Dear Friends, (<<First Name>>)
Here's our first installment of reflections on our trip and the many good and challenging things we encountered. More to come!
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Yours in Christ,
Daniel Robbins
Associate Pastor
Christ Church Bellingham
360.543.3434
dfrobbins@gmail.com
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theological
education, pt. 1
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Every week we lived in Malawi 2007-2009, we saw the need for better pastoral training. We sat under preaching which was miserably legalistic, and tried to navigate the complexities of a culture which simultaneously valued Americans contributions and (perhaps as a result) depended too much on American money and ideas. We often wondered, "If the Church here is so influential, why isn't it healthier?"
One big part of the problem: Only 20% of African pastors have received formal theological training. Those who aren't trained will learn their theology from seemingly successful and 'powerful' pastors in the West (Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, etc.) or others broadcast on TV (think Nigerian version of Joel Osteen).
This means that most of the church is being discipled and taught by untrained pastors. Legalism, syncretism, and the health and wealth gospel are easy to find, and wreaking havoc on the church.
This is what makes Christ-centered Grace-shaped theological education so very important, and so very beautiful in Africa. See below for a taste of one school who is doing it right.
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Africa Reformation Theological Seminary (ARTS)
KAMPALA, UGANDA
We stayed with Dave and Darlene Eby, the founders of the seminary. It was a delight to get to know them. Most encouraging of all was to see the community being shaped at the seminary. This is a really special work.
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- Geographically Strategic: Uganda is at the nexus of the three dominant cultures and regions of Africa. To the North is the Arabic-Muslim influenced area (Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad, etc.) To the West is Francophone Catholic and Protestant Africa (Congo, Burundi, etc.). To the East and the South is English speaking Anglican and Presbyterian Africa. Students come to ARTS from each of these regions. Many of these students, especially North Africans, return to minister and teach in regions white Westerners could never reach.
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- Rich and Warm Theological Teaching: When grace shapes your life together at a seminary it will shape the churches where those seminarians end up. Getting to hear one of the MTW missionaries teach Greek was a treat. He exemplified what I love about the PCA and others: a hearty love for rigorous deep theology colored and driven God's love. This is exactly the kind of gospel-shaped culture which is hard to find in Africa.
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- Academically Strategic: University education is highly valued in Uganda; they are seeing roughly 400,000 Ugandas earn their bachelor's degree every year now. This also means that most of the students at ARTS have already found jobs, or begun their ministry in churches, and are ready to pursue theological education at a Master's level as a professional degree. They are more stable financially, and better students all around. These credentialed leaders will become great assets for the Church (see below).
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- Serving the Church: Each ARTS grad will be able to return to their won country and minster the grace of God effectively to their own churches (which can often be quite large; 1000-5000). On top of that, with a Master's degree they can start their own Bible Colleges to train their fellow pastors, elders and lay people, the very people who would otherwise never receive the riches of theological formation. (Two South Sudanese Pastors pictured above are making plans with Dave Eby along these lines). As well, though they are a Reformed Presbyterian school, they have church partnerships across many denominational lines.
The teaching at ARTS is teaching is churchly and practical. Thankfully they are well complimented by the Mission to the World team on the ground. We met another MTW missionary, Steven Edging, who is walks with alumni after graduation to help them practically work out their education in the nitty gritty details of ministry.
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- Locally Overseen: Paternalism is a constant danger when Americans and American money is involved in the church overseas. ARTS exemplifies many of the virtues we long to see in Missions organizations: local oversight, trusting partnership with and submission to Africans, African leadership and ownership of the organization, in the service of the Church on African terms (not Western agendas). They began the work at the request and invitation of the Presbyterian Church in Uganda (PCU), and though now no longer directly under the PCU, their board of directors is composed of a number of local Ugandas from the PCU and other denominations, all of whom must subscribe to the Westminster Standards.
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a huge opportunity is in front of us
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Ph.D Required: Do Not Pass 'Go'
We would love to be involved teaching at ARTS, but to teach at a Master's level I have to either have a Ph.D or have begun my doctoral studies. This is a sign of health in the Seminary: they are taking seriously their own role as an educational institution. Having a Ph.D would allow me to have real expertise, and to invest in their work for the long-term.
Module Format Allows Visiting Instructors
Their classes are formatted as 2-3 week intensive modules. This means we could be involved in teaching modules at ARTS while pursuing doctoral studies, or even if we end up serving as full-time faculty somewhere else in Africa.
Meet An ARTS Student & My Friend
Watch the video below to meet my friend John Stambolie. I first met him in his home country, Zimbabawe, in 2011 during our internship at the local Theological College of Zimbabwe. In this video, I ask him "If you have a theological college in your own town, why come to ARTS in Uganda?"
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Look out for our next updates:
2.Theological Education in Malawi
3.Potential Ministry for Bethany and the Kids
4.Church Life
5.Our Path
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