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was negatively associated with evangelisch (i.e. something like Biblicist evangelicalism or
fundamentalism). The topic of leadership, the students emphasized, did not fare well
among teachers either, because of connotations with ‘America’ and with ‘Willow
Creek’.
* Church office: different emphases
As to church office, teachers and students differed in how they emphasized this aspect of
the pastorate: some had a ‘high church’ conception of it, others a ‘low church’ interpretation,
while many found themselves somewhere in between these two poles. Students
in Leiden and Utrecht follow a 5 ec systematic theological course called Ambt, Kerk en
Recht [Office, Church and Law], in which various models are sketched. During their MA
track, students are encouraged to develop and formulate their own vision on this topic,
both during this course and during related ones, 68 and also when reflecting on their
fieldwork: “With what interpretation of church office am I comfortable, and what does
it mean for my practical functioning?” Notwithstanding different emphases, one thing
became clear: students are not supposed to underestimate the importance of church office.
In the words of one interviewee: “the students are preparing to occupy the institute
called ‘office’ within the institute called ‘church’.”
2. What is the ideal or vision concerning the internal culture of the school, including
the aspect of community, and what does this mean in practice?
Teachers and students were basically in agreement. There is no such thing as a faith
community of professors and students, nor of the teaching staff among themselves. Of
the three PThU-locations, this was thought to be most true of Utrecht. The architecture
of the faculty of theology in Utrecht gives a formal, modern and bureaucratic ‘message’,
which was thought to be typical of the general climate there. Kampen, on the
other hand, knows something called civitas, which can be conceived of as an academic
community. This means that there are, from time to time, common lunches, cultural
activities, lectures, and liturgies around Christian feasts. Furthermore, the building in
Kampen seemed to convey a warm and somewhat contemplative atmosphere. Still,
these characteristics do not add up to anything like a Christian faith community. One
interviewee from Kampen put it as follows: “There are nice statements put on paper,
but I think that we do not succeed in turning these into reality.” Later, the same person
asked rhetorically: “How can you say that you educate students to being spiritually integrated
while you yourself lack this same quality as a community?” 69 As to Leiden,
while no references to civitas were made, it was emphasized that there was room for a
68
In Kampen, students complete the three semesters that are specifically focused on preparing for the pastorate
[beroepsgerichte deel] with a 5 ec theological position paper.
69
With the intention of improving on this point, the PThU decided that the locations from September
2012 onward (i.e. Amsterdam and Groningen) would both have a chapel. PThU Director of Education, e-
mail message to author, May 2, 2011.