Exploring the Motivations of Theological Education

The secret is out. Find out what professional theologians really think about being theologians.

In this episode we: quest for answers to the biggest questions in life; create a just world by being an activist-intellectual; free people from internal, not just external, restraints; help our beliefs make a difference in the world; put the words 'Pentecostal' and 'theologian' together; and bring back the prophetic church. Plus, you'll hear about what it's like to teach at Hogwarts.

During Enfolding Theology, Josh Linton, from Philips Theological Seminary, asked Tom Oord, Keith Ward, Adam Clark, Cindy Rigby, Amos Yong, and Barbara Holmes:

1. Why do you do what you do?  You know, why actually be a theologian?
2. Why study and not just act?
3. What is the return on investment for theological education?
4. How will the shape of ministry change in the future?

A big thanks to Philips Theological Seminary for sponsoring the podcast! Theological higher education continues to change. What it looks like and how it works constantly evolves but it's not going away. Phillips Seminary in Tulsa, OK has tuned into these changes and has responded with accessible, flexible, and creative programming. And it's why students from all over the nation enroll in their programs. And it's why so many HBC Deacons resonate with who they are and what they're about. I

Adam Clark, Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University, is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips students to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires them to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. 

Barbara Holmes is a writer and scholar, who publishes books about the intersection of ethics, spirituality, mysticism, cosmology and African American religious culture. She is the President of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and the former Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Memphis Theological Seminary. She says, "I have been called to work in diverse settings, where the call to serve also invites the human spirit to engage in radical creativity." In addition to her work with law firms, she has worked with homeless missions, HIV/AIDS ministries, and international ministries in Kenya (the Presbyterian Church of East Africa) and Japan.

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books and professor in the American northwest. A gifted speaker, Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion,  and theologies exploring the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation. See more here.

Cindy Rigby joined the faculty of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1995. Dr. Rigby’s special area of interest is setting Reformed theologies in conversation with theologies of liberation, particularly feminist theologies. An energetic scholar, Dr. Rigby is the author of more than thirty articles and book chapters and is also working on two additional projects, one focused on the doctrines of “sin and salvation” and the other on developing a systematic theology especially for pastors. Professor Rigby is the co-chair of the Christian Systematic Theology Section of the American Academy of Religion, where she has been an active member since 1993.

Keith Ward - from his website: I have been an academic virtually all my working life, teaching philosophy, theology, and religious studies at various times. I am interested in intellectual problems, in arguments and theories, and I largely depend on other people for finding out facts. I am, by nature and conviction, an Idealist philosopher, somebody who believes in the supremacy of Spirit or Mind, and who thinks that the material universe is an expression or creation of a Supreme Mind. I am a Christian, and became a priest of the Church of England in 1972. I think the main task for religious believers today is to ensure that their beliefs are conducive to human flourishing and, so far as is possible, to the flourishing of all sentient beings; to relate ancient religious beliefs to the modern scientific world view; and to see their own faith in a truly global context.

Amos Yong came to Fuller Seminary in July 2014 from Regent University School of Divinity, where he taught for nine years, serving most recently as J. Rodman Williams Professor of Theology and dean. Prior to that he was on the faculty at Bethel University in St. Paul, Bethany College of the Assemblies of God, and served as a pastor and worked in Social and Health Services in Vancouver, Washington. Yong’s scholarship has been foundational in Pentecostal theology, interacting with both traditional theological traditions and contemporary contextual theologies—dealing with such themes as the theologies of Christian-Buddhist dialogue, of disability, of hospitality, and of the mission of God. Dr. Yong is past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

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