dissertation

317
and ecclesiology, ‘mission shaped’ churches, the role of missional leadership, and the
strategic importance of appropriate forms of leader education. 130
Third, in these theological institutes and their constituencies, there appears to be, as of
yet, little urgency about the active recruitment and selection of future missional leaders.
Such persons are likely to be found in groups that sociologists call ‘Innovators’ or the
‘creative class’ (cf. 2.2.3 and 7.7.4). The reality is that, generally speaking, Christians
who are highly talented and innovative in other fields than scholarship, often are not
enthusiastic about the prospect of being educated for church leadership in the traditional
sense of the word (cf. 9.3.1). It will take special effort to gain their interest, and to
offer them programs that suit their talents.
Fourth, none of the three MA programs that we researched can be said to be very innovative
in regard to how they deal with the challenges that the ‘information revolution’
has for educational approaches. Educating in a digital age may, for example, entail
facilitating self-directed learning, the integration of many subjects to tackle single problems,
visual-spatial information processing, and learning several things at the same
time. 131 It is true that in recent years, the topic of teaching methods has received more
attention than previously was the case in the three institutes. Still, there are more possibilities
to explore regarding innovative teaching methods that are aimed at integrating
theoretical reflection, learning from experience, and personal leadership development.
In this and perhaps other respects, much can be learned from practices in the Emerging-Missional
milieu and from secular quarters. 132 This topic of teaching methods will
be revisited in the next chapter.
Finally, the educational philosophy of the PThU is difficult to ascertain, 133 while that
of the other two could be unpacked more. 134 In all three cases it is unclear to what extent
the educational philosophy is shared among the faculty or students. Since a prime
130
This should not be taken to mean that ‘nothing is happening’ on these points. It will be recalled, for
example, that the TUK offers a special MA program on Missional Congregation, and that the PThU has
courses on missional church and leadership in its permanent education program.
131
Jerry Larsen, Religious Education and the Brain: A Practical Guide for Understanding How We Learn about
God (New York: Paulist Press, 2000), 123. This quote, though relevant, is still typical for the period of
‘Web 1.0’, which came to an end around 2004. Between 2005 and 2010, almost 4,000 publications focusing
on Web 2.0 and learning and instruction have been published, while since 2011 the attention has shifted
to Web 3.0 (also known as the Semantic Web), which has still more implications and possibilities for
learning and academic education. See Dirk Ifenthaler, “Introduction: Is Web 3.0 Changing Learning and
Instruction?”, in: Pedro Isaias et al, eds., Towards Learning and Instruction in Web 3.0: Advances in Cognitive
and Educational Psychology (Springer, 2012), xi-xvi.
132
“Leaders across human enterprises have committed themselves to learning better strategies and skills for
effective leadership,” the Anglican theologian David Gortner observes. “The church proceeds at its own peril
of foolishness if it ignores this body of learning.” David T. Gortner, “Looking at Leadership beyond Our
Own Horizon,” Anglican Theological Review 91, no. 1 (2009), 121.
133
This will change in the near future, as the basic points have been put on paper already. PThU Director
of Education, e-mail message to author, January 21, 2012.
134
E.g., for the ETF: what is the critique concerning the constructivist view of learning, and what is the alternative?
And for the TUK: how exactly is the constructivist view on learning – which is said to be very
important – ‘translated’ into practice?