Reflections after (nearly) a semester of seminary classes

*Note: This was written about 4 months ago when the seminary was about to initiate the first bi-mester of classes. I was pondering what the purpose of theological formation and seminary education is, specifically within the 21st century and the countless challenges that the church and its institutions face. This is somewhat of a justification for seminary education, coupled with what I have observed here with the Colombian Mennonite Church and the seminary.

Justo González, in his book The History of Theological Education, asserts that our calling as Christians, no matter our profession, is one of theological education.[1] Moreover, he stresses that this is central to the mission of the Church and its witness. He offers the framework of a continuum of theological education to move us beyond the narrow view that only those formally trained in accredited seminaries are theologically educated. In comparison, on this continuum the local church initiates the process through Sunday Schools and Bible studies, trains and mentors both pastors and lay leaders alike, and, in certain situations, encourages graduate level seminary education or PhD programs. Such a continuum, according to González, creates a rich and diverse ecology of theological education. Here, one level of formation is not superior, but rather they grow on and complement each other allowing for an interest in and wonderment of theological education to thrive within the church.

This framework offers a helpful and necessary re-imagination of what seminary education looks like in the 21st century. More precisely, it re-centers theological education as work the Church is to be intentionally involved in. As already mentioned, it is the local church that initiates and instils within the community of believers an awe and excitement for theological formation. This includes an ability to think about current events from a theological lens, lending itself to a practice of contextual responses. This worldview, then, is not something solely left to academic institutions. Rather, it is actively fostered on the local level to the point where the church is seen as a potential agent of change. This is the kind of intentional formation I have observed within the Colombian Mennonite Church and one of its institutions, Seminario Bíblico Menonita de Colombia (Mennonite Biblical Seminary of Colombia, SBMC).

It is no secret that the challenges of theological education seem endless. However, people like Santiago Espitia, the director of SBMC, acknowledge the unique and vital role of seminary institutions and theological formation. After a great deal of planning and preparing led by Santiago, no one could have imagined that the added challenges of the global pandemic would call for a reassessment of seminary programs. While all classes have moved online, theological formation has not stopped. Santiago and the seminary have been present to the current crisis, changing the platform of theological formation to adequately respond to how COVID has changed day-to-day life.

The thesis González purports, and the intentional emphasis placed on the interconnected relationship between theological formation and the mission of the Church, seem more pertinent than ever. I am filled with a sense of hope as I interact online with students and watch SBMC take a new shape. Students from various walks of life and different Anabaptist church backgrounds have been struck by a curiosity in Christian formation, fostered within their families and church communities. Each has been encouraged and personally motived to continue their journey through the classes the seminary is now offering. As the second bi-mester of classes come to an end, it is rewarding to watch the diverse participants further shaped and molded into reflective practitioners through careful study and course progression.

In many senses, theological education is a life-long journey of regularly being surprised by the life-changing yet “strange new world within the Bible”[2] and its wholistic vision of the Kingdom; a Kingdom grounded in equity, peace, and justice with a Gospel message that is abundant life. I have already been a witness to how such new encounters with the Biblical story deepen and support ministerial skills and educational careers. Furthermore, in the context of Colombia where both direct and systemic forms of violence continue on a daily basis, it is my hope that a commitment to an Anabaptist perspective will encourage current and future church leaders to remain faithful to their confession of the non-violent way of Jesus. It is not always an easy path; but with fellow pilgrims around, the commitment to walk the path of peace coupled with justice is a witness to the world that this tool is the most powerful instrument of transformation available.

[1] González, Justo L. 2015. The history of theological education. Nashville: Abingdon. [2] Barth, Karl. 1957. The word of God and the word of man. New York: Harper & Row, p. 28