Scholars Talk in Turkey
Impacting theological education worldwide
Langham Partnership was well represented at the recent International Consultation for Theological Education, ICETE C-15, in Turkey when 392 people from 73 countries met to discuss the impact of theological education in their regions.
Chris Wright, International Ministries Director of Langham Partnership, was the plenary speaker. His keynote address was based on Proverbs 16:3: Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans. ‘Amen! But is that enough?’ he asked, and went on to consider ‘effectiveness and impact in theological education from a biblical perspective’.
A plenary session at ICETE-C15
He identified three biblical guidelines: ‘committed to mission’ (reflecting the teaching mandate God gave to Abraham in Genesis 18:18-19); ‘faithful to biblical monotheism’ (reflecting the teaching commanded by Moses as a bulwark against idolatry in Deut. 4 etc); and ‘marked by maturity’ in understanding, ethics and perseverance (reflecting Paul’s insistence on teaching within the church, e.g. in Col. 1:9-11 and the Pastoral Epistles). Chris summarized the challenge delegates face:
So, is that indeed the kind of goal we have in mind as we shape our curricula and construct our syllabi, and develop our lecture courses and hold our seminars and workshops? … are we being effective in producing such graduates, and how can we find out whether we are or not?
Nearly 60 Langham Scholars from 28 countries attended as delegated representatives of their home theological schools or institutions. Seven of them are current Langham Scholars. Fifteen of the delegates had their registration costs covered by a grant from the Scholars Programme.
Langham Scholars from 28 countries met face-to-face for dinner and conversation
‘We took advantage of this gathering to have dinner together one evening, during which many Scholars were able to meet for the first time. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, and we hope the beginning of more networking and collaboration among Scholars’, writes Stefanii Ferenczi.
Riad Kassis (Director of Langham Scholars, and current International Director of ICETE) moderated between sessions. Also present from Langham were Ian Shaw (Associate Director of Scholars), Bill Houston (Langham Scholar Care Coordinator, South Africa), Mardochee Nadoumngar (Langham Scholar Care Coordinator, Africa), Paul Barker (Langham Scholar Care Coordinator, Asia), Mark Hunt (Langham Executive Director) and Ben Homan (Langham US, President).
Interestingly, Langham Preaching was not absent, for many of the delegates participated in or facilitated Preaching events in their regions!
And, for the first time at such a Consultation, Langham Literature had the opportunity to introduce their list of academic publications to the scholars. Pieter Kwant and Luke Lewis enjoyed the rate at which the stacks of catalogues and books shrunk on the book table! For many scholars it was a first chance to see and handle these resources, many by local authors, for their own regions. Pieter was also able to talk to and encourage several scholars interested in becoming writers.
Scholars throng at the book table
ICETE C-15 was an important meeting for Scholars. We rejoice and give thanks! Also for the exciting glimpse of how all three Langham Ministry Programmes dovetail in theological education worldwide.
Stefanii Ferenczi is the Executive Assistant to Riad Kassis
Pieter Kwant is the Director of Langham Literature
Luke Lewis is the Supply Chain Operations Manager for Langham Literature
