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Item PBL in der theologischen Ausbildung(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2022) Scheffler, Wolfgang 1963; Shirrmacher, Thomas; Shirrmacher, ThomasThe present thesis deals with the question of "Problem Based Learning" as an option for professional theological education. Besides the purely academic question of theological education, there is a need for well-trained church leaders on an academic level. Not everyone has the opportunity of leaving his job for theological education. And sometimes a clear connection between theological education and pastoral practice in the church community is missing. Therefore, Problem Based Learning seems to be a solution. After a brief introduction to the principle of Problem Based Learning and its main tools, there will be a reflection on this method from the methodological, didactical, and educational perspectives. This happens to clarify how far this method can keep its promises. Because Problem Based Learning based on the theory of Constructivism that is contradicting the Christian understanding of truth, there will be a theological reflection as well. The thesis ends with a draft of an adaption of this method to theological education in the context of current needs.Item Exploring Challenges of Theological Education for Women in Evangelical Churches in Ndola, Zambia.(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2022) Phiri, Rachel Eva Melhorn 1055; Amenyedzi, Seyram B.; Brodie, RobertNumerous women from evangelical churches within Ndola, Zambia desire to do theological education. As the women pursue theological studies, they encounter obstacles which hinder their studies. This empirical research, in the field of Practical Theology, explored the challenges experienced by some women from evangelical churches in Ndola. The study was done through finding the current situation of the women, as well as the reason they find themselves in their present circumstances. Next, the research devised a model of what the situation should be in Ndola with women doing theological studies. And lastly, the study discovered some possible ways of responding to the situation with the women from Ndola, Zambia. In order to come to know the barriers, qualitative interviews with four different groups of participants were conducted. In the first task, the interviews provided the current situation with women from Ndola, Zambia doing theological education. Through the second task, the influences that hindered the women from doing theology courses were discovered. The third task was vital to determine what the ideal situation should be. This was done through a biblical and theological reflection on women in the Bible, as well as, seeking wisdom from educators at institutions within Ndola, concerning women and the way they learn. The final task provides suggestions for overcoming the obstacles after determining what the ideal situation should be. A data analysis and findings point to ten different obstacles, called themes, that women encounter as they pursue theological education. The themes are as follows: lack of resources, time management, misunderstood on the reason for pursuing theological education, mentality concerning the priority of educating males over females, learning styles and teaching methods, online learning, the value of a woman as a person, gender imbalance in theology classrooms, and the perception of female leadership in the church. The influences of each of these themes point to a number of trends, which provided the reason for the themes. Lastly, a possible response to the challenges encountered by women from Ndola, Zambia to pursue theological education is proposed as recommendations.Item El Perfil Teológico De La Formación Del Liderazgo Pastoralde las Asambleas De Dios En Guatemala: Un Análisis Relacionado Al Plan Básico De Educación Cristianaen Elinstituto Bíblico Central(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Escobar, Jorge López 1980; Van Engen, Charles E.No abstract providedItem Designing and Evaluating a Curriculum for the Effective and Accessible Training of frontier Missionaries from New Sending countries(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Vermont, Henry 1959; Malherbe, Johannes S.Many missionaries, especially those from the New Sending Countries (NSCs), go to the field inadequately prepared for the challenges they will face, resulting in high missionary attrition rates. This dissertation seeks to answer the question, how should a curriculum for accessible cross-cultural training of effective frontier missionaries from the New Sending Countries be designed and tested? The research answered this question by following a practical theological research approach. Using literature review and analysis, the researcher investigated the commonalities and differences between the main cultural traits of missionaries from the Sample of New Sending Countries and those from the Old Sending Countries. Another literature review examined the best practices in adult education, curriculum design, technological trends in education and missionary training. Further literary research and analysis resulted in a new competency-based framework for missionary training. The researcher then synthesized the results of these literature reviews to create a curricular approach that addresses the identified challenges. Concurrently, with these reviews, the researcher led a small team that implemented a set of online courses and evaluated learner experiences through structured questionnaires, opinion polls, computer log files and analytics of video usage. The literature reviews revealed that Western training methods should be adapted to suit the cultural learning preferences of New Sending Countries. The research found that adults prefer self-driven and self-paced learning, learnt Just In Time (JIT) for its application. Therefore, the synthesized curriculum uses hybrid online e-learning in a time-phased approach. The analysis of missionary competencies mapped onto missionary life phases is made possible by the CPL (Competency-Phase-Learning domain) training matrix designed in this dissertation. This analysis showed that pre-field training is mostly cognitive and could therefore be done mostly through online video-based training. Nevertheless, on-field training requires learning in the affective and psychomotor domains in addition to the cognitive. Therefore, a hybrid blend of online e-learning and practical application is the solution for training in each phase. Such training can be facilitated by the missionary team leader in conjunction with the online course content. Once implemented by mission organizations, this approach should make training accessible to missionaries from most countries. The empirical evaluation of actual course usage showed high levels of engagement and learner satisfaction among both New- and Old Sending Country learners. The final chapter of the dissertation contains the findings and recommendations for further research.Item Deriving pedagogical models for theological education from a biblical theology of the acquisition, transmission and effects of the knowledge of God(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Gillham, Simon John; Ferdinando, KiethThe practice of theological education throughout the world has been shaped predominantly by the research university model and has been characterized by fragmentation. Although numerous critiques have been made and alternative pedagogical practices proposed, there has been a paucity of integrative theological reflection on pedagogical practice. This study construct a biblical theological foundation for the knowledge of God, and adopts an integrative, multidisciplinary approach to developing pedagogical models of theological education that better align with what the Bible says about the knowledge of God (i.e. theology). This is done by first engaging in a biblical theological analysis of how the knowledge of God is acquired and communicated throughout the canon, and what effect the knowledge of God has on those who know him. The results of this analysis are then brought into conversation with the most significant contemporary pedagogical developments to determine which might best reflect a biblical understanding of how the knowledge of God is acquired and transmitted and so best serve the enterprise of theological education. The nature of divine self-revelation, the significance of Christian community and expectations about personal transformation emerge as key factors in determining pedagogical approaches. Developments in transformative learning which acknowledge situated cognition, experiential learning and problem-based learning are found to be particularly apt. The research concludes by proposing a new structure for theological curricula, organized around two poles (the word and the world) which lead toward one another, rather than the traditional silos of theological departments.Item An Analytical Biography of Byang Henry Kato (1936-1975): His Theological Legacy and Contribution to Biblical Hermeneutics, African Christian Identity and Evangelical Theological Education(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, South Africa) Foday-Khabenje, Aiah Dorkuh 1958-; Asumang, AnnangThis study was an analytical biography of a pioneering church leader— Byang Henry Kato (1936‒1975)—in shaping African evangelicalism, in the subject area of Historical Theology. The purpose of the study was to explore Kato’s life story and theological legacy to contribute to leadership development and maturing of the church in contemporary Africa. Specifically, the study explores Kato’s biblical hermeneutics, Christian African identity and contribution to evangelical theological education in sub- Sahara Africa, using empirical and qualitative approaches, literary and field interviews. Kato was a young Nigerian theologian and the first African General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA), among other roles. He was renowned to be father of evangelical theology in sub-Sahara Africa. Kato was immersed African traditional religion, as a child and was on course for succeeding his father as fetish priest when he converted to the Christian faith. Kato rose from humble beginnings to a world class evangelical leader and scholar, before his tragic death by drowning. Byang Kato made important theological contributions, contending for biblical fidelity on a number of issues related to relationship between traditional African religions and Christianity. He was opposed to much of what other influential liberal-leaning African theologians of his time taught. He raised an alarm and warned the Church in Africa about the theological pitfalls—syncretism and universalism and advocated for discontinuity with the African traditional religious worldview, especially aspects that were inconsistent with Scripture. Unprecedentedly, Kato helped to establish a number of premier theological institutions, to remedy the theological pitfalls in sub-Sahara Africa. Exploring some theoretical and biblical foundations demonstrated that Kato’s views were mostly consistent with mainstream evangelical perspectives. The findings and data collated formed the basis of constructing a corpus of theological material that characterised Kato’s theology, which I have dubbed as Katoan theology.Item Transformation for Reconciliation in the Independent Schools of Southern Africa (ISASA): A Theologically Contextualised Approach for Maranatha School in eMkhondo, Mpumalanga, South Africa.(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Curle, Michael Rowan 1982; Brodie, RobertJust under half of all independent schools in South Africa are Christian schools (Naidoo 2015b). These represent a potentially significant number of communities that must follow Christ in pursuing reconciliation in a post-colonial society still characterised by racial strife and racial inequity. Christian educators, Christian school administrators, Christian churches involved in education, and Christian policymakers need to recognize that these problems are our problems and that we, as those whose lives and minds must be formed by Christ if we are to have a credible witness to the world, hold the keys to racial transformation and reconciliation, since the mission of God (and thus, the mission of the Church universal) is reconciliation and koinonia (communion). This research explores the nature of the failure of transformation for reconciliation in South African schools (chapter 2); investigates (through qualitative field research) the policies and programmes adopted by some schools that have been more successful in pursuing transformation for reconciliation (chapter 3); identifies principles for how theology and scripture should form policies and programmes of transformation for reconciliation in Christian independent schools (chapter 4), and shows how these principles translate into practical policies and programmes of transformation for reconciliation (chapter 5).The research findings are that the following principles must be adhered to: that transformation for reconciliation requires new identities for all South Africans based on a Christian anthropology; that transformation for reconciliation requires restitution and justice; that transformation for reconciliation requires the will to forgive and to embrace; and that transformation for reconciliation begins and ends with the Body of Christ. From these principles a practical programme and a practicable policy for transformation for reconciliation are described. The outcome of the research (a programme and policy for a particular independent Christian school in eMkhondo, Mpumalanga in South Africa) is now being enacted. The results of this programme and policy enactment fall outside of the bounds of the present research, but this researcher trusts that there will be far-reaching positive outcomes for the school and perhaps for the broader independent school community.Item Evaluating the Exegetical Benefit of Integrating New Testament Greek Discourse Grammar with Traditional Grammar(Johannesburg South African Theological Seminary) Crafford, Estelle