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Changing theological education in a changing world
July 19, 2010
Presidents, rectors, deans, and other leaders in North American theological education gathered in Montreal earlier this summer for the Biennial Meeting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. Daniel Aleshire, executive director of the association, gave the opening address that set the stage for the two days of conversation and decisions to follow.
His speech addressed the changing landscapes of North American religion, including shifting patterns of religious adherence and practice, increased religious diversityand pluralism, and the globalization of Christianity. It's fitting, he explained, that the meeting was being held in Montreal, which only 50 years ago was a firmly Catholic city. Today, rates of religious participation in the city are among the lowest on the continent, a fact which some interpret as the canary in the coal mine for American and Canadian churches.
The most complete scholarly account of secularism also has a connection to Montreal. Charles Taylor, a philosopher at McGill University, argued in A Secular Age that secularization is perhaps best understood as the dislocation of the dominant religious paradigm. Christianity then becomes one option among many.
This new cultural climate is already pushing theological schools to consider how and what they teach in a context where Christianity is no longer the assumed tradition or worldview. While affirming the "gold standard" of graduate theological education, as a tried-and-true method for ministerial training, Aleshire thinks that new developments may be on the horizon for theological education. These include:
- Baccalaureate-level theological education.
- Programs for the education of "alternatively credentialed clergy."
- Creative ways to provide on-the-job pastoral education.
- Programs that focus on lay education.
In the end, Aleshire struck a hopeful tone, explaining that the trials and tribulations of the last two years have also brought opportunity for revitalization of the Christian mission and message. "The future has arrived," Aleshire declared, "and it is full of promise."
Read all of Aleshire's speech here.
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Posted By:
Jon Hooten
Topics: News/Trends
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How do you measure credit hours for online classes?
June 21, 2010
The U.S. Congress is looking into the question of how credit hours are measured for online higher education. With more and more students funding their higher education through federal financial aid, members of Congress apparently suspect that standards may be slipping.
As with most topics in Washington, party politics has reared its head, with Democrats defending traditional notions of credit hours based on "seat time," while Republicans argue for increased flexibility, which might help the for-profit "proprietary" colleges like the University of Phoenix.
But over at Inside Higher Ed, my favorite blogger "Dean Dad" is balking. The crisis in higher education, he says, is not competition with for-profit schools. The crisis is that higher education, as it exists today, is not sustainable. And awarding credit hours for seat time, rather than for learning, is actually making higher education's future even less sustainable.
As we continue to discuss the future of theological education, this is an important consideration. What's most important -- learning or "doing time"? Because whatever we measure is surely an important indicator of what we consider important.
Read the entire blog post by "Dean Dad" here.
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Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Christians at the forefront of online learning
June 15, 2010
The New Year 2010 issue of In Trust included an article about the recent growth online theological education.
Now the wider world is also taking note of the impressive growth of religious schools that embrace online learning. Inside Higher Ed reports that more and more Christian colleges are taking advantage of the built-in loyalty that many Americans feel toward religious institutions.
Many of these schools are learning marketing and delivery tips from the most successful proprietary colleges like the University of Phoenix, which has 458,000 students. Among the schools profiled in the piece is Indiana Wesleyan University, which In Trust also described in the New Year 2010 issue.
Read the article in Inside Higher Ed, titled "Online, Christian Students," here.
If you're affiliated with an In Trust member school, you can read "Time for Reflection" (about online learning) and "Launching in Tough Times" (about Indiana Wesleyan University). Both appeared in the New Year 2010 issue of In Trust. Not sure whether your school is a member? Check here.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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ATS Biennial theme: "The future has arrived"
June 10, 2010
 Will your school be represented at the ATS Biennial Meeting this month?
The Association of Theological Schools is holding its 47th Biennial Meeting on June 23-25 in Montreal. The biennial meeting is the gathering of all ATS member institutions. In Trust will host a reception for its members and friends on Thursday, June 24, at 5 p.m. You are invited!
The Biennial Meeting is a true business meeting -- representatives from member schools vote to admit new members, discuss changing standards of accreditation, and hear financial reports.
It's also a place for continuing education. Numerous workshops cover material like distance learning, stabilizing a tuition-driven institution, and resource-sharing among schools. This year, two seminary leaders will join In Trust president Christa R. Klein in a session on "building boards for good governance in demanding times."
Finally, the Biennial Meeting is an opportunity for socializing and networking. It's the one chance for seminary deans and presidents to meet other leaders from across religious and geographical lines. It's always encouraging to see a Catholic priest and a Methodist academic nod their heads in agreement as a Southern Baptist president makes a keen observation. But it's also great to see the specialized gatherings for women leaders, evangelicals, and Canadians.
This year's theme is "The Future Has Arrived: Changing Theological Education in a Changed World." And the theme couldn't be more timely. Everywhere I go, leaders in theological education are eager to discuss the significant changes they are seeing in their students, their churches, and their funding models. More than one seminary leader has told me, "People have their heads in the sand. Things can't go on as they have been!"
 I disagree. I don't believe that people have their heads in the sand at all. I know that leaders in theological education are eager to discuss the changes all around us. The ATS Biennial Meeting is the place for that discussion to happen.
Want to check out the program? See the entire program on the ATS website, which you can find here (PDF). Be sure to read ATS executive director Daniel Aleshire's message on page 11.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Dropping diversity's baggage
June 8, 2010
 The word "diversity" carries a lot of baggage these days. It is both cliche and code, sometimes bordering on meaningless, other times carrying deep emotional meaning for folks on all sides of an issue.
Scott Page, an economist at University of Michigan, tries to drop diversity's baggage at the curb with a more practical approach to the topic. Perhaps you already know about his book The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. In it, he uses mathematics to explain why diverse working groups produce better results than homogeneous groups. "[D]iverse groups of people bring to organizations more and different ways of seeing a problem and, thus, faster/better ways of solving it," he says. This not only refers to professional or academic training, but also that "people's identity groups -- ethnic, racial, sexual, age -- matter when it comes to diversity in thinking."
So what does this have to do with theological education?
In 2002, Auburn Seminary's Center for the Study of Theological Education published a report by Barbara Wheeler on seminary trustees, titled "In Whose Hands? A Study of Theological School Trustees" [.pdf]. The research shows that trustees at ATS schools are more than 70 percent male, nearly 90 percent white, and over half older than 50. In a recent meeting with In Trust's writers, Wheeler said while these numbers may have softened somewhat since 2002, she does not expect future research to show significant shifts in this demographic composite.
While strong and emotional arguments can made for and against diversifying seminary boards, Scott Page might suggest that theological schools would have better luck in solving their problems if they cast the leadership net a little wider. Page's point is more pragmatic than ideological: if you have more people thinking about problems from different perspectives, the organization will have better results.
But this is still a more difficult and emotional conversation than many are willing to have. The questions can be perplexing:
- How does a governing board go about diversifying itself?
- What new perspectives are needed, and where does one find them?
- How does the old guard allow new members to affect the decisions and direction of the board?
In Trust is working hard on these and other questions about board diversity. Keep an eye out for an depth article on this topic in the Autumn 2010 issue of In Trust.
Read the New York Times interview with Scott Page here.
Posted By:
Jon Hooten
Topics: News/Trends
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Ideas vs. visions
March 31, 2010
 A recent piece on the Harvard Business Review blog suggests that the previous 10 years was a decade of ideas.
The author reminds us of 2002's The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida, which was embraced by leaders in business and local government as a new model for community development and economic growth, based on attracting creative people with new ideas.
And of course the rise of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networking media has been happening all around us -- they too grew out of great ideas.
But are great ideas enough?
"What is in short supply," the blog post asserts, "are visionary thinkers who will be capable of making sense of this abundance of stimuli -- visionaries who will build the arenas to unleash the power of ideas and transform them into actions." He goes on to predict that the next 10 years will be a decade of visionary thinking.
Theological eduction has likewise experienced a decade of ideas -- dozens of theological schools have been finding new ways to survive and capitalize on innovative technologies, modes of ministries, and types of teaching. But you can probably count on two hands the number of schools that have put forth dynamic new visions that challenge and then transform the deepest assumptions that theological education is built on.
As theological schools face declining enrollments, sagging endowments, globalization, and a more diverse pool of students, good ideas will allow many schools to survive to see another entering class in the fall. But new visions of what theological education can be will be required for such schools to thrive for decades to come.
We'd love to hear your suggestions of schools that are truly reshaping themselves for the 21st century. Your comments are welcome. Meanwhile, you can read the Harvard Business Review blog post here.
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Jon Hooten
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Seminary will cease traditional face-to-face teaching
February 10, 2010
Early in 2009, Lexington Theological Seminary declared financial exigency, terminated tenure, and announced plans for a new model of theological education. In May 2009, the board approved plans for a new educational model.
The Disciples of Christ institution in Kentucky plans to continue offering the M.A., M.Div., and D.Min. degrees. But after the current academic year, courses will be offered only through intensives, distance learning, and online.
In the transition, the board instructed the seminary's administration to seek court approval to use donor-restricted endowment funds. They also asked the administration to develop an operational budget of $2 million (down from $4.1 million) and to begin necessary reductions to balance this budget. During 2009, staff was reduced from 31 full-time employees (21 staff and 10 faculty) to 17 employees (12 staff and 5 faculty).
A report on the transition, written by president James P. Johnson, appeared in the seminary's Winter 2009 Bulletin, which was posted online just last week. It's reprinted here:
This academic year was a time of major transition for Lexington Theological Seminary. It began with a global economic meltdown requiring immediate action, and ended with an exciting vision for the future of LTS with the pending launch of a new curriculum that represents a new model of theological education.
THE CRISIS AND RESPONSE
At the start of academic year, the Board of Trustees recognized that substantial changes were needed to address current and future needs for the church and the Seminary. These issues included personnel, recruitment, development, relationships, diversity, scholarships and the long-term financial sustainability of LTS.
When the trustees met in October 2008 they approved a decision-making process that involved five steps: 1) complete an assessment of the church's needs and the strengths and weaknesses of LTS, 2) define the vision and mission of LTS, 3) identify alternatives and evaluate each of them, 4) prepare a new, comprehensive strategic plan, and 5) implement. The plan was to complete gathering information by February 2009, which would provide LTS the information needed to make decisions about the future of the Seminary. Unfortunately a worldwide economy recession altered those plans.
The Executive Committee met twice in special sesson in December, and the board met in early January to address the future of LTS. The trustees approved more than 20 resolutions including the following actions:
- Declared their commitment to reinvent LTS as a servant of the church preparing men and women for congregational ministry
- Asked the faculty to produce a new curriculum and model for education
- Reaffirmed their commitment to the Association of Theological Schools and the desire to remain accredited through the transition process
- Declared their commitment to restore the restricted endowment to its corpus value by 2015
- Declared LTS to be in financial exigency
- Terminated tenure and the tenure process effective February 1, 2009
- Instructed the staff to seek court permission to utilize restricted funds
- Instructed the president and staff to develop an operational budget of $2 million (from the current $4.1 million) as soon as possible and to begin the necessary reductions immediately.
At the start of 2009, LTS had a total of 31 full-time employees - 21 staff and 10 faculty. The year ended with 17 employees - five faculty and twelve staff - a reduction of 45 percent. The operational budget was reduced from $4.1 million to $2.6 million, a 37 percent reduction.
THE FUTURE
In May, the board, based on recommendations by the Transition Team, approved a new model for theological education at LTS. The new model forms students into the pastoral life in the context of congregations through a curriculum based on variable length modules and shorter electives instead of semesterlong courses and is competency-based.
It will require every student to have an accountable congregational ministry, a pastoral mentor, to be in a covenant group, and to conclude the program with a capstone project that focuses on an issue of pastoral ministry in a congregation.
The curriculum will use intensive residency courses, online classes, and other distance learning that will allow students to earn degrees and take continuing education without having to move to the Lexington area.
The new model maintains the historic focus of Lexington Theological Seminary to prepare men and women for pastoral ministry. It is based on an apprenticeship model and is focused on vocational formation into the pastoral life - spiritually, intellectually and practically.
This model will use active and retired pastors, regional and general ministers, laypersons, and seminary faculty in vocational formation of students. Implementation will begin in fall 2010 with the 2010-11 academic year being a "blended year" with current students completing their work under the old system, and new students beginning in the new model. For details and regular updates please see the LTS web site: www.lextheo.edu.
Through this transition, the Seminary will continue its current degree programs - Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry. It is very likely that certificate programs will also be developed. Other degree programs will be explored. The modules in the new curriculum will be utilized in all of the degree and certificate programs and available for continuing education.
See the Winter 2009 issue of the Bulletin of Lexington Theological Seminary here (PDF).
Read more about Lexington Theological Seminary's new programs here.
Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Controversy over the selection of a new president
February 10, 2010
 With minimal input from faculty or alumnae, the trustees of the College of New Rochelle have chosen a new president. She has no advanced degree, but much experience at the school and a strong financial background. Is this a problem?
Inside Higher Ed reports that the new president of the Catholic women's college will be Judith Huntington, who currently serves as vice president for financial affairs. Her highest degree is a bachelor's degree in accounting from Pace University.
 Although unhappy about the process by which the new president was chosen, many of the college's constituents seem content with the choice: "She is a very collegial individual, and I believe she has great respect for the academic mission of the college," the chair of the faculty council says. "While I understand the concerns of others and respect and share the concern for the procedures that were followed in this case, we're all best served at this juncture to be behind her."
For their part, trustees emphasized that Huntington's financial acumen made her the top candidate: "Although financial needs and educational needs are both part of the picture, in the College of New Rochelle's case, financial needs are absolutely paramount at this time," said one board member. "We felt that the crying need for the college over the long haul was financial in order to keep it alive, and without that, we were nowhere."
These quotations are taken from the excellent article about the search in Inside Higher Ed, which details both the process and the controversy surrounding the trustees' choice. It's well worth reading here.
Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: Governance | News/Trends | Presidents
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Christian Century editorial on theological education
February 9, 2010
 The editors of the Christian Century have published an editorial on economic pressures at theological seminaries. The Century is often considered the mouthpiece of mainline Protestant Christianity in America.
The editorial quotes data from the Association of Theological Schools:
The Association of Theological Schools reports that of the member schools that responded to a survey last April, 53 percent saw their endowments drop from 21 to 30 percent between June 2008 and March 2009; another 15 percent experienced an even deeper drop. Seminaries that were living on the edge financially before the recession were forced to cut faculty and staff, freeze or reduce wages and benefits, defer maintenance and reduce other spending, especially on libraries.
Aleshire suggests that seminaries need to rethink their economic models. But the editorial goes further:
Seminaries and their constituencies should use this moment to consider new pedagogical models as well. . . . Curricular discussions have focused on how to help students integrate the practical and theoretical aspects of study, but most efforts end up maintaining the division and placing the burden of integration on the students more than on than the curriculum and the faculty. Is it time to organize courses around the life and mission of the church?
In Trust is committed to helping theological school boards rethink both their economic and pedagogical models, and we help schools one-on-one through our Governance Mentor service.
In my experience, theological school leaders -- including presidents and board members -- are well aware of the need to rethink and retool. But to be fair, many are already doing so. Changing an institution's finances is extremely difficult -- perhaps more difficult than changing its curriculum.
Read the unsigned editorial here.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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"Slate 60" lists the most generous donors of the year
February 8, 2010
The online magazine Slate has released its annual list of the most generous American philanthropists. As usual, gifts to higher education are well represented.
See the table of the most generous donors here.
Read biographies of the philanthropists here.
Image: The cafe in the B. Thomas Golisano Library at Roberts Wesleyan College. The library is also used by Northeastern Seminary, a sister institution to Roberts Wesleyan and one of In Trust's member schools. Golisano, the donor who helped build the library several years ago, is No. 50 on this year's "Slate 60" list of 2009's most generous donors. Photo by Jay Blossom.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Private giving to colleges declines 12 percent
February 3, 2010
Both the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed are reporting on a new study of private giving to colleges and universities, and the news is sobering. Donations are down across the board, at both public and private colleges.
Read about the study in the Chronicle of Higher Education here.
Read about the study in Inside Higher Ed here.
Read the press release from the Council for Aid to Education, which sponsored there survey, here (PDF).
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Seminarian dies in Haiti earthquake
January 20, 2010
In the midst of unfathomable tragedy, we note a victim who was a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary. An article from the news service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is reprinted below.
January 18, 2010
He Spent His Last Breath Singing: Wife, Cousin Remember ELCA's Ben Larson
 CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The past week for Renee Splichal Larson and Jonathan Larson has been filled with danger, uncertainty, heartache and deep pain as they mourn the apparent loss of Renee's husband and Jonathan's cousin, Ben Larson, 25, in the earthquake in Haiti. The two Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminary students, in Port-au-Prince at the time of the disaster, returned to the United States Jan. 15. They spoke to the ELCA News Service Jan. 18.
Renee and Jonathan told of their escape from the collapsed St. Joseph Home for Boys and their unsuccessful attempts to rescue Ben. They also talked about the suffering of the people of Haiti, their strong feelings of gratitude for the ELCA and the positive influences it had on Ben throughout this life.
"All he wanted was to be a pastor in this church," Renee said.
The three senior students at Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa -- one of eight ELCA seminaries -- went to Haiti to teach Lutheran theology to members and pastors of the Lutheran church during the seminary's January term. Renee, who grew up in Garrison, N.D., was also doing interviews with local people for a master's thesis about the emerging Lutheran church in Haiti.
That all changed on Jan. 12, when a severe earthquake struck Haiti. At the time of the quake all three were together in the St. Joseph Home for Boys.
"We were all together on the same floor," when the building began to shake, Renee said. "We all kind of panicked and started running. Jonathan and I were together. (Ben) was hugging a pillar in the middle of the floor. I turned and I saw him, and I saw concrete starting to fall on him. I called for him and started running toward him."
At that moment the two floors above collapsed on them. Jonathan and Renee were trapped for a short time, but managed to squeeze out onto the roof of the building and called for Ben, she said. The collapsed building continued to shift as the aftershocks continued, Renee said.
The two went back to the place where they had crawled out and called again for Ben. Renee said she heard Ben's voice. He was singing, not unusual for Ben who loved music. "I told him I loved him, and that Jon and I were okay, and to keep singing," Renee said. But the singing stopped after he sang the words "God's peace to us we pray," she said.
"If he was alive, he would have been calling for help desperately," Renee said. "Ben spent his last breath singing."
In the chaos of that night, Renee and Jonathan stayed nearby with local residents displaced by the quake. One of the people they were with was Bill Nathan, director of the St. Joseph Home for Boys, who injured his spine after jumping from the roof of the building to the ground. ABC News featured Nathan's story on Nightline.
The next day Renee and Jonathan went back to the building, managed to get their passports, and did what they could to locate Ben, but could not find him. "Getting off of that roof was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do," she said.
The two were advised to go to the U.S. Embassy, which they managed to accomplish with local residents' help, and seek assistance to rescue Ben, but there was no team to rescue Ben. They met up with a Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville (N.J.), medical team at the embassy, who cared for Renee and Jonathan. The students managed to get text messages to their families, asking for advice about what to do. Their families advised them to return home to the United States.
"It was so sad to go. It took all of our strength to get back to our families," Renee said.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission, and a friend of the Larson family, had contacted the Lutheran World Federation and a member of Congress, trying to arrange for a team in Haiti to get to Ben. Those attempts continue.
The Red Cross has estimated that as many as 200,000 people may have died as a result of the earthquake. In addition, questions are being asked about the slowness of the response. "People are so desperate," Renee said, adding that the devastation "breaks my heart. To know that the people of Haiti still have nothing is very difficult."
She added that she cannot think about Ben "apart from the thousands of Haitians who died in the earthquake, the poorest of the poor in this hemisphere."
The ELCA and Ben Larson
Ben Larson's parents are the Rev. April Ulring Larson, senior pastor of First Lutheran Church, Duluth, and former bishop of the ELCA LaCrosse (Wis.) Area Synod, and the Rev. Judd W. Larson, retired and serving as an interim at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Duluth. The youngest of three children, Ben grew up in the ELCA.
"Ben loved this church. He knew it wasn't perfect, but he loved it. He lived out his ministry through the church," Renee said. A trip to Ethiopia was transformational, she said, adding that Ben appreciated the "global church and the ELCA's companions." He attended Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, one of 27 ELCA colleges and universities, and was completing his master of divinity degree at Wartburg Seminary. Ben played and sang in the bands at ELCA Global Mission events and the 2008 Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering in Salt Lake City. He was active in ELCA's World Hunger program, and helped introduce members and leaders to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the ELCA's newest worship book.
Describing his cousin Ben "as my best friend," Jonathan Larson, Red Wing, Minn., said, "We were always together. We grew to love God together."
As for their future, Jonathan said he and Renee will return soon to Wartburg to complete their educations. "We would not think of doing anything else. The Wartburg community is so vital to who we are," he said.
The Larson family will hold an "informal gathering and storytelling" Jan. 21 for Ben Larson at Luther College's Centennial Union, and a memorial service for him will be held the next day at the college's Center for Faith and Life.
They asked that memorial gifts for Ben Larson be given to Wartburg Seminary, the Eglise Lutherienne d'Haiti (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti), St. Joseph Home for Boys and ELCA (International) Disaster Response.
Renee highlighted the ELCA's response to disasters. Funds are channeled through the ELCA churchwide organization and "reach people in Haiti, who are poor and need help. Mission is what we are about. I ask that people think about mission and what draws us together, which is Christ." She added that the ELCA is a church "that we love and serve."
The ELCA announced that it will provide at least $600,000 for Haiti, and is channeling funds through three partner organizations working on the ground: the Lutheran World Federation, Lutheran World Relief and Church World Service. More funds are expected to be provided as members contribute gifts to the ELCA for Haiti relief.
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Information about Ben Larson is at http://www.flcduluth.org/ on the Web.
Financial contributions to support relief efforts in Haiti can be made at http://www.ELCA.org/haitiearthquake or by calling 800-638-3522.
For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
UPDATE FROM THE EDITOR OF IN TRUST BLOG (FEBRUARY 3, 2010)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reports that Larson's body has been recovered in the rubble of the St. Joseph Home for Boys. Read the story here. Read a similar story by Minnesota Public Radio here.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Knowing your mission in a multireligious society
January 19, 2010
In December, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released results from a new poll that finds "large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices, mixing elements of diverse traditions." You have probably heard the figures already:
- A third of all Americans worship in more than one place.
- A quarter of all Americans sometimes worship beyond their own tradition.
- These numbers increase among those who attend worship at least once a week.
See the poll results here.
The Pew Forum reported in 2008 that the number of Americans who do not claim any religious affiliation rose above 15 percent.
Combined with membership declines in many churches, some observers detect the dawn of an irreligious, unbelieving America.
But as the recent report shows, this is not the case. America is not less religious but rather religious in different ways than before. North Americans are certainly more multireligious than previous generations. While this raises countless questions for American Christians across the spectrum, it also has particular implications for theological schools.
One particular question that's close to my heart is whether theological schools ought to be on the vanguard, leading their churches as they try to chart a course through the changing North American religious landscape. Or, on the other hand, whether they ought to let congregations and denominations lead the way in responding to changes in faith and culture.
It may help to understand the difference between "learning" and "teaching" organizations. One source of wisdom here is the of Peter Senge, who laid out the qualities of the "learning organization" almost 20 years ago. See his book The Fifth Discipline.
Following this tradition, Bill Taylor (co-founder of Fast Company magazine and author of the forthcoming book Practically Radical) argues that institutions should move beyond being merely learning organizations and function as teaching organizations. To remain vital and relevant, they should be setting the agenda rather than merely going along with the flow. Not only must organizations continually learn about their changing contexts, they must also teach the world about what they learn. If an organization lags behind the curve, it is doomed for mediocrity.
There is certainly an application to theological education. Boards and theological school leaders need to return again and again to the fundamental question: What is our mission?
Editor's note: The Alban Institute recently addressed the topic of interfaith education in a blog post called "The Case for Multifaith Education." Read that post here.
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Jon Hooten
Topics: News/Trends
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Lay people like theology, too
January 12, 2010
The challenges that theological schools face are real. But three articles that appeared in my inbox recently have reminded me of something important. People are interested in theology!
The Shack
The January 10, 2010, issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education includes an item called "Theology for Everyone," a review of the popular novel The Shack.
Reviewer Timothy Beal says that the best-selling novel presents some influential 20th-century theological ideas in a nontechnical package that is accessible to popular readers. The Shack, Beal declares, "represents a serious attempt by a lay theologian to communicate some theological concepts in a way that is turning out to be intellectually challenging and exciting for a lot of people with little or no academic background in theology." If you're a Chronicle subscriber, you can read his full review here.
Theology in a congregational setting
A recent item on the Alban Institute Web site is called "Why Would Laypeople Want Theological Education, Anyway?" In the brief essay, author Sally Simmel suggests reasons why lay people need communities where they can engage in theological reflection: Lay people write laws and create new technologies, she says. They work in corporations and health-care systems; they build roads and produce TV shows, raise children and care for dying parents. In all these arenas, lay people are looking for opportunities to make sense of their lives.
Simmel's article, which is found here, provides some suggestions for lay theological reflection in a congregational setting.
The wide appeal of theological education
The new issue of the Christian Century includes an article called "Seminary: Not Just for Pastors." The article by G. Jeffrey MacDonald of Religion News Service cites recent enrollment increases at the Bible schools accredited by the Association of Biblical Higher Education and at seminaries like Iliff School of Theology, Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, and Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
MacDonald offers a possible reason for the enrollment gains: In an entrepreneurial world, lay people are seeking theological education to help them make connections and do what they want to do -- lead nonprofit organizations or create online religious communities. Read the article here.
I for one welcome theological discussion and reflection wherever it takes place, but especially when it happens in local parishes and congregations. But I suspect that the trend suggested by the Christian Century may be overblown. We don't yet know whether overall theological school enrollment has recovered from its recent (slight) decline.
But we do know that most theological schools have been increasing their lay enrollments for many years. For most schools, the reason have been both economic and mission-oriented. On the one hand, schools need tuition money, and they have reached out to lay students to help fill seats. But on the other hand, almost all theological schools see lay theological education as an important part of their ministry.
Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Edupunks rock!
November 12, 2009
The other day, my colleague Rebekah Burch Basinger taught me a new word: edupunk. Ever since, I've been wondering if (and how) edupunks will transform theological education.
By far the best exploration of this movement comes from a recent feature story in Fast Company magazine. Called "How Web-Savvy Edupunks Are Transforming American Higher Education," the article explains how some technologically astute people are taking a do-it-yourself attitude toward higher education, relying on free content provided by universities to craft their own educational programs.
The "punk" part of edupunk is a reference to punk rock music -- and especially its rebellion against convention. Punk rejects the norms of conventional musical training -- that if you practice, practice, practice, you'll eventually get to Carnegie Hall. Punks aren't interested in Carnegie Hall, and they don't care if you (or I) approve of their music.
Similarly, edupunks don't care about your (or my) fancy degrees. They are, however, interested in knowledge, and they know (for example) that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology puts course material online for free. Edupunks are willing to craft their own programs using lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and reading materials that they find at the MIT Web site and on multiple other sites across the Internet. Just as punk music has a raw, unprofessional feel to it, so the edupunk philosophy embraces an on-the-fly feel -- an educational program that's cobbled together and made up while it's happening.
 To me, this seems both terrifying and exciting. On the one hand, I'm grateful for my degrees and for the genuine learning that they represent. On the other hand, I admire the entrepreneurial spirit of these innovators.
There's an obvious question -- who is paying for all this marvelous online content? Right now, institutions are giving their knowledge away by putting it online. Perhaps this giveaway is a truly sustainable business model. For example, when MIT puts its courses online, perhaps the perceived value of an MIT degree increases, and more students will apply in order to be resident at such an innovative institution. On the other hand, if the edupunk philosophy of education expands, perhaps schools will no longer be able to afford this kind of giveaway.
I think it's important for theological school administrators and boards to be aware of this movement. Because even if your school is committed to the classical model of residential higher education, some of your future students may not be.
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Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Back from the brink of disaster
November 10, 2009
The Autumn 2009 issue of In Trust magazine includes two articles about schools coming back from the brink of disaster.
"At Oral Roberts University, Making the Most of a Crisis"
In 2007, President Richard Roberts, son of the university's founder, stepped down while defending himself and Oral Roberts University from a wrongful termination law suit. Soon it was revealed that the school was $55 million in debt. But at the moment of crisis, a philanthropist stepped in, demanding significant changes in governance in return for a generous gift.
"Financial Crisis Inspires New Vision"
Three years ago, Claremont School of Theology almost lost its regional accreditation as a result of unsound financial management. Today, the school of theology is back on its feet. Under the leadership of President Jerry Campbell, Claremont is forging ahead as a "multireligious university" while remaining affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
ORU and Claremont School of Theology are not the only schools that are changing their ways. The Autumn issue of In Trust also details how Catholic seminaries and schools of theology are becoming more "green." Although Catholic schools have not traditionally been in the forefront of the environmental movement, these days a number of them are developing a "care for creation" theology. Read the article: "Green Learning and Green Living."
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Gay advocacy = academic freedom?
November 10, 2009
There are plenty of theological school faculty who embrace controversy, but most administrators and boards that I know of avoid it. Taking a strong stand on a controversial issue can create division. It can distract people from the mission of the institution. It can certainly harm fundraising efforts (although, to be fair, sometimes controversy helps fundraising).
Nevertheless, controversial issues do arise. And how institutions address them is important.
Over at Calvin College, the board of trustees recently released a memo on homosexuality, stating that "advocacy by faculty and staff, both in and out of the classroom, for homosexual practice and same-sex marriage is unacceptable."
The statement, which was issued in May and was reported in the student newspaper (read the article here), was a clarification of the school's support for the theological stand already held by the college's sponsoring denomination, the Christian Reformed Church. Although board members probably felt that such a clarification didn't need to go through the normal committee procedure, some faculty apparently believed otherwise.
 Karen Maag, vice chair of the faculty senate, told the student paper: "We usually follow a more 'bottom up' approach, where a change might come from a committee -- and we have a lot of committees -- then be recommended to the Faculty Senate and get the seal of approval from the full faculty. Then everybody has an opportunity to express their opinion on a controversial topic."
A central question at stake at Calvin is whether statements about homosexuality are primarily confessional issues or primarily about academic freedom. At Calvin, as at most church-related institutions, there can be tension between confessional integrity and freedom.
Last month a group of students, faculty, and staff gathered for a panel discussion on academic freedom, in which former college president Tony Diekema stated: "I can tell you what academic freedom is not. It is not 'anything goes.'"
At the same time, he said, academic freedom is "fundamental and foundational, an indisputable anchor, a public trust granted to scholars and professors which they must honor, a centerpiece of academic mission, a search for and the teaching of truth in which we understand the world in the name and for the sake of God."
Read an article about the panel discussion here.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Loving institutions in a world that's ambivalent about them
October 15, 2009
The North American temperament seems ambivalent about institutions. On the one hand, we decry big bureaucracies, giant multinational corporations, and sometimes even our denominations, while celebrating local food, the corner hardware store, and the neighborhood.
On the other hand, we recognize that huge multinational corporations and government bureaucracies provide the essential services that help us survive. They deliver our electricity, food, and health care, and they maintain our infrastructure.
Even our theological schools, as small as they may be, are institutions that provide valuable services. A single tutor can train one or even ten students, but it takes a faculty to make a school. And a school includes not only teachers but also some essential administrators, a governing board, and a financial plan to support them. The good that a theological school can do -- preparing ministers and lay leaders for the church and scholars for the academy -- is far greater than what a dozen freelance tutors can accomplish when they are working solo.
Over at Faith & Leadership, Gregory Jones reminds us how important institutions are, and how they can become lifeless when they're not cared for. He writes:
Modern Americans too often celebrate community without attending to the critically important roles that vibrant institutions play in enabling a community's practices to flourish. Too often we take vibrant institutions for granted, forgetting they are crucial for creating spaces that shape and pattern human life and address fundamental human needs and yearnings. Because we have ignored the crucial difference that vibrant institutions make in our lives and in the ecology of our wider social existence, we too often have allowed vibrant institutions to become lifeless bureaucracies.
There are too few voices out there that celebrate the important role that institutions like theological schools play in North American church life. During these hard times, when everyone is cutting budgets and some people in the church are questioning how important formal theological education is, it's great to hear someone articulate the value of theological schools.
Jones is a divinity school dean, so we shouldn't be surprised that he's a cheerleader for institutions. But I don't hold that against him. On the contrary, if our deans, presidents, and board members cannot explain why our own institutions are important, who will?
Read Gregory Jones's entire blog post here.
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Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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House of formation gets young people ready for seminary
July 22, 2009
In a recent feature story, the Los Angeles Times reports on the Junipero Serra House of Formation, a residential pre-seminary designed to begin the long process of preparation for the Catholic priesthood.
The Serra House of Formation, named after the builder of many of California's 18th-century Spanish missions, houses 13 men, some of whom are as young as 19. Sixty miles east of Los Angeles, the house is part of the Diocese of San Bernardino, which was formed out of the Diocese of San Diego in 1978, and which has no seminary of its own. Residents attend classes at nearby colleges like Riverside Community College. After one or two years, they transfer to Loyola University in Chicago, and from there, most attend seminary in Camarillo, California, or San Antonio, Texas.
The Los Angeles Times feature highlights a sense seriousness about celibacy. The rector, Father Jose Sanz, and the house's recruiter, Sister Sarah Shrewsbury, make sure that each resident has a criminal background check as well as physical and psychological evaluations. Father Juan Garcia meets regularly with the residents to assess their spiritual growth.
The article quotes Father Garcia:
"All of us have to love, but we love in different manners," Garcia said. "Celibacy is a way of living, loving and serving. It is different from the way of married people. It's not easy. It's something you have to learn. To be celibate is a gift from God."
Read the entire profile in the Los Angeles Times here.
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Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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Young people more and more "spiritual," not more religious
July 8, 2009
Eighteen percent of adults younger than 40 years old now label themselves "spiritual" but not "religious." That's up from 9 percent of this cohort just 11 years ago.
So says Mark Chaves, a sociologist at Duke University, parsing the data from the new General Social Survey, often considered the best national survey of American opinion.
It's hardly surprising that younger adults are more likely to embrace the label "spiritual" while rejecting "religious." But another finding may come as a surprise to some: The growth in this category is not because the number of people calling themselves "religious" has shrunk. Rather, it's because the number of irreligious people who call themselves "spiritual" has grown.
In a recent blog post at Duke Divinity School's Call & Response Blog, Chaves offers a paragraph of analysis of the data:
What does the growth of this "spiritual but not religious" segment of the population mean for organized religion in the United States? If what people mean when they say they are spiritual but not religious is that they are generally concerned with spiritual matters (whatever that means) but they are not interested in organized religion, then this trend indicates a growing minority of the population whose spiritual inclinations do not lead them to become involved in churches, synagogues, or mosques. This kind of generic, diffuse, and unorganized "spirituality" may provide a growing market for certain kinds of religious products, such as self-help books with spiritual themes, but, even if it continues to rise, it is difficult to see it becoming a solid foundation for new kinds of religious institutions or new forms of religious collective action.
Read Chaves's entire blog post here.
Questions for theological school administrators and boards:
- When we survey our own students, do we find that they mirror the national trends? Or do our students remain committed to institutional forms of Christian faith?
- What theological, educational, marketing, and financial resources can we marshal to be prepared for a future in which more and more young people seem alienated from traditional religious structures?
Posted By:
Jay Blossom
Topics: News/Trends
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