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formed Churches in the Netherlands] and the seminary of the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk
[the Restored Reformed Church] (Amsterdam). 5 In both cases the requests were denied.
The reason given in a letter by the Board of Directors of ‘Apeldoorn’ was that the teachers
were too busy. The seminary in Amsterdam did not send a formal reply at all.
Consequently the overview in this chapter is somewhat more limited than we originally
intended. 6 Nonetheless, the three institutes that were researched represent an interesting
spectrum of the Dutch protestant landscape: mainline reformed (PThU), orthodox
calvinistic (TUK), and ‘classic’ evangelical (ETF).
In particular, the MA curricula were investigated, because, generally speaking, pastors
in Dutch churches in the protestant tradition are required to have an academic degree
at this level. More specifically, we researched the educational routes that are meant for
future pastors and (co-)leaders of congregations, the so-called predikantenopleiding. Within
these educational routes the spotlight was directed on those that are full-time, rather
than part-time ones, 7 because exploring both was not feasible in the amount of
time available. In terms of method, this means – inter alia – that the focus group sessions
were conducted with full-time students. 8 Consequently, the results and conclusions
are only indirectly applicable to part-time educational routes and their students.
Three methods were used to acquire the data that was needed: semi-structured interviews,
focus groups, and analysis of written sources varying from mission statements to
specific course and examination descriptions. The first three subsections provide a general
explanation of these methods (10.1.1-10.1.3). The next one explains the format in
which the findings are presented (10.1.4). Discussions of the data found in each institute
subsequently follow: the PThU in section 10.2; the TUK in section 10.3; the ETF in
section 10.4. Some concluding remarks follow at the end of this chapter (10.5).
10.1.1 Semi-structured Interviews
We were able to use written sources for our earlier descriptions of EMC views on
leadership (chapters 7-8) and leader education (chapter 9). When we searched for the
5
This seminary was established in 2005, in the wake of the merging of churches that created the Protestantse
Kerk in Nederland (PKN) The most conservative wing within the former Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk
decided not to join the PKN, calling itself the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk. The mission statement of its seminary,
located at the VU University Amsterdam, is focused on “the practice of reformed theology for church
and society.” Hersteld Hervormde Kerk Seminarium, http://www.hersteld hervormd seminarie.nl (accessed
March 29, 2011).
6
From an analysis of the curricula of both institutes, one thing that stands out is that leadership as an academic
subject with connections to the fields of psychology, sociology, and missiology, as well as leader development
– which in our opinion should encompass much more than doing homiletic exercises or giving
catechesis – receive minimal attention, if any at all. This impression was confirmed by students of both institutes
that were (informally) approached to react on this topic.
7
One qualification should be added here: data concerning the three semesters in the MA trajectory offered
in Kampen that are specifically focused on preparation for the pastorate [beroepsgerichte deel] are applicable
for both full-time students and for part-time students with a BA certificate [post-HBO-deeltijdstudenten].
8
The first focus group forms an exception, as is explained in 10.1.2, below.