Theological Education and the Next Evangelicalism
Mark S. Young
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
© 2022 Mark S. Young
All rights reserved
Published 2022
ISBN 978-0-8028-7886-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Young, Mark, 1956– author.
Title: The hope of the gospel : theological education and the next evangelicalism / Mark S. Young.
Description: Grand Rapids : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2022. | Series: Theological education between the times | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “A call for evangelical seminaries to renew their commitment to the centrality of the gospel so that the evangelical movement might become a more credible and compelling Christlike witness for the sake of the world”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021029609 | ISBN 9780802878861
Subjects: LCSH: Theological seminaries. | Evangelicalism.
Classification: LCC BV4020 .Y68 2022 | DDC 230.071/1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021029609
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION BETWEEN THE TIMES
Ted A. Smith, series editor
Theological Education between the Times gathers diverse groups of people for critical, theological conversations about the meanings and purposes of theological education in a time of deep change. The project is funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc.
because the past matters
and to Ben, Bonnie, and Christian
because the future matters more
4 The Foundation and Fragmentation of Faith
I still believe in theological education. And I’ve been at it a long time. Now, more than ever, I believe that personally meaningful, richly spiritual, powerfully formative, prophetically courageous, and missionally focused theological education is absolutely necessary for the church to thrive in the future. I also believe that the way we evangelicals think about and do theological education today isn’t going to meet that need.
This book flows from deep gratitude for the privilege of being a theological educator for more than four decades. Seeing lives transformed in the classroom transform the lives of others gives me a profound sense of fulfillment. From the classroom to the boardroom, I’ve loved being a theological educator.
But this book also comes from a place of uneasiness about the future of evangelical theological education. It likely betrays the weight of wondering if evangelical seminaries can become what they need to be to help evangelicalism become what it claims it wants to be.
But I still believe in the enterprise. And I’m hopeful.
This book is written for a group of young leaders who will shape ...
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About The Hope of the Gospel: Theological Education and the Next EvangelicalismEvangelicalism in the United States is fracturing along social, political, and ethical fault lines, to the extent that the very meaning of “evangelicalism” is in dispute. Having surrendered its theological character and missional heritage to partisan political activism and cultural conservatism, the movement has lost its unifying identity and undermined its own testimony in an increasingly diverse society. Mark Young believes a revitalization of the evangelical movement must happen in our seminaries, where the shepherds of the next evangelicalism are being formed. Young argues that if these leaders of tomorrow are instilled with true gospel values, they will go on to form churches and missional organizations that offer a credible and compelling Christlike witness for the sake of the world. The Hope of the Gospel takes readers through the history of evangelicalism and back to the present to make the case for how this can happen through a renewed vision of theological education. |
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