Mission and Interchurch Relations: Separate, Connected, Blended? Insights for Contemporary Adventist Theological Education

Abstract

The shape and development of theological education, in particular Christian traditions, reflects several influences, including denominational emphases, current conceptions of theology, the inherited shape of theology as an academic discipline with its more or less rigidly separated sub-disciplines, and particular cultures. These influences are also seen in the Adventist context. The overall picture of the denomination's theological curricula shows a strong emphasis on Biblical Studies and Pastoral Theology , a somewhat weaker representation of Church History, Systematic Theology, and Mission Studies, and little if any emphasis on such areas as religious studies and interchurch relations. This is hardly surprising. A shift from instruction for evangelism to a more sophisticated Adventist theological training may be observed around World War II in the United States and from the 1970s onward in much of the remaining world. This shift led to diverse results, but in many schools the upgrading of theological education brought about a focus on what Adventists had always considered their strength-Biblical Studies-and a professionalization of ministry in the areas of homiletics, counseling, and youth ministry. Only in a few institutions was an emphasis on mission studies added, possibly because traditional patterns of sending Western missionaries to the Two-Thirds World changed in the same period. Subsequently some schools tried to interact with the theological discourse outside the Adventist context more consciously, while others conceived their task to be of a more apologetic nature. Altogether, the denomination's theological training has come to resemble programs of other faith traditions.