Theological Education

An Excerpt from an Interview with Kitty Blackburn, Dean of Keymark Theological School (www.christianleaders.org)

Ed: What is wrong with the obvious goal [for theological schools] of making ministers? Isn't that why most students come to seminary, to become religious leaders of some kind?

KB: Well, that is what Edward Farley means by the "clerical paradigm." The clerical paradigm refers to the notion that the best way to teach ministers to be ministers is to teach them to be proficient at the skills and activities that make up a pastor's life. So, you teach them to preach, to counsel, to run a meeting, and to teach the Bible. And you assume that to the extent that they do each of these well they are good ministers. The problem, as Farley shows in tremendous detail, is that the paradigm does not actually work. If you only teach skills, you get lousy ministers. They have no heart. They are automatons that can go through the check-list and, say, preach a technically pleasing sermon. But they have, in the end, nothing to say. There is no depth of thought, no working through the crises of faith that make faith strong. They end up like the seed planted in rocky soil. They prosper initially but soon wither under the heat of ministry.

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Lay people have known for years that something was wrong with modern theological education, but they didn’t know how to articulate it. It usually came out as some variation of “our pastor is not very spiritual.” Pastors tended to hear this as a judgment on their more liberal theology and to react negatively. Both parties were wrong.
I think Ms. Blackburn has named the problem in the structure of theological education. This is an issue primarily in Protestant seminaries. Catholic seminaries have known for years that the spiritual formation of the pastor is a critical part of the process of preparing for ministry. When I started as a student at United Theological Seminary (Dayton) 37 years ago UTS was a pioneer in making “formation” part of the program. Although it was more psychological than spiritual in those days, the process was in place.
Today the concept of spiritual formation for clergy (and laity) has gained traction across many denominations and theological education continues to evolve. We have not yet reached perfection.