Building the Whole Church

Collaborating Theological Education Practices in the Ecclesial Context of South Asia

Jessy Jaison

• Publisher: Langham Global Library
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781839738593
• eBook ISBN: 9781839739026
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

As the church grows ever larger in areas once considered impervious to the gospel, theological training is failing to keep up with the needs of local congregations. This lack of missional capacity, alongside an overwhelming shortage of trained leadership, indicates a pressing need to revisit the aims and approaches of theological education globally.Engaging qualitative research from South Asia, Dr. Jessy Jaison demonstrates that both formal and non-formal approaches to theological training can support the church's missional calling. However, she challenges the growing normalization that theological education is an end in itself, distant from those it was meant to serve. Dr. Jaison calls for a church-centered paradigm in which all forms of training would collaborate with and for the body of Christ. Not only will readers be introduced to theological education in the the South Asian context, they will also benefit from the practical and collaborative model demonstrated and how they can revitalize the process in supporting the church in its mission.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Abstract
• 1 Introduction: The Shifting Terrain of Theological Education
• 2 A Disadvantageous Gap
• 3 Listening Process 1: Lead Trainers/Faculty in Four Countries in South Asia
• 4 Listening Processes 2–4: Global, Regional and National Voices
• 5 Thinking Quality, Context, Collaboration, and the Church
• 6 Envisioning Collaboration: A Biblical and Practical Discourse
• Appendix 1 Defining Formal and Nonformal TE
• Appendix 2 Opinionnaire 1
• Appendix 3 Opinionnaire 2
• Appendix 4 Respondents – Opinionnaires 1 & 2
• Bibliography
• About ICETE
• About Langham Partnership
• Endnotes