Theological Education between the Times (TEBT) – serie

Celebrating the contributions of the ethnic seminary in America 

While the narrative of decline haunts churches and seminaries in the United States, there is great hope to be found in the explosive growth of Christian populations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In light of this, much can be learned from points of intersection between the minority and majority worlds, such as Logos Evangelical Seminary, an ATS-accredited Chinese-language seminary in California—the first in the US. Chloe Sun makes the case here for why an ethnic seminary like Logos has much to teach us about the evolving possibilities for theological education in a society of cultural exchange, with many populations living in diaspora. 

Sun, a professor of Old Testament at Logos, has herself been formed by an array of cultural influences. She was raised by Chinese parents who were born in Vietnam, she grew up hearing multiple languages, and she has lived in China, Hong Kong, and the United States. With this unique background, she recognizes and extols the richness of pluralism, recognizing in it the work of God, akin to the diversity instantiated at the biblical Pentecost event. 

The title of this book comes from Logos’s motto: “Attempt great things for God; rescue millions of souls.” In this spirit, Sun’s vision is one of both humility and ambition, which begins by honoring the particularity of a person or group of people, and then moves outward to the universal, all-inclusive movement of the Holy Spirit.

What should theological education become?

Theological education has long been successful in the United States because of its ability to engage with contemporary cultural realities. Likewise, despite the existential threats facing it today, theological education can continue to thrive if it is once again reinvented to fit with the needs of current times.

Daniel Aleshire, the longtime executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, offers a brief account of how theological education has changed in the past and how it might change going forward. He begins by reflecting on his own extensive experience with theological education and then turns to reviewing its history, dating back to the seventeenth century. Amid this historical survey, he uncovers an older model of the field that he believes must become dominant once again--what he calls formational theological education--and explores educational practices that this model would require.

The future of theological education described here by Aleshire would return seminaries to their original role as places where a "deep, abiding, resilient, generative identity as Christian human beings" is fostered within emerging Christian leaders. This, he argues, more than professional preparation, is what theological education must be most essentially about.