I’m rounding off my little series of articles on the health of theological training by coming back to the article that prompted them. In the article in Evangelicals Now, James Robson made three statements that I think need a little bit of response from practitioners in the local church. The key related quotes are: “Not… Continue reading Healthy theological training: Is it possible to restart a failed conversation?
Category: Leadership
Healthy theological training – learning from the strengths and weaknesses of the college system
In my last post on the topic I reflected on the way in which theological college helped because: In effect these two things are closely linked. We want to make sure that if training happens primarily in house that this does not happen in a silo. First of all, Theological Colleges and academics have a… Continue reading Healthy theological training – learning from the strengths and weaknesses of the college system
How not to concede
Watching the US presidential election as an outside observer has been fascinating. I am not a US citizen but despite not having a vote that doesn’t mean I’m completely disinterested. The decision that US voters makes has far reaching implications for the rest of us. The US president is often referred to as the leader… Continue reading How not to concede
Healthy Theological training. The benefits and challenges of College
There’s much I appreciate about my training at Theological College. A key benefit for me was the support and discipline provided to help me learn the Biblical languages. There was access to a phenomenal theological library and more importantly there were lasting friendships with fellow students and with staff, not just faculty. One particular advantage… Continue reading Healthy Theological training. The benefits and challenges of College
If we are looking for Healthy Theological Training we should not underestimate the place of long term experience of ordinary church life
Following my article last Saturday about whether we need healthy theological colleges, I’ve been developing some further thoughts. I thought first of all, that it might be helpful to say something about my own theological training and pathway into Gospel ministry. It’s fair to say that I didn’t completely follow the current primary pipeline exactly,… Continue reading If we are looking for Healthy Theological Training we should not underestimate the place of long term experience of ordinary church life
Appointing a new pastor -the things you need to agree in the contract.
Once you’ve made a decision about who to appoint as your new pastor/member of staff, there are still a few things to talk through and agree with them. These may be things that you already have planned for and stated in adverts and communications but you still need to be sit down and work these… Continue reading Appointing a new pastor -the things you need to agree in the contract.
Calling a new pastor -how do you get to know the right person?
So far in terms of the steps we’ve talked about, we’ve looked at things that we might classifiy as the traditional formal elements of recruitment, interviews and preaching. We’ve also looked at how you can do a bit more of a deep dive to research a person’s gifting, theological outlook etc through online research. However,… Continue reading Calling a new pastor -how do you get to know the right person?
Does the health of the church depend on the health of its colleges?
James Robson thinks so. In Evangelicals Now he quotes John Stott on this favourably. Do I agree? Well, I think that the answer is “yes and no” depending on what is meant. Stott was speaking from a perspective where Anglican clergy to a man (it was men for most of his life) went through formal… Continue reading Does the health of the church depend on the health of its colleges?
Nostalgia and jars of stones
Steve Kneale wrote recently in Evangelicals Now about the danger of nostalgia. He was responding to a recent spate of articles letters and blogs which seem to harp back to some golden era in the life of the church when churches held three teaching meetings a week and the pastor led all of them. David… Continue reading Nostalgia and jars of stones
Interviewing a potential pastor: What do you ask them?
In an interview with a potential staff member or pastor, you have an opportunity to do two things, first to go over any questions arising from their application and secondly, to find out a bit more about their pastoral competency, what would they be like in a pastoral and counselling situation. So how do you… Continue reading Interviewing a potential pastor: What do you ask them?
Faithroots 