The Next Future of Theological Education
Daniel O. Aleshire
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
© 2021 Daniel O. Aleshire
All rights reserved
Published 2021
ISBN 978-0-8028-7875-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Aleshire, Daniel O., 1947– author.
Title: Beyond profession : the next future of theological education / Daniel O. Aleshire.
Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2021. | Series: Theological education between the times | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “A reflection on the historical evolution of American theological education and its possible future development focused on formation”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020042329 | ISBN 9780802878755
Subjects: LCSH: Theology—Study and teaching—United States—History.
Classification: LCC BV4030 .A738 2021 | DDC 230.071/173—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020042329
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.
1 Time and Change, Church and Theological Education
2 Diverse Histories, Common Influences
3 Formational Theological Education and Its Goals
4 Formational Theological Education and Its Educational Practices
This book reflects the help, support, and instruction of many, and I want to express my deep gratitude to them.
Ted Smith has led the Theological Education between the Times project with insight and generosity and made thoughtful suggestions throughout the development of this manuscript. Rachelle Green, Ulrike Guthrie, and the senior fellows of this project provided a wonderful community of conversation about theological education that nurtured my thoughts in more ways than I can express. I am grateful for the comments that Keri Day, Katerina Schuth, OSF, Glenn Miller, and Bill J. Leonard made to early drafts of the second chapter. Jeremiah McCarthy, Chloe Sun, Mark Jordan, and David L. Tiede read the entire manuscript and contributed significantly to its improvement.
I have had the privilege of working with the presidents and deans of the schools that comprise the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada for almost three decades. They have shared the struggles, successes, and stories of their institutions with me and, in so doing, have taught me most of what I know about theological education.
I mention in the first chapter that it had been fifty years since I started seminary. I married during seminary years, and my wife and I celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary as ...
|
About Beyond Profession: The Next Future of Theological EducationWhat 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 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 transformed in the past and how it might change going forward. He begins by reflecting on his own extensive experience with theological education and reviewing its history, dating back to colonial times. He then describes what he believes should become the next dominant model of the field—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 make seminaries more than places of professional preparation and would instead foster the development of a “deep, abiding, resilient, generative identity as Christian human beings” within emerging Christian leaders. But it is a vision that, while not a linear continuation of the past, retains the essence of what theological education has always been about. |
| Support Info | prfssnnxtthdctn |