And Teaching Them: What's Been Changing in Theological Education

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” – Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV).

“And teaching them.” Those three words are often overlooked when people reflect on the Great Commission, but they sum up our mission in Brazil.


The teaching ministry of the church and her missionaries constantly evolves. As I age I presume sometimes that the methods I used as a student were better than what “kids these days” are doing. But I fight against that because some trends in theological education have made things better for everyone. I'll share three:

Heart over Head: James K. A. Smith summarizes modernity by saying that it approached humans as big heads on sticks. “I think therefore I am,” said the Enlightenment. But Christianity offers a different approach. Our hope is not some disembodied bliss of rationality, but physical resurrection. And before that resurrection day our hearts are shaped by our desires, and the journey of discipleship is a journey of recalibrating what we love, which isn't always what we think it is.

The modern model of theological education took that narrow understanding of humanity and focused on stuffing gobs of information into people’s minds. A common approach was to present the story of Western European and North American theology as representative of Theology itself, encouraging students from across the globe to focus on just this journey and somehow find themselves within it. 



But in recent years there has been an admission that this narrow journey was driven more by the Enlightenment than the gospel of Jesus Christ. The center of gravity of the Christian world has shifted from Western Europe and even from North America southward and eastward to Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. And with this shift comes new insights of theology and biblical interpretation.

The global church focuses less on our minds and more on our hearts. Less on individuals and more on communities. Less on personal guilt and more on Christ confronting the powers and restoring honor. Less on a formulaic interpretation of Scripture and more on what God’s people have received as God’s Word both now and in the past.

This not a zero sum game. Our minds still matter. Western theology still has relevance in the western world. There are still standards of biblical interpretation to follow. We do not have to choose between good news for those who feel personal guilt or good news for those who are oppressed by ungodly powers (e.g. Paul certainly doesn't in Colossians 2:13-15). We are only enriched by considering the journey of Christianity beyond our borders, and theological education everywhere is better for this expansion.

Accessibility over Particularity: I moved my wife and family a few times to follow my path of theological education. Over the course of a few degree programs I learned how to read biblical Greek and Hebrew, French, and even German (kind of). Sometimes people like me decry new trends in theological education that no longer emphasize the biblical languages or the requirements for people to live on or near a brick-and-mortar campus to complete their degree programs. And if I ever start to lean that way I think of what the entrance exams were like for starting theological education in the 19th century. I would’ve had to already know Latin and likely Greek going in. And my program would have included a lot of emphasis on logic, rhetoric, and philosophy. But things change, and not always for the worse.

There are several benefits to living on-campus with access to a physical library and colleagues with whom you can regularly collaborate throughout the week. But there are different benefits for making theological education more accessible than in years gone by. Just as the standards changed from the 19th to the 20th century, standards are changing for the 21st century. No longer is it required for students to pack up their lives and move themselves and/or their families to a different place for a few years to receive their training.

Now, through online education, students can remain at home, literally. They can keep their homes, their jobs, and even their church ministries while in training. One aspect of the Kairos model is for us to incorporate a student’s ministry context into their education. Instead of handing each student a predetermined list of courses, students are able to think in terms of outcomes and work backwards from there with a team of mentors guiding them on how they can develop their own paths to reach these outcomes.

This different approach may sound confusing, but it has a lot of value. The point of theological education is to come alongside the church and offer intensive training to equip people for their journey of discipleship. If their journey is headed to church leadership, church planting, missions, etc., then formal training is a plus. There is a destination in mind, which is to be equipped to do the work God has called them to do.

A more traditional education model would say, well we want our graduates to know basic systematic theology, so we will require them to take at least two systematic theology courses. Kairos says, we also want our graduates to demonstrate a coherent understanding of theological frameworks that inform their life and ministry. And so a student may choose to take some traditional courses that will help them get there, or they might work with their mentors to find ways to reach that understanding on their own using conversation partners and developing papers, projects, ministries, etc. to work out their understanding. Thinking of my first point, heart over head, Kairos also works into its assessment how each student demonstrates mastery of each outcome not only in their knowledge of it, but also in how it shapes their Christian character and know-how in practicing it.

One last aspect of accessibility is affordability, which is actually the same word in Portuguese. It is one thing to ask future lawyers and doctors to go into great debt for their formal training knowing that they will likely recoup that and more during their professional careers. But the 20th century model of seminaries asking tens of thousands of dollars out of future pastors and missionaries, has left many alumni wanting, and some of them in great debt.

One benefit of our mission is that our generous partners in North America are able to support our teaching ministries, allowing our Brazilian students to pay a much lower tuition than even many other schools in Brazil. That means that money should not be a barrier to any of our students who want high quality theological education. Our churches here often are full of Brazilians from the lower half of the economy, so it is a gift and joy to bring the cost of their training down to something manageable for their family budgets. Meanwhile in North America, Kairos University has remained affordable to its students at just $300 per month for most of its programs.

Collaboration over Isolation: Around a century ago in North America some Christians were finding ways to “update” the faith to reach a new world, but sadly some “updates” hollowed-out that faith. Things like believing Jesus was truly divine or virgin born, whether he performed miracles—including being raised from the dead—were challenged by some so-called Christians in the name of modern progress.

In response a lot of churches isolated themselves from this misguided progress, which led to them creating their own seminaries, publishing houses, and missions agencies.
By the middle of the 20th century, however, that isolation did not know where to stop. Could good Christians disagree on second or even third-order doctrines? It was no longer a matter of salvation being at stake, but one’s opinions about the timing of the rapture or which English version of the Bible was best to use. Isolation should have its limits.

My first experience in formal theological education was at a small Bible college in Missouri. I learned to love systematic theology there, despite the isolating point of view of my professor. He liked to tell us how all these other people he talked about were wrong, but as I continued my education I had to read what these people actually wrote and discovered my professor was wrong, or at least he was wrong about what he claimed other people said. It might not have been his fault; he might have just passed along what he was taught by his professor.

In my classes I want to present other points of view accurately, and where I personally differ with them I always strive to be fair. The truth should always shine on its own without any extra help. And where there is mystery and uncertainty, as there often is among finer points of theology, then that’s okay too. Perhaps another misguided aim of modernity was the attempt to empty the unknown out of life and faith.

Instead of further isolation, healthy theological formation needs collaboration, not only among those most like us and with us today, but among those who have gone before us as well as those today who are different than us. Of course, we remain faithful in being Christians, and for me as a teacher I remain a faithful Baptist. Collaboration should have its limits too. But I am thankful today that not all of our students come from Baptist churches, and what a joy we have in providing high-quality training even for them.

The Great Commission is not about making our own little kingdoms. I think of what Paul wrote long ago to the church in Corinth. It doesn’t matter who gets credit for what in kingdom work because God is the one who gives the increase. At the heart of our heritage as North American Baptists is the conviction that each church and each Christian within each church, can do more together than apart. And our mission continues in that way.

Cross-cultural missions is a call for flexibility and fluidity amid the constant flux of change. Education is often that way too. And a mission that focuses on education? Well, let’s just say we better learn how to stretch really well! If the Lord keeps me on the field as a professor I might have to write again some day of trends that have not yet happened full of their own blend of changes and losses. But that's okay because our mission will never change. We'll still be “teaching them.”