Theological education is between the times. A long-established model that stresses preparation for ordained ministry as a full-time job is showing many signs of strain. Some venerable schools have closed. Others have embedded themselves in larger institutions, sold their campuses, or taken other dramatic steps to extend their lives. This new reality cuts across lines of denomination, race, politics, and region. The whole ecology of theological education as preparation for professional ministry is groaning under intense pressure. But the story is not simply one of decline. New possibilities are already emerging.
This series attempts to provoke smart, richly plural conversations about the highest ends of theological education that may be able to help readers understand and imagine what might come next—what might be born out of this time of transition.
Each book in the series brings a particularity that reflects the distinct contexts and commitments of its author. And while the books are practical in the deepest sense, they are not a sequence of slides in the deck of a consultant’s presentation. Nor do they link arms to march together in a movement for reform. The books rather come together as a cluster of thoughtful, faithful conversations about the meanings and purposes of theological education in this time between the times.
Proposals to tweak present systems are not adequate to the moment. We need something more than a little austerity coupled with a better marketing plan. These books speak to a need for deeper reimagining of the structures and practices of theological education—for the new possibilities that will emerge.