Borderlands of Theological Education

by Joshua B. Davis (Editor), Deirdre Good (Editor), Edwin David Aponte (Contribution by), Kelly D. Campbell (Contribution by), Joshua B. Davis (Contribution by)

Overview

Traditional patterns of educating and training clergy face not only crises of increasing cost and declining enrollment, but also a crisis of identity, since at present it is the academy, not the church, that shapes formation for ministry. This collection of essays outlines a history and a new vision of the church as the primary location of ministerial formation for the future of theological education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781978715349
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/03/2022
Series:	The Borderlands of Theological Education
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	948 KB

About the Author

Joshua B. Davis has over a decade of experience in theological education, including as faculty at The General Theological Seminary and as dean of the Alabama Integrative Ministry School (AIMS). He currently teaches theology and ethics for the Stevenson School for Ministry and is adjunct faculty of religion at the University of North Alabama.

Deirdre Good is a licensed lay preacher in the Diocese of Maine and a faculty member of the Stevenson School of Ministry.

Table of Contents

1.“In This Interregnum, a Great Variety of Morbid Symptoms Appear”: Seminaries and Local Formation in This Crucial Moment for Theological Education

Joshua B. Davis

2.The End of Seminary

Joseph W.H. Lough

3.The Dramatic Shifts in Theological Education: A Grounded Theory Approach

Kelly D. Campbell and Kris Veldheer

4.Hope, Theological Education, and the Boardwalk

Edwin David Aponte

5.Integrity in Seminary Leadership

Katie Day

6.Tending the Landscapes of Theological Education: Planetary Crisis and the Demands of Ecological Transition

Timothy Eberhart

Editorial Reviews

As a professor at a traditional, residential, denominational seminary where almost all of the students attend full-time and are preparing for extended careers in ordained ministry, I read this provocative and counter-cultural volume with considerable interest. Whether you agree with their various arguments or not, the authors' unsparing analysis of the multiple challenges—pedagogical, ecclesial, social, financial, historical, intellectual, ecological, and even moral—now confronting such seminaries and the denominations they serve is required reading for all those engaged in contemporary theological education.

Robert MacSwain

This book boldly and thoroughly analyzes and discusses multiple factors contributing to current crises facing theological education. Essayists delve into these constituents and altogether offer incisive, and insightful coverage. Gathered in one volume, these essays offer a conference worth of thoughts that, read individually or interactively, provide to Church and academic leaders, priests, pastors, faculty, lay leaders, and interested persons ways of understanding these factors. The essays reflect deep concern, respect, and most importantly hope for a transformed future for theological education.

Althea Spencer Miller

Too many efforts to reimagine mainline Protestant theological education are thinly disguised strategies of commodification or expressions of half-baked theology. In contrast, the authors gathered between the covers of Borderlands of Theological Education demonstrate the need for rich, multifaceted, and intersecting discussions about theology, leadership, social change, economics, ecology, multiculturalism, and indeed the very character of ministry itself. Seminary faculties, administrators, boards, and denominational partners should consider the analyses and proposals offered here.

Matthew L. Skinner

The condition of institutions educating ministers for the mainline American churches is perilous: enrollment plummets, funds evaporate, schools close or merge, and the very nature of ministry is debated. This collection gathers thoughtful and challenging essays analyzing the crisis and suggesting ways to surmount it. It opens important avenues for debate, discussion, and reform.

Milton McC. Gatch

These insightful essays speak to the important topic of the role and work of the academy in the formation of clergy leaders for churches and our local communities. They help the reader become aware of the current crises in both theological education and our churches through a rich historical and contemporary analysis. What is more - rather than mere critique – they offer innovative strategies to address the commonplace problems that so many of our theological institutions face. An insightful and captivating book.

Pamela Lightsey