theological education

In the World

M.Divs. without collars

May 21, 2013 by Steve Thorngate

I enjoyed Michelle Boorstein's piece of reporting on M. Div. students who aren't headed for parish ministry. She details how some seminarians seek to be ministers of a sort as part of their calling to other vocations; she also touches on the challenges of post-Christendom pastoring and the need for more flexible and affordable paths through seminary.

Cover Story

Face-to-screen learning

Seminaries go online

Feb 05, 2013 by Lawrence Wood

The idea that students will reside on a campus and attend classes at specified times seems increasingly quaint.

Features

Making ministry difficult

The goal of seminary

Feb 04, 2013 by William H. Willimon

For all their problems, churches are often a good deal more self-critical and boldly innovative than seminaries.

Editor's Desk

Revisioning seminary

Feb 08, 2013 by John M. Buchanan

It’s time for bold, creative experiments in preparing women and men for the unique challenges of 21st-century ministry.

Features

Classroom Christianity

How theology is flourishing in China

Jan 25, 2013 by Chloë Starr

China's leaders still speak implicitly against religions with strong foreign ties. Meanwhile, Christian theology thrives in China.

Editor's Desk

Respectfully diverse

Jul 10, 2012 by John M. Buchanan

What is it about theological educators that allows them to get along with civility and respect in spite of wide theological diversity? I attended the recent biennial meeting of the Association of Theological Schools and was impressed with the spirit of friendship there.

Books

Founding the Fathers

Early Church History and Protestant Professors in Nineteenth-Century America

by Eliza­beth A. Clark

Founding the Fathers, by Elizabeth A. Clark

Feb 27, 2012 reviewed by Lauren F. Winner

In this deeply researched and illuminating monograph, Elizabeth Clark examines the development of early church history as an academic field in the U.S.

Features

Cell groups

Inmates and seminarians study together

Feb 13, 2012 by Jesse James DeConto

Vanderbilt was not the first school to offer theological education in a prison. But it did pioneer the approach of having seminarians learn in company with prisoners.

Features

Entrepreneurial idealism

Ministry in the 21st century

Nov 30, 2011 | An interview with Carol Howard Merritt

"What would happen," asks Carol Howard Merritt of Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., "if we coupled baby boomers' prophetic focus with the pragmatism of my generation? What if the church unleashed us to plant churches?"

In the World

Is this relevant to ministry?

Aug 12, 2011 by Steve Thorngate

I'm a part-time student at a denominational seminary, where I'm working (very slowly) on an academic-track masters. It's generally been a good experience, but the school's not a perfect fit. Again and again, professors and coursework assume a ministry context.