, 386 and 404) and of the South Pacific Association of Theological Schools (SPATS) (p. 450) illustrates the value of such associations in areas such as resource sharing, accreditation standards and faculty development.

Christians in the West and South would do well to read the chapters in the section on theological education in Eastern and Central Europe (pp.514-47). The trials and tribulations of theological education in the 20th century, and the consequences for the churches, need to be understood if there are to be sympathetic relationships with the churches of that region.

One of the problems of reviewing a book such as this is that the reviewer may have deeper knowledge of the subject matter of some articles. It seems unfair to single out one such article for comment. However, in the case of 'Theological Education in England since 1987' (pp.563-68), I cannot refrain from expressing disappointment that the admitted focus was purely on the Church of England. Even then, there was no reference to the report Formation for Ministry Within a Learning Church: The Structure and Funding of Ordination Training (Church House Publishing, 2003), produced by the Church of England with ecumenical involvement. This report proposed a formational journey from preordination learning through initial ministerial education to continuing ministerial education within an understanding that the whole church and all who compose it are learning. The report also proposed a regional theological education structure that should involve the other denominations. The implications of these approaches are still being worked through. Many of the insights in that report are those that had been espoused by Ecumenical Theological Education.

In spite of occasional examples of ecumenical institutions or collaborations, the reality is that most theological education is conducted through denominational or confessional establishments. Thus it is right for the Handbook to devote its final section (Part III) to descriptions of their understanding and practice. That many of them take ecumenical formation seriously is to be welcomed. However, this point highlights the challenge we face when people's theological formation is primarily denominational, with ecumenism as a sideline.

Reading the Handbook illuminated many questions I have about theological education. Who is theological education for-everyone, or those chosen to perform special functions within the life of the church? What do we learn--a tradition, skills, attitudes, relationship? When do we need theological education--before exercising our ministry/discipleship, or while we practice? Where is the primary location of theological learning--the academy, or where we live out our faith in church and community? How do we learn theologically--traditional academic study or reflective practice? Why do we learn theologically--fitting people for the existing ministries and institutions of the church or transforming people so that the church may be transformed? Most of all, what makes theological education ecumenical-the variety of students and faculty, content and style of curriculum? Or must an ecumenical praxis infuse the whole life of the institution?

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I saw for myself, first as a student and then as a member of the governing body, how principles of theological education emerging from the WCC's programmatic work could transform the work of an English theological college. I also saw the fierce resistance of those who believed that the residential, front-end, instructional model was the gold standard to be preserved at all costs. I hope that the great array of experience and reflection collected in the Handbook will inspire and encourage theological educators to be creative in their own practice.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1758-6623.2010.00083.x

Reverend Dr Simon Oxley, from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, has recently finished a doctorate on Ecumenical Consciousness. He is a former WCC staff member and former book reviews editor of The Ecumenical Review.