This blog, after about 9 years of monthly posts is moving to a more relaxed rather than formal regular posting pattern. It has been a great privilege to post so regularly for so long and hopefully help theological educators think about and enjoy their calling. In addition to the 290 or so regular subscribers, after the blog was established, it has been read by those in over a hundred different countries in the world each year. I am humbled by this and thank you all for your interest and encouragement so far. I will continue to post at times and will keep all the previous posts available since ..read more

 Rationabile obsequium This phrase is the Latin Vulgate translation of the Greek “λογικὴν λατρείαν” of Romans 12 verse 1 which is so hard to translate that our English versions have anything from “reasonable service” to “spiritual worship”. It is one of Paul’s ways of expressing how we offer ourselves to God, how we become living sacrifices. However, down through the ages, it has developed a more specialist intent so, for instance, Bishop Henry Edward writing on Anselm, says that it best describes Anselm’s attitude to the relationship of faith to intellectual work, a “rendering to God th ..read more

The new internationalism  (of theological education) Theological education has often possessed an international element in its practice. Foreign missionaries, after founding churches, tended to found colleges to serve those churches. Students from other countries have studied in colleges and seminaries – usually in the west with the help of scholarships. Some teachers from richer regions have given one or two weeks of their year to travel and teach intensives elsewhere. International organisations, funded by churches in well to do nations, have reached out, visited and helped theological ..read more

Library nostalgia I promised myself I would never use the phrase “when I was a student” but I can resist no longer. I know that some of my friends consider libraries to be boring but, for me, they have been some of the most exciting and satisfying places I have experienced. When I was a student (yes, you spotted it) evenings in the library with fellow students around me, reading, working, thinking, exploring are happy memories of college life. The atmosphere of peace, discovery, collegiality in the task, encouragement of others engaged in the same calling in the same room, a sense of history ..read more

Coronavirus and change Colleges, seminaries and university departments of theology are re-opening for a new academic year in many parts of the world. They, and others which are already open for business, face a new situation – significant change in the way things are done because of the coronavirus pandemic. Theological educators need to cope with that change, doing the same is not an option in most situations, and we need to cope not just with the new arrangements but with ourselves. Here are two central attitudes which will help us through successfully. I will be flexible. There really is n ..read more

Thinking prayer I know so little about prayer but we can fairly say that, at its heart, it is simple, although its practice is wide and deep. It is attention to God, to be deliberately and consciously in the presence of God, whatever we do or say in that “place”. This post is about just one type of prayer that is of especial relevance to teachers – that of thinking prayer. What do I mean by “thinking prayer”? I mean a state in which thinking carefully and well is done deliberately in the presence of God, sometimes mixed with words of prayer, as a disposition towards God, a consciousness of hi ..read more

The helpless gardener It is a time for gardening in many parts of the world, although we are at different stages of the cycle. Some are preparing the ground, some working to keep out the weeds and some harvesting. For those still in lockdown, at least this activity is open to many of us and causes un-prepared strained backs and tired arms. And the work of theological education? We certainly have to pull up a few weeds in the preparation of the soil of our student’s brains and hearts. I think of some of the standard “evangelical myths”, of some of the crasser denominational prejudices, of sill ..read more

Theological education after Corona virus What will the theological education world look like when corona virus is finally conquered? The virus may well be around in some form for years, disrupting life in different ways. However, there will come a time when life returns to mostly normal but probably never quite the same. What will we see in our area of work after Covid 19? There are so many imponderables and future predictions are regularly wrong but we know a number of things will be different in society. We just don’t know how those differences in society will impact on theological educatio ..read more

The crowded study These days of difficulty, we may well be spending more time alone in the study, at least when Skype, Zoom, Hangouts or Team are not working and the children are not needing our attention. For all of us, studying and preparing alone in the study is a blessing whenever we can get it and some of us are blessed with more than usual nowadays because of social distancing. So, we go in, close the door and are alone? Not really, our study is a crowded place; The first thing we probably do is bow our head and seek God’s presence, so that is one more person deliberately in the room ..read more

Journaling for theological educators I have kept a journal, on and off but mostly on, for many years. Why? Here are a few good reasons; It becomes a reflection on our calling as a theological educator and how it is being fulfilled. There is nothing more important for us than to see our work as a calling to a particular ministry, a developing understanding of this and a noting its fulfilment in our life. It can be an affirmation of important parts of our life that are nothing to do with theological education. Hopefully our journal will be full of those pleasures (and sometimes struggles) in ou ..read more