A vision for theological education and formation

The Uniting Church has a vision for theological education and formation?  Who knew?  Well I should have at least.  I only "discovered" it when I recently re-read a chapter in my own book on the subject - "A genuinely educated ministry": three studies on theological education in the Uniting Church in Australia, MediaCom Education Inc, 2007.  It was the Eighth Assembly that resolved, in 1997:

to affirm that the vision for all education for Ministry in the Uniting Church includes:

• participation  of the whole people of God in the mission of God revealed in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit;
• the centrality of the Scriptures in the life of the Church and the work of ministry (Basis of Union paras 5 & 11);
• the importance of lifelong learning and formation in the Christian life for all people;
• the shared ministry of the people of God... (Assembly minutes 97.32.02)

There have been four Assemblies since then, and while none of them have explicitly reaffirmed that vision, neither have any rescinded or modified it - not even the Tenth Assembly in 2003 that dealt with the report of yet another Task Group on Theological Education.  So we've got a vision.  And its missional through and through.

In the UCA the Assembly has "determining authority" for, among other things, "the establishment of standards of theological education and reception of ministers from other denominations" (Constitution s.38a).  That is, it's the council that's responsible for determining what "the vision for all education for Ministry in the Uniting Church" is going to be if we're going to have one.  It turns out we do.  All education for ministry in the Uniting Church is to be oriented towards the participation of the church - in each and every member - in the mission of God.

I've attached to this blog a (dodgy) pdf of the full resolution of the Assembly on the report of the Task Group on the Review of Ministerial Education.  When I re-read the vision, goals, principles, and other elements of the Assembly's resolution, I was struck by how it affirmed the same things that were emphasised at the Edinburgh 2010 Conference on World Mission.  Theological education and formation was one of the six study themes worked on by the conference.  It was the most broadly ecumenical gathering to have ever taken place.  So I was listening carefully as the world church turned its attention to the area that I work in.

The conference said it was "critical" that theological education be re-visioned missionally, making mission and Missiology the integrating theme for all aspects of theological education.

The conference also regarded it as "critical" that Spiritual formation be given the same weight as intellectual training - to equip leaders to be "spiritually fit" themselves and effective as "spiritual mentors" in the church.The conference gave particular attention to new directions in theological education such as:

• The development of non-institutional forms of teaching and learning (e.g. the development of learning communities throughout the church)
• Mentoring, spiritual direction, intentional community life as ways of theological teaching, learning and formation that have a long history in the church but which have been neglected as a result of the dominance of a western academic paradigm
• The need for western churches to learn from the new approaches to theological education and formation that are emerging in the majority Christian world

If you read through the resolution of the Eighth Assembly of the Uniting Church, you'll see that its own vision for "all education for Ministry in the Uniting Church" is completely consistent with the vision of the world church expressed at Edinburgh 2010.

Mission-shaped theological education and formation: the Assembly has a vision for it, the world church says it's vital, so how is our actual practice in theological education and formation measuring up?

Download UCA Vision

Comments

[steve]

have just been writing a missiology stream newsletter and wanting to say something about your learnings from Edinburgh. Can just cut and paste from this. brilliant

steve
www.emergentkiwi.org.nz