Who am I becoming?: Understanding the ministry training portfolio as a theological practice

This article outlines a theological basis for the process of compiling a portfolio as part of a programme of ministerial formation. Such a task can often seem to the candidate rather like jumping through hoops, or gathering evidence merely for the sake of it. But I argue that it is properly understood as a theological practice, inviting reflection on who they are becoming in Christ. In philosophical literature, ‘gestures’ are understood as incomplete actions that correspond to some deeper truth. By framing the task of portfolio composition in the language of ‘gesture’, it is seen to be a vital practice in formation for public ministry, rather than merely an exercise in proving one’s readiness for ordination or licensing.

Pentecostalism in Mongolia

Pentecostal missionaries arrived in Mongolia as early as 1910 but the socialist government expelled all missionaries in 1924. By the time socialism collapsed in 1990, there were no more than 20 Christians in the whole nation. However, estimates suggest that there are now around 100,000 adherents, most of whom are Pentecostal. While some scholars have analysed the history of Christianity in Mongolia, little research has explored this significant subset. Mongolia Assemblies of God (MAOG—Монголын Бурханы Чуулган) was one of the first and fastest growing Christian denominations. It currently comprises around 2000 adherents, as well as over 200 graduates from its ministry training college. Using MAOG as a case study, this research argues that the rise of Pentecostalism in Mongolia is owing to its ‘ends of the earth’ mission; cultural protest movement; lure of modernity; imagined community; empowerment through transnational mobility; theology of divine ‘calling’; and contribution toward civil society.

The Relevance and Pertinence of Sexuality Education in Seminary: The Explicit and Null Curricular Practices in Ministry Training

In this consciousness-raising climate, religious leaders are confronted with opportunities to counsel on matters of sexuality. A curriculum audit was done for twenty evangelical U.S. seminaries to identify efforts in place to prepare future ministry leaders in addressing pertinent sexuality concerns. Ten institutions had no course listing or description that suggested any training. Further discussion with several seminaries shed more light on current practices. Suggestions are also offered for implementing changes in programs and curricula.

New directions in voicing a vocation

This article compares contemporary theological frameworks used to define ‘vocation’ and ‘ministry’ with the reported experience of those overseeing, exploring and exercising a calling to ministry within the Church of England. A comprehensive study of the recommended reading for those exploring vocation and ministry revealed the terms to be ill-defined and tending towards polarization around two viewpoints – sacerdotal priesthood rooted in the Old Testament, and presbyteral leadership rooted in the Epistles – with little theological attention being given to other perspectives, not least the ministry of Jesus as presented in the gospels. It also revealed many missing voices within the recommended reading. It found that candidates rehearsed a limited and polarized understanding of vocation and ministry, effectively learning ‘BAPspeak’ (a language to be used at bishops’ advisory panels that recommend whether candidates should enter ministry training), but that their personal experience of vocation and subsequent ministry was much more diffuse, diverse and Jesus-shaped.

A Philosophy of Disciple-Centered Leadership

Disciple-centered leadership is a philosophical approach to ministry training based on the idea that disciples possess assets that are critical to the teaching-learning relationship. After defining the construct, this article proceeds to relate it to the educational literature on learner-centered leadership. Paulo Freire's work and Roland Allen's work are then examined from an inter-disciplinary perspective in order to discuss key ideas relevant to disciple-centered leadership. The article concludes by examining this philosophy in light of the equipping responsibility of ministry leaders.

A Contextual Model for Interreligious Learning

The Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (Berkeley) features an interreligious immersion program that offers students unique opportunities to study a religious tradition other than their own in local settings. The program focuses on the sacred teachings and historical developments of a tradition, along with comparative spiritual practices and experiences of religious communities. Recent destinations include India, Indonesia, the Middle East, and Nepal. Central to program goals is the conviction that the experience is formative. Students develop a deeper understanding of religious traditions, interreligious dialogue, and the importance of understanding the complex realities of these traditions in actual settings. All of these spheres of learning impact the students’ studies and ministry training.

Flowing and framing

Experiential and mediatized, Pentecostal Christianity is one of the most successful cases of contemporary religious globalization. However, it has often grown and expanded transnationally without clear authoritative contours. That is the case in contemporary Ghana, where Pentecostal claims about charismatic empowerment have fed public anxieties concerning the fake and the occult. This article examines how Pentecostalism’s dysfunctional circulation is countered within seminaries, or Bible schools, by specific strategies of pastoral training. First, I revisit recent debates on Protestant language ideology in the anthropology of Christianity, and stress Pentecostalism’s affinity with notions of flow and saturation of speech by divine presence. Second, I move to data collected in the Anagkazo Bible and Ministry Training Center, and investigate this institution’s pedagogical framing of Pentecostalism’s otherwise erratic flow of speech and power according to two normative operations: Biblical figuration and the emic notion of transmission as ‘impartation’. I conclude by stressing how the metapragmatics of figuration and impartation in Anagkazo requires an understanding of religious circulation that exceeds the dominant scholarly focus on religion-as-mediation.