Learning about God: Theological education as formation for mission

Abstract

I recently found myself in conversation with a young woman reviewing her first year in theological education. She is typical of a growing number of students: though she has qualifications in another discipline (and a successful career based on them), now in her mid30s she has a sense of calling to some form of Christian ministry – not necessarily full-time ordained ministry in the traditional mode, though as she works through her vocation she is open to wherever the Spirit might lead her. In a previous era she might well have pursued this calling through volunteering in her local church rather than studying for a degree in theology, but changing cultural norms mean that there are fewer opportunities for such informal ministry and – like many of her age – she is frustrated by a perceived lack of connection between the concerns of the church and the issues with which she finds herself wrestling in everyday life. She wants to be part of an environment where hard questions are acknowledged and addressed in a context of faithful discipleship and has an intense desire to share the gospel with others in her neighbourhood, while being embraced T