ADVANCING AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION THROUGH INTERCULTURAL TEAM TEACHING

n H. Gunter

Published in www.GlobalMissiology.org January 2016

ABSTRACT

Contextualization concerns have dominated the conversation concerning the development of African theological education in recent years. However, as the core of the Christian Church continues to shift to the global South and the discussion of contextualization advances, the need remains for developing methodologies which diligently preserve biblical-theological understandings of church leadership and Christian formation. This article contends that Hae-Won Kim’s pedagogical model of intercultural theological team-teaching (ITT) may be employed as an effective strategy for non-African missionaries and African scholars to cooperate in developing a framework for equipping indigenous pastors which maintains a sound biblical-theological foundation even as it contributes to the development of a comprehensive, contextualized African theology. The article discusses aspects of practical application and challenges which may accompany a collaborative effort to implement ITT, as well as potential benefits which may accompany such as effort.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Nathan Gunter is an EdD student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY pursuing research in the field of African theological education. He previously worked as a missionary among a West African semi-nomadic people group and currently serves as the pastor of Lansing First Southern Baptist Church in Lansing, KS.

ADVANCING AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION THROUGH
INTERCULTURAL TEAM TEACHING

Introduction

The apostle Paul instructed his protégé, Timothy, to remain in Ephesus, “so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine…” (1 Tim 1:3).[1] Since those words were penned, each successive generation of Christian leaders has labored to transmit accurately the Christian faith to the Church’s future leaders. Western Christianity has widely embraced the institutional (seminary) model for the instruction and equipping of biblically faithful pastors and leaders to serve its churches. However, the well-documented and ongoing shift of the Church’s population to the global South[2] is generating a robust and complex discussion concerning the need to develop a model for theological education best suited to equip pastors in the South for service to the rapidly growing Church. Due to the rapid growth of Christianity within the Sub-Saharan African context, an acute need exists for the development of large numbers of theologically trained pastors.[3] Such a need generates multiple critical questions. How will these African pastors be equipped to lead their churches? Which theological or methodological emphases will emerge as dominant or prove effective for preparing African pastors? Which pedagogical models will most effectively convey biblical truth in an African context? What distinct roles or cooperative ventures will develop between western missionaries and African scholars engaged in theological education?

Reviewing current literature pertaining to ministerial formation through theological education in Africa reveals a dominant theoretical and practical emphasis on contextualization within theological education. Writers such as Amanze, Gatwa, Werner, and Wahl have argued that contextualization must be a priority consideration in African theological education in order to produce church leaders whose training is relevant to the particular and practical needs of the African church.[4] The prominent concern for contextualizing pastor-equipping methodologies among recent studies in sub-Sahara Africa is an understandable development in light of errors in belief and practice among western missionaries over the past two centuries.[5] However, as the core of the Christian Church continues to shift to the global South and the discussion of contextualization advances, the need remains for developing methodologies which diligently preserve biblical-theological understandings of church leadership and Christian formation. This article contends that Hae-Won Kim’s pedagogical model of intercultural theological team-teaching[6] may be employed as an effective strategy for non-African missionaries and African scholars to cooperate in developing a framework for equipping indigenous pastors which maintains a sound biblical-theological foundation even as it contributes to the development of a comprehensive, contextualized African theology. The first section of this article will briefly review recent works articulating the need for a contextual emphasis in the education and equipping of African pastors.[7] Then, the article will introduce Kim’s recently proposed model for intercultural team teaching in global theological education. Third, it will suggest specific applications of Kim’s model which may be employed in African theological education to produce a pedagogical model well-suited to equip pastors for the African church whose convictions and faith are grounded in biblical forms of Christian leadership. Lastly, the article will explore potential implications of Kim’s model for the future of theological education and intercultural partnership among Christian leaders in Africa.

Priorities in African Theological Education:
Contextualization and Biblical-Theological Foundations

Theological education of developing church leaders has been a necessity since the inception of the New Testament. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul again exhorted: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). As the African church continues to grow rapidly, a robust and complex conversation has emerged – including both African and western scholars – acknowledging the significant need for more and better-equipped pastors to serve African churches. Increasingly, this conversation is coalescing around a call for an appropriately contextualized theological education system in Africa which will contribute to the development of pastors who are grounded in biblical theology and fully competent to address the unique challenges faced by the African church. The following paragraphs will introduce key recent insights and contributions from African and western voices.

Multiple African leaders have issued a call for theological education tailored to the contextual needs faced by the African church. Wahl summarizes this sense of urgency to develop a new equipping approach customized to develop capable African pastors: “The africanisation [sic] of theological education thus hinges on the relevance of the themes in its curricula, its focus on competence, as well as on the unique contribution it should make to the scholarship of theology as a whole.”[8] He and others identify multiple pressing concerns at the forefront of African life that demand informed and skillful leadership from well-equipped church leaders. Some of these major concerns include – access to quality theological education, socio-political and social-economic illnesses, global challenges of economic injustice and ecological destruction, theological response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and theology for the empowerment of women, and the intentional integration of various other academic disciplines into theological training at universities (e.g. philosophy, anthropology, ethnology).[9] These authors recognize that each of these issues poses a unique and complex challenge that cannot be addressed through simple adjustments to western forms of teaching and equipping pastors.

Beyond these specific topical and practical concerns, others bolster the argument for a carefully contextualized approach to theological education by noting that traditional African concepts of spirituality bear positive potential for facilitating the growth of African church leaders. Amanze argues that the traditional African understanding of spirituality is largely congruent with biblical portrayals of Christian spirituality and leadership: “This is because there is evidence that the tremendous growth of Christianity is a result, to a certain extent, of the role that African spirituality has played in making the African people receptive to the new faith. The Christian message, as enshrined in the Bible, contains much that is common to African spirituality in which case African spirituality can be used to deepen the sense of vocation, commitment and devotion of the African church leaders.”[10] Oyemomi advances this thought, explaining that African concepts of spirituality affirm the dual relational aspects of man’s relationship with God and his relationship with other men.[11] Thus, in the African view, “spirituality is a synthesis of theology, ethics, and mission as a dynamic integrative language.”[12] This holistic understanding of spirituality is remarkably compatible with biblical depictions of spirituality, and it offers a compelling motivation to further develop a contextualized African approach to theological education.

Western scholars have largely agreed with the calls for a contextualized methodology and curriculum for theological education put forth by African leaders. Walls comments that with the growth and shift of Christianity’s base beyond the West, theological methods will evolve by necessity.[13] Stevens and Stelck acknowledge that a chief challenge to the development of theological education in Africa has been “delivery of quality theological education which was culturally sensitive to people and normative to the rapidly growing African church.”[14] Andrew Wildsmith, after more than twenty-five years as a lecturer on the African continent, confirms that the majority of theological educators in Africa have come to accept that contextualization is a necessary consideration for teaching theology.[15]

Over the past two decades, western authors have been steadily constructing the case for a localized and contextualized theological education for African leaders. Stevens and Stelck cite the perceived “desert experience” of theological students in western academic models, the inability of pastors and churches in developing countries to afford western education, and the consistent biblical portrayal of community, family, and regular life as the typical contexts for ministerial formation as reasons to invest in the development of theological education appropriate for African life and needs.[16] O’Donovan contends that many deeply embedded cultural values of westerners and Africans are incompatible, and that these incongruent worldviews create tension when western academic approaches are imposed on African learners.[17] In contrast to perceived increasing contextualization of theological education in Asian cultures, Werner laments the ongoing pattern of western theological institutions exporting programs or extensions of their own institution to developing countries in the global South. He notes that these programs not only prevent proper contextualization of theological education, but, in many cases, may inadvertently discourage participants from returning to rural and village settings to minister upon graduation.[18] Together, these arguments assist western leaders in perceiving the need to move away from traditional western models of theological education toward pedagogical methodologies customized for the African church in its context.

Other western leaders have adopted a different approach to advocating a contextualized African theological education. This perspective asserts that all theology is inherently contextualized, either through active intervention or through passive influence. Thus, rather than asking whether African theological education should be contextualized, the appropriate question is whether theological education in Africa is being contextualized well.[19] Shyllon explains, “Consciously or unconsciously, every theologian is influenced by the categories of thought and intellectual climate of the culture out of which he or she has come. Recognition of the cultural factor is equivalent to acknowledging that there is no final theology, normative for all ages.”[20] This is not to suggest that theology may not be pursued or understood as absolute truth, but instead affirms the reality that as the gospel spreads to new peoples and cultures, its truths will be perceived differently. Walls contends that it is through this diversity in cultural (and generational) perspectives on Christ and the gospel and the accompanying periods of the faith transitioning between groups that the essence of the Christian faith is revealed.[21] Tennent invokes the narrow field of Christology to illustrate the point, explaining: “It is impossible to come up with one Christological image that fully exhausts the glory of Christ.”[22] He explains that the African “bottom-up” Christological understanding not only complements the traditional western “top-down” view, but that it enriches and expands the Christological understanding of western believers who will consider it.[23] This line of reasoning suggests that as the African church continues to grow in numbers and global influence, critical attention should be directed to the development of a properly contextualized African theological education.

African and western scholars have taken different tracks to affirming the need for a contextualized approach to equipping African pastors, but within that affirmation further agreement has emerged concerning a critical element that must be included in new models of theological education. Specifically, multiple parties from both sides have affirmed the need for a theological education in Africa which maintains a solid foundation of biblical-theological teaching from which various relevant theological and practical concerns may be considered. Among African scholars, Wahl, Oyemomi, and Gatwa have called for an approach to theological education with a biblical-theological grounding.[24] Among western writers, Tennent, Wildsmith, Smith, and Sills are among those echoing the call for a biblically-rooted model for equipping leaders in the developing world, including Africa.[25] Though this conviction does not extend to all scholars involved in the conversation, this article maintains the position that a biblical-theological foundation is an essential component of an effective, contextualized approach to African theological education.

Given the established concern for promoting a contextualized approach which preserves a biblical-theological grounding, the obvious question emerges: how should this approach to African theological education come together? Even more germane to the concerns of this article is the question, how should western missionaries and agencies cooperate with African scholars and leaders to best develop and facilitate the formation of African pastors who will be equipped and competent to address the unique needs of the African church?

Two distinct positions have emerged in response to the question of western and African roles in developing African theological education. Some scholars have called for an African-dominated development of theology and theological education models on the continent. This view minimizes the influence of western missionaries and theologians in an effort to preserve African primacy. Nadar and Naidoo advocate the development of an African theology that “drinks from its own well,” – a distinctly African theological voice that stands out among the theological perspectives of the global North.[26] Olayowin adapts a somewhat modified version of this position, noting that the overtly religious worldview of African theologians especially equips them to develop a theology which is both properly contextualized and capable of counteracting the ubiquitous influence of scientific, secularized globalization in theological education.[27] These perspectives draw attention to some of the potential strengths of a thoroughly African theology, but the increasingly globalized and inter-connected contemporary state of the world and the Church demand a more collaborative approach to African theology and theological education.

More prevalent in the current conversation are voices exploring various approaches to a cooperative effort between western and African leaders engaged in the joint development of a robust, contextualized African theology. Sills, Walls, and Smallman affirm the ultimate goal of national leadership in contextualizing theology and equipping church leaders even as they describe a necessary process of cooperation and unity that involves both national and missionary leaders.[28] Drawing upon ecclesio-historical precedent, biblical case studies, and personal experience, these authors agree that moving from missionary to indigenous leadership in theological education within developing countries must include some form of intentional, cooperative transitional strategy.

Gatwa, in his proposal for theological education in Africa, states that “what Africa is requesting from world Christianity is sitting around the Lord’s table, to share the bread and the cup for alliance of life so to draw a new mission…”[29] However, Gatwa’s request for a seat at the Lord’s table may not be strong enough. With the simultaneous growth of the African church and decline of the western church, an approach is needed which not only welcomes African theological leadership to the table, but that receives African leaders as critical partners to the current task of equipping African pastors. This move must intentionally shift the balance of leadership in African theological education to African scholars, even as a mutually beneficial partnership between western and African scholars is maintained.

While many acknowledge the need for a restructured approach to theological education in the African context, the number of serious proposals from western leaders attempting to outline a new strategy or curriculum for African theological education is limited. Wildsmith’s self-described “radical” recommendation for a relationally-oriented curriculum customized to address unique theological issues faced by the African church is a commendable start.[30] Wildsmith proposes a foundation of biblical theology presented in a chronological order followed by a three-tiered course of African theological issues designed to equip African pastors to competently and biblically address those challenges which are both common to the African church and unfamiliar to most western believers.[31] In addition to taking seriously the need for a thoroughly contextualized approach to theological education, he further strengthens his proposal by acknowledging his intentional dependence upon the feedback he received from peers and African students.[32] Rather than advocating the creation of an exclusively African theology devoid of any western influence, Wildsmith describes his curriculum as one positioned to build upon the insights and answers developed by previous cultures and generations as they wrestled with their own unique theological challenges. In this way, contextualized African theological education is presented as a continuation of the theological development of the global-historical church rather than an independent offshoot.

This article affirms the philosophy behind Wildsmith’s recommendation and suggests that Kim’s recently published pedagogical model of intercultural team teaching represents a practical and realistic strategy for western missionaries and African scholars to cooperatively advance a thoroughly contextualized African theological education which maintains a sound biblical-theological root. The following section will introduce Kim’s model and briefly describe ways in which the model may be practically applied to developing theological institutions in Africa.

Intercultural Team Teaching and African Theological Education

If intercultural collaboration between missionary and African scholars holds such potential to produce an African theological education system which is rich, robust, and thoroughly contextualized, how exactly should educators from different cultural backgrounds come together to equip future African pastors and leaders? This author is convinced that a shared commitment to a formalized pedagogical model such as intercultural team teaching is a viable strategy to address the concerns raised to this point in the article.

Intercultural Team Teaching as a Pedagogical Model

Kim’s pedagogical model for intercultural team teaching (ITT) presents a specific approach which may provide real assistance to mission agencies and African institutions of theological education wrestling with the practicalities of partnering in their task. Drawn from a qualitative study of a Korean track in the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary, Kim explores the potential for employing the ITT model in various contexts of global theological education. She cites the increasing globalization of Christianity as a circumstance creating an unprecedented opportunity for western and non-western scholars to cooperate, especially in the field of theological education: “As Christian scholars around the globe are increasingly aware of their interdependence, they can truly engage in collaborative knowledge construction so that a fuller picture of who God is and how he manifests himself in human history can emerge.”[33] From an African perspective, Chukueku articulates theological, historical, and practical reasons for intercultural cooperation in theological and missiological work among Christians.[34] With scholars such as Gatwa and Wildsmith, cited above, calling for intentional partnerships in the development of a contextualized African theological education, the time is ripe for a model such as Kim’s to facilitate the growth of these partnerships.

Team teaching itself is not a new concept, and it has been especially prevalent in contexts of higher education.[35] To describe the various approaches to team teaching commonly observed in higher education, Kim draws from the five distinct arrangements described by Easterby-Smith and Olve to classify the ITT model at Fuller. These five arrangements are as follows:

1. Star Team – An arrangement in which one primary teacher oversees the whole of a course while inviting guest speakers to address topics of particular expertise or interest;

2. Hierarchical Team – Kim notes that this model is the most commonly observed approach in graduate education, featuring a senior faculty member who plans a course partnered with lower ranking faculty who assist in particular tasks such as discussion groups[36];

3. Specialist Team – Faculty teams share equal rank and responsibility within a single course, with individual instructors teaching their topic of specialty and sharing responsibility for all students;

4. Generalist Team – Similar in responsibility to the specialist team, faculty members share tasks based upon particular factors (e.g. schedule) and share responsibility for all students;

5. Interactive Team – Faculty team members share full responsibilities for all aspects of the course, including planning, instruction, and evaluation.[37]

In addition to these distinct team arrangements, Kim identifies four other critical components to introducing ITT in theological education environment: planning, teaching, content integration, and assessment.[38] The intercultural nature of this approach brings unique challenges within each aspect of ITT. In planning, Kim notes that not only does a bilingual teaching arrangement necessitate greater collaboration, it also requires a trusting relationship between the co-instructors. Teaching itself, the in-classroom construction, requires further collaboration (and possibly translation), although Kim observes that on occasions that instructors teach side-by-side, “if it works well…can foster a synergistic effect.”[39] Content integration (creating course content by combining the contributions of instructors from differing cultural backgrounds) is a particularly complex element, and it positions the instructor from the students’ culture to greatly influence the effectiveness of the course by translating the other instructor’s materials. Kim identifies assessment of student performance as one of the most difficult elements of ITT, although the same trusting relationship required for planning and teaching may foster greater ease in the task of grading students.

ITT Applied to African Theological Education

Most of the courses in the Korean track Doctor of Ministry program described by Kim featured a hierarchical teaching team with an English-speaking primary faculty member and a Korean translator or assistant instructor.[40] However, if a true partnership between missionary and African scholars - as well as a fully contextualized theological education - is desired, attention must be focused on the latter three team teaching arrangements. Kim notes that in many educational contexts now, “knowledge tends to flow in one direction – i.e. from the West to the non-Western world.”[41] If a system is to develop which permits authentic interplay between the perspectives of western and African scholars, it will require a teaching arrangement that is not dominated by the western scholar. Hierarchical teaching structures should be abandoned in favor of models that feature equally shared responsibility. Initially, the specialist or generalist team approaches allow for colleagues to divide specific responsibilities within a course while cultivating a culture of camaraderie, trust, and mutual respect.

But as African theological institutions develop comprehensive theological education curricula, the interactive team model surfaces as “the ideal pedagogical model in which two or more teachers from different cultures interact as peers and share responsibility for the design and implementation of a course taught to the same group of students.”[42] The interactive team approach is uniquely suited to assimilate the biblical-theological insights of diverse perspectives while constructing a course or curriculum which speaks directly to the particular needs of the local church in is context.[43] [44] This creates a positive and robust theological education for African pastors which affords the dual benefit of maintaining the influence of the African worldview while potentially incorporating the best of western theology.[45] In short, full collaboration between missionary and African scholars in planning, teaching, and assessment presents a realistic opportunity for an appropriately contextualized, biblically-grounded theological education.

Implementing an interactive approach to ITT as a pedagogical model in African institutions will likely be a complex and time-consuming endeavor. Kim notes that a shift of this magnitude will require both parties – western missionaries and African scholars – to approach one another in humility and a commitment to full cooperation.[46] Fortunately, positive progress toward local African leadership and genuine global collaboration in theological education is increasingly evident. Gatwa notes that today’s Christian leaders are African nationals with much greater training than fifty years ago.[47] Along with this, casual observation suggests an encouraging trend toward western mission agencies embracing support roles within various ministry and educational institutions under African leadership.[48] At the level of global collaboration, several western seminaries have instituted partnerships with African scholars and institutions with an eye toward mutual edification. Asbury Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School are both examples of institutions who have explicitly committed to both contributing to and learning from the church in the global South.[49] These shifts toward postures of humility by western institutions will continue to be a critical component to the implementation of ITT in African theological education. Even as encouraging evidence of emerging partnerships continues to surface, a commitment to a formalized pedagogical model such as ITT represents a significant step forward in establishing a permanent, sustainable, and mutually beneficial partnership for the future of African theological education.

Implications for Intercultural Team Teaching in African Theological Education

A movement toward developing ITT as a pedagogical model in African theological institutions would produce significant change for all parties involved, both in the short and the long term. Positively, ITT stands to advance two substantial long-term developments. Initiating an integrative approach to ITT would be another major step toward fully affirming the voice and influence of African theologians, as well as cementing the commitment of western mission agencies and scholars to the development of a fully contextualized African theological education. A commitment to ITT would necessitate a long-term partnership between western and African scholars, and that longevity bears potential to foster greater respect, more effective collaboration, and a more impactful theological curriculum for the equipping of African pastors.[50]

A second positive implication of adopting integrative ITT is its potential effect on the nature and quality of the theological curricula likely to be developed as scholars from differing cultures and worldviews collaborate. Ultimately, ITT may contribute to the development of curricula which afford African pastors “a more comprehensive and holistic perspective” from which to address problems unique to the African church.[51] Additionally, as the African church grows, its pastors and scholars will exercise greater influence within the changing context of the global Church.[52] Integrative ITT aims to equip African leaders who will be competent to address both the unique challenges of the African church as well as global Christian problems by preserving the awareness and understanding of cross-cultural and cross-generational theologies. Developing such pastors and scholars requires a pedagogical strategy which draws from the strengths, theological acumen, and wisdom of a diversity faculty of instructors.

Applying an integrative ITT strategy within African theological institutions will not be accomplished without acknowledging and committing to overcome obstacles. Most notably, an extended timeframe should be expected for full implementation. Developing and integrating new curricula within an educational institution is a time-intensive task. Adding in the intercultural dynamic to the tasks of planning, instructing, and assessing each course will require great patience, humility, perseverance, and grace from both sides.[53]

The significant time investment throughout the practice of ITT points to an inherent inefficiency in maintaining interactive team approach. This is not easily resolved, although it may be viewed as a worthy cost in the effort to establish an African theological education suited to lead both the growing African church as well as to influence the global church in the future. This inefficiency may be expected to affect western agencies and institutions more negatively than some of their African counterparts. African cultures typically value enduring relationships and collective progress more than efficiency-minded and individualistic westerners, and thus may be more inclined to endure through the substantial time and dialogue needed to formulate a sustainable approach to ITT.[54] The demand for a contextualized theological education sufficient for the needs of the growing African church will not subside, therefore Africa’s theological institutions and all of its leaders must commit to the development of an appropriate theological curriculum and pedagogical framework. Currently, Kim’s ITT model represents the most promising approach to practically addressing the complex needs of Africa’s church.

Conclusion

The rapid growth of the African church and the general shift of Christianity to the global South has created an urgent need for greater numbers of theologically-equipped African pastors. This in turn has spurred a complex discussion of the need for an African theological education which is thoroughly contextualized to the unique needs of the African church and rooted in sound biblical-theological understandings. Though some African scholars have advocated the development of a distinctly African theology which is largely isolated from outside influences, other African and western scholars alike have constructed a persuasive case for the development of this contextualized theological education which is enriched by the biblical-theological insights from previous generations as well as other cultures. With this end in mind, Kim’s pedagogical model of intercultural team teaching represents a concrete strategy for western mission agencies and African scholars to forge a partnership that will equip future African pastors to serve the particular needs of their contexts and to exert significant influence in the consideration of future challenges faced by the global church.

The interactive team model merits careful consideration from mission agencies and African scholars as it holds real potential to support deep, meaningful intercultural partnership in theological education and to afford African students a broad and holistic understanding of the theological mission of the church. This unique opportunity to bring together two distinct cultural expressions of the Christian faith for the betterment of the global Church is akin to Walls’ “Ephesian Moment.” He writes, “The Ephesian question at the Ephesian moment is whether or not the church in all its diversity will demonstrate its unity by the interactive participation of all its culture-specific segments, the interactive participation that is to be expected in a functioning body. Will the body of Christ be realized or fractured in this new Ephesian moment?”[55] There is little doubt the current needs and growth in the African church have presented an unprecedented opportunity for the global body of Christ to display a unity that is not of this world. May the scholars, missionaries, pastors, and leaders associated with the new contextualized African theological education lead the way in a new era of faithfulness and service to the Lord’s church.

Nathan H. Gunter

114 S. 3rd Ct.

Lansing, KS 66043

nh_gunter@yahoo.com

(913) 705-0733

[1] All Scriptural references in this article are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). (Wheaton, IL: Crossway), 2001.

[2] Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). Center for the Study Of Global Christianity and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, "Christianity In Its Global Context: 1970-2020" (unpublished paper, June 2013): 8, http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/1ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf. Accessed July 17, 2015.

[3] Tim Cantrell, "Launching Church-strengthening Movements in Africa," African Journal of Evangelical Theology 24, no. 1 (2005, January 01): 84. Paul Kohls, "A Look At Church Leadership In Africa," Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 17, no. 2 (1998, January 01): 109. R. Paul Stevens and Steven Furtick, "Equipping Equippers Cross-culturally: An Experiment in the Appropriate Globalization Of Theological Education," Missiology: An International Review 11, no. 1 (1993, January 01): 32. Stevens and Furtick cite the growth of the African Brotherhood Church in Kenya and Tanzania during the 1980s, growing to over 400 churches by 1986 while producing only 3-4 graduates annually from their divinity school.

[4] Amanze, James Nathaniel. “Paradigm Shift in Theological Education in Southern and Central Africa and its Relvance to Ministerial Formation.” International Review of Mission. 98, no. 1 (2009) 120-131. Gatwa, Tharcisse. “Theological Education in Africa: What Prospects for Sharing Knowledge?” Exchange. 32. no. 3. (July 2003) 193-213. Werner, Dietrich. “Theological Education in the Changing Context of World Christianity – An Unfinished Agenda.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 35. no. 2. (April 2011) 92-99. Wahl, W.P. “Towards Relevant Theological Education in Africa: Comparing the International Discourse with Contextual Challenges.” Acta Theologica. 33. no. 1. (2013) 266-293.

[5] Amanze, for example, notes that early work in theological education in Africa “was marked by an uncompromising stand against African culture, which was considered evil and anti-Christian.” Amanze notes further that this sort of anti-Africanism was typical of most missionaries in pre-independence days and precluded any consideration of contextualizing biblical teaching. Amanze, “Paradigm Shift in Theological Education,” 123.

[6] Hae-Won Kim, "Intercultural Team Teaching as A Pedagogical Model For Intercultural Collaboration In Global Theological Education," Christian Education Journal 12, no. 1 (2015, Spring): 118-136. Kim’s recently published model for intercultural team teaching emerges from observations of interactions between Anglo and Korean instructors in Fuller Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry in Global Ministries program. Her model will be reviewed more fully in a subsequent section. In general, the model consists of partnering instructors from differing cultural backgrounds to co-lead a particular course, sharing in pre-determined roles the responsibilities for planning, instructing, and student assessment.

[7] A comprehensive review of the development of theological education on the African continent is beyond the scope of this article. For broader background understanding, see: Sundkler, Bengt and Christopher Steed, A History of the Church in Africa. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000); Falk, Peter, The Growth of the Church in Africa. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979); LeMarquand, Grant and Joseph D. Galgalo, eds. Theological Education in Contemporary Africa. (Eldoret, Kenya: Zapf Chancery, 2004).

[8] Wahl, “Towards Relevant Theological Education in Africa,” 272.

[9] Ibid.; Amanze, “Paradigm Shift in Theological Education,” 126-131; Nadar, Sarojini. “Contextual Theological Education in Africa and the Challenge of Globalization. The Ecumenical Review 59, no. 2-3 (April-July 2007): 238-240. Gatwa, “Theological Education in Africa,” 204-205.

[10] Amanze, James N. “Contextuality: African Spirituality as a Catalyst for Spiritual Formation in Theological Education in Africa.” Ogbomoso Journal of Theology xvi, no. 2 (2011): 19.

[11] Oyemomi, Emmanuel, “Spirituality and Biblical Theology for Theological Education in Africa.” Ogbomoso Journal of Theology xvi, no. 2 (2011): 98.

[12] Ibid, 98.

[13] Walls, The Cross-cultural Process in Christian History. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002): 46.

[14] Stevens and Stelck, “Equipping Equippers Cross-Culturally,” 31. Sixteen years later, African scholar Amanze notes the continuing predominance of western theological curricular in African institutions. Amanze, “Paradigm Shift in African Theological Education,” 124.

[15] Wildsmith, Andrew. “Contextualizing the Structure of Systematic Theology in Africa.” Evangelical Review of Theology. 35, no. 2 (2011): 122.

[16] Stevens and Stelck, “Equipping Equippers Cross-Culturally,” 34.

[17] O’Donovan, Wilbur. Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa. (Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster Press, 2000): 4.

[18] Werner, Dietrich. “Theological Education in the Changing Context of World Christianity.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 35, no. 2 (April 2011), 96.

[19] Smith, Colin. “De-suburbanising Theological Education in Nairobi.” Ministerial Formation 108 (January 2007), 16.

[20] Shyllon, Leslie E.T. “Introduction: What Role Do Institutions of Theology and Religious Studies Play in the Engagement with African Cultural Dynamics?” in Uniquely African? African Christian Identity from Cultural and Historical Perspectives. eds. James L. Cox and Gerrie ter Haar. (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc., 2003):12.

[21] Walls, Andrew. The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Book, 1996): xvi.

[22] Tennent, Timothy C. Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007): 120.

[23] Ibid, 120-122.

[24] Wahl, “Towards Relevant Theological Education in Africa;” Oyemomi, “Spiritual and Biblical Theology for Theological Education in Africa;” Gatwa, Tharcisse. “The Cross-cultural Mission: An Agenda for Theological Education in Africa.” Missionalia 38, no. 2 (August 2010): 321-342.

[25] Tennent, Theology in the Context of World Christianity; Wildsmith, “Contextualizing the Structure of Systematic Theology; Smith, “De-suburbanising Theological Education;” Sills, M. David. Reaching and Teaching: A Call to Great Commission Obedience. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010).

[26] Nadar, “Contextual Theological Education in Africa,” 241; Naidoo, Marilyn. “Ministerial Formation and Practical Theology in South Africa.” International Journal of Practical Theology 19, no. 1 (2015): 188.

[27] Olayowin, Olusegin. “Globalization and Theological Education in the 21^st Century: The Fate of African Conservatism.” Ogbomoso Journal of Theology. (December 2005): 105.

[28] Sills, Reaching and Teaching, 82-83; Walls, The Cross-cultural Process in Christian History, 114; Smallman, William H. Able to Teach Others Also: Nationalizing Global Ministry Training. (Pasadena, CA: Mandate Press, 2001).

[29] Gatwa, “The Cross-cultural Mission,” 340.

[30] Wildsmith writes:
Revising the western structure of the systematic theology taught in Africa’s Bible colleges seems inevitable. Perhaps the greatest danger in teaching western systematic theology in Africa is that the traditional focus on abstraction and rational coherence has often turned teaching it into an intellectual exercise remote from the African Christian’s everyday issues. It is not that the western eschatology the African pastor learned was wrong. In agreement with biblical tradition, that theology taught that God’s people will inherit a new heavens and a new earth when Jesus returned. But the pastor never learned how to connect that truth to the everyday choices and issues he and his church faced because he was never shown how to do that, nor was he taught that he needed to do it… This is because the way theological truth was structured isolated it from the real life ministry situations that the pastor faced. Reintegrating theological truths with pastoral ministry seems the obvious solution, as Tennent advocates, but that means dismantling the western structure in favour [sic] of one that is able to directly connect biblical truths with African pastoral issues.
Wildsmith, “Contextualizing the Structure of Systematic Theology,” 127-128.

[31] Ibid., 132-135.

[32] Ibid., 135.

[33] Kim, “Intercultural Team Teaching as a Pedagogical Model,” 133.

[34] Chukueku, Agbobu. “Partnership in Mission: Means of Tackling Emerging Challenges in African Missions of the Twenty-first Century.” Ogbomoso Journal of Theology xv, no. 2 (2010).

[35] M.J. Eisen, The Many Faces of Team Teaching and Learning: An Overview. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000).

[36] Kim, “Intercultural Team Teaching as a Pedagogical Model,” 121.

[37] M. Easterby-Smith and N. Olve. “Team Teaching: Making Management Education More Student-centred?” Management Education and Development. 15, no. 3 (1984).

[38] Kim, 124-128.

[39] Ibid., 125.

[40] Kim, “Intercultural Team Teaching as Pedagogical Model,” 123.

[41] Ibid., 132.

[42] Kim, “Intercultural Team Teaching as a Pedagogical Model,” 128.

[43] Wildsmith, “Contextualizing the Structure of Systematic Theology,” 128.

[44] Using Wildsmith’s proposal as an example, applying ITT as a pedagogical model would entail partnering an African and a western scholar as co-teachers in the development of each course within the curriculum. An interactive team approach would require careful deliberation and cooperation in the planning of the entirety of the course, shared responsibilities for instruction inside and outside the classroom, and join deliberation in student assessment. Each of these activities would likely move more slowly than if either instructor took on the task individually. However, the interactive approach would provide students with a more comprehensive exposure to each topic explored. An African scholar will naturally contextualize points of application more fluently to African students than his western counterpart. In turn, the western scholar will be more apt to contribute a precise understanding of western thought on the same topic. Each scholar will also interpret the works of historical theologians through his own cultural lenses, and together they may present a rich perspective on the given topic. Students stand to gain an understanding which equips them to effectively minister in a biblical manner within their unique context while understanding their place and speaking wisely in relation to the global and historical Church.

[45] Gatwa, “The Cross-cultural Mission,” 15.

[46] Kim, “Intercultural Team Teaching as a Pedagogical Model,” 132.

[47] Gatwa, “The Cross-cultural Mission,” 12. Gatwa “Theological Education in Africa,” 205.

[48] One encouraging example of this trend is the work of CMF International missionaries who embrace strategic support roles under Kenyan leadership at Missions of Hope in Nairobi. See a brief description of this partnership at CMF’s Kenya website: http://www.cmfi.org/wherewework/kenya/.

[49] For Asbury’s Global Partnerships program, see: http://asburyseminary.edu/resources/global-reach/global-partnerships/. TEDS conducts a Cooperative Program with partner institutions in Nairobi, Jerusalem, and Korea: http://divinity.tiu.edu/academics/accessible-options/.

[50] Chukueku, “Partnership in Mission,” 121.

[51] Kim, “Intercultural Team Teaching as a Pedagogical Model,” 128.

[52] Wahl, “Towards Relevant Theological Education in Africa,” 288.

[53] For example, in describing the challenges western instructors face in a classroom of Asian students, van Schaltwyk cites six distinct factors in which the understandings and expectations of classroom participants from “Confucius Heritage Cultures” and those from “Individualist Cultures” differ significantly: (1) power distance, (2) uncertainty avoidance, (3) orientation toward time, (4) interdependence-independence, (5) gender stereotypes, and (6) academic performance. Any of these six factors may negatively affect the learning process when intercultural relationships are involved, but the combination of all six factors creates an environment which demands the traits prescribed in this article. Scholars who endeavor to practice ITT must anticipate a similarly complex combination of worldviews and expectations within the teaching team and commit themselves to approach one another and the entire process with the highest degree of Christian grace and charity. Gertina J. van Schaltwyk. “Outcomes-Based Collaborative Teaching and Learning in Asian Higher Education.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 142 (Summer 2015): 35-36.

[54] O’Donovan, Wilbur. Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa, 7-15. O’Donovan discusses the ubiquity of the African commitment to personal relationships at length. As with all generalizations, it is reasonable to anticipate exceptions among African and western parties. Some African leaders will struggle with the extensive dialogue and time required to implement ITT, and some western missionaries who have been immersed in African culture for some time will likely embrace the extended process without objection. The general observation is that the contrast between the African core value of personal relationships stands as a likely point of contrast to the western core value of efficiency and productivity.

[55] Walls, The Cross-cultural Process in Christian History, 81.

Introduction

Priorities in African Theological Education: Contextualization and Biblical-Theological Foundations

Priorities in African Theological Education:
Contextualization and Biblical-Theological Foundations