America’s theological schools and seminaries are in need of transfiguration. Facing a myriad of significant challenges ranging from financial instability, decreasing enrollment, student debt, and accusations of postmodern irrelevancy, institutions of Christian higher learning are compelled to replace older models of delivery with structures that engage society and support the student of the 21st century. Apart from developing realistic strategic plans that include the implementation of timely financial dashboards, enrollment-retention scorecards, market segmentation research, honest faculty-curriculum reviews, and specialized development-communications protocols, a solid biblical paradigm will be an invaluable safeguard for leaders who seek to prudently guide their schools through this period of educational transition.

The scriptural narrative of Jesus’ epiphanous Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-9; Mark 9: 2-8; Luke 9: 28-36) provides inestimable counsel to contemporary theological schools interested in navigating the difficult challenges before them. Observed in various forms since the 9th century, the message conveyed in the commemoration of Jesus’ mountaintop “illumination,” annually celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches on August 6^th, can inspire leaders to creatively transfigure old and sacred traditions of theological education to do new and exciting things.

An icon of the Transfiguration, which reflects a unique theological contribution towards the revitalization of the nation’s theological schools, hangs in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, the main museum of Russian national art. Known as the Theophanes Icon of the Transfiguration, the early 15^th century religious painting includes two diminutive, yet highly significant, scenes. Introduced by Theophanes, the Constantinople-born iconographer, these smaller sections guide the icon’s “readers” to ponder the Transfiguration from both the ascent and descent perspectives of Jesus and his three disciples. Unsurprisingly, Theophanes depicts Christ paying more attention to the disciples’ decent than to their upward climb.

The primary message of the Theophanes Icon is clear. To truly honor the Transfigured Christ, one must leave behind the “tabernacles” and “booths” of religious comfort zones and return in service to a suffering humanity. There can be no extended reveling or permanent mountaintop luxuriating . . . no booths, tabernacles, or triumphalist memorials.  While it is understandable that the disciples would be tempted to erect religious booths that would allow them to bask in the presence of their transfigured teacher, whose face and garment “shone white as the light” (Matthew 17:2), Jesus encouraged them to alternatively climb back down the mountain and minister to an “unbelieving and perverse generation” epitomized by the demon-possessed body (tabernacle) of a young boy (Matthew 17:14-21).

Like the three disciples that experienced the Transfigured Glory of Jesus, contemporary seminaries and theological schools have a responsibility to help future religious leaders increase their desire and abilities to transfigure society’s “towns” and to avoid the temptation of reveling in the glory of their speculative “gowns.” They must instill in them the wisdom to understand that the culmination of their theological education is not reaching the “summit” of some perceived luminous mystical knowledge. On the contrary, while foundational to spiritual discernment, the primary goal of their students’ theological education must be the desire to descend in service to others.  The focus should therefore never be on the glory of their “gown” . . . but on the tabernacle of humanity’s “town.”

Town and gown are two distinct hamlets of a university. While “town” refers to the non-academic population, “gown” pertains to an academy’s scholastic community. Coined during the Middle Ages, when students admitted to European universities donned garb similar to that worn by the clergy, the long black robe, hood and graduation cap became the social symbols of the educated. By their distinctive clothing, students were set apart and distinguished from the “un-lettered” citizens of the town.

Since that time, relationships between universities and local communities have been either non-existent or unconstructive. As a result of dissimilar philosophies and strict religious practices, many institutions of higher Christian education in the past literally walled themselves off from their host communities. As a result, local populations often viewed seminaries and colleges as supercilious, complaining about their tax-exempt status, physical encroachment, and arrogant students.

A tragic example of such town-gown acrimony is the Saint Scholastica’s Day Riot which took place in 1355 in Oxford England. According to historical accounts, a number of students drinking at the Swindlestock Tavern complained about the quality of the wine. Responding to the indecorous response of John of Barford, the tavern’s landlord and Mayor of Oxford, a student is alleged to have thrown a quart of beer at him. Before cooler heads could prevail, the bell of the City Church summoned the townsmen to arms. The University retaliated by rousing its students to the fray by ringing the bell of the University Church. During the three-day skirmish that ensued, 63 Oxford students and 30 town citizens were killed.

If the nation’s seminaries and theological schools wish to successfully overcome the challenges that confront them, they must first rededicate themselves to their primary mission of serving the “towns” of humanity. If presidents and trustees of our nation’s faith-based institutions of higher learning honestly desire to honor the Transfigured Lord, they must courageously ring the bells of their respective universities and encourage an engagement of service rather than isolation and/or confrontation with society.

Theological Schools must strive to teach their graduates to engage rather than isolate themselves and their future pastoral appointments from society’s privations. While they should not discount the value of diligently striving to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to earn a graduate’s gown, leaders of seminaries and theological schools must simultaneously guard against unintentionally promoting the notion that in and of themselves such gowns confer an elite holiness of life. Like His inner circle of disciples, graduates need to understand that the glory of Jesus must be integrated with His incarnational suffering. The 21^st Century seminary and theological school must, consequently, follow Jesus where ever He leads, even if they know that the challenges ahead will be painful and difficult.

Recognizing the vital role that education must play in responding to societal issues, the Roman Catholic Pope and Saint, John Paul II, encouraged institutions of higher learning in America to “reengage the culture and communicate effectively the great synthesis of the Christian intellectual tradition that unites both faith and reason” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 1990). Speaking at the Catholic University of America in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI underscored his predecessor’s sentiments, by insisting that God’s revelation should “motivate each generation of Christian educators to ensure that the power of God’s truth permeates every dimension of the institutions and the communities they serve.” Far from being just a communication of “factual data (informative) the loving truth of the Gospel,” said the Pontiff Emeritus, “should remain creative and life-changing (performative).”

Intent on responding to the challenges facing theological education throughout the world, in 2016 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, hosted 30 theologians, scholars, and teachers from the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia at a Scholars Meeting at the Phanar in Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople). “Orthodoxy is characterized by a profound sense of continuity with the times and teachings of the Apostolic Church and the Church of the Fathers,” insisted Bartholomew, “but it is also a Church that draws from its rich heritage in order to respond to modern challenges and dilemmas.”

Similar to his Catholic counterparts, the Patriarch exhorted the educational leaders to effectively respond to their role in the public square, where there are so many competing opinions. “Our faith should not be regarded as stagnant or even obsolete,” stated the primus inter pares (first among equals) of the Eastern Orthodox Church. “It must not be conveyed as verbose or perhaps artificial. And it cannot be dismissed as merely cerebral or uninspired. It must be renewed and renewing, reviving and refreshing.” The Patriarch, consequently exhorted the global conclave of educators to “translate the fundamental principles of faith in response to the vital challenges of our time.”

In 2015, seminary presidents were invited (TGC) to discuss what they considered “the greatest challenges” that theological schools and seminaries in North America would face over the next 20 years. Apart from demographic forces, financial constraints, changing delivery models, distance learning, and gender issues, the presidents all agreed with Patriarch Bartholomew’s exhortation that theological schools should “establish strategic community alliances to effectively respond to current cultural and social issues.”

While mission to their respective faith denomination should remain paramount, the presidents additionally agreed with the need to produce graduates who could “actually lead . . . rather than just articulate theological ideas.” Amid cultural, technological, and economic changes, they insisted that theological schools and seminaries have entered a new era of “town-gown” relations for which future religious leaders must be appropriately equipped to “proactively serve society in true partnership.”

Despite the history of “walled universities” and turbulent incidents like the Saint Scholastica’s Day Riot, the last three decades have witnessed the creation of numerous innovative “town-gown” partnerships by American institutions of higher learning. This year, in fact, marks the 30^thAnniversary of Campus Compact (https://compact.org/), a national coalition of over 950 college and university presidents that was established to promote community service, civic engagement, and service-learning.

Campus Compact was founded in 1985 by the presidents of Brown, Georgetown, and Stanford Universities. These noted educational leaders shared a common concern about the ongoing health and strength of democracy in the United States and the belief that higher education could be a more effective contributor of more robust support structures for community engagement. As a result, Campus Compact has contributed to and been a beneficiary of a dramatic thawing of town-gown relations.

In recognition of its 30th anniversary (2015-16), the Board of Directors of Campus Compact has invited the presidents of America’s college and university to join in signing a declaration of Commitments for the public purposes of higher education. The declaration includes the following five pledges:

Like Campus Compact, the International Orthodox Theological Association (https://iota-web.org/), a recently formed community of scholars and professionals dedicated to the worldwide exchange of knowledge within the context of the Orthodox Christian tradition, advocates the promotion of “town-gown” relationship. According to the vision statement of IOTA’s Theological Institutions Group, “theological institutions, once “walled off” from society (especially ecclesiastical seminaries), have been for decades open institutions of spiritual and theological growth and questioning. While book learning is still fundamental, engagement with society constitutes a key element of theological education.” Due to the varied challenges confronting the contemporary seminary and theological school, the IOTA’s Institutions Group suggests that the emphasis in these schools and institutes “cannot simply be on preserving the faith, but must include evangelism, apologetics, encountering, engaging with, and challenging the world.”

According to the Clergy Into Action Study: From Seminary to Ministry (2010-13) (http://into-action.net/), a national study of recently ordained clergy, seminaries are “good at forming ministers who have the basic traditional (and expected) skills in preaching, pastoral care, and sacramental ministry,” but not at shaping leaders who can be “agents of transformational change.” Similar to the more secular-focused Commitments of Campus Compact, the recommendations (2015) of the Lilly Endowment–funded Clergy Into Action analysis of theological schools across North America include the need to “develop programs and partnerships that model for students a Christian community of engagement that provide opportunities for deeper leadership development.”

In a 2005 article published in The Innovation Journal(https://www.innovation.cc/volumes-issues/vol10-no2.htm), Lawrence L. Martin, Hayden Smith and Wende Philips survey the literature on university and community partnerships. The authors provide examples of how the Clergy Into Action and the Campus Compact’s town-gown Commitments may be advanced:

Since 1938, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in America has maintained a list of General Standards for the accreditation of its member institutions. The Standards both define minimal requirements for accreditation and identify qualities associated with good institutional practice. These vitalities articulate the shared understandings and accrued wisdom of the seminary and theological school community in America regarding normative institutional performance.

In 2015, the ATS Commission on Accreditation adopted Standards of Accreditation composed of three complementary parts: (1) General, (2) Educational, and (3) Degree Program Standards. These standards seek to describe excellence in theological education in the context of the different purposes and constituencies of accredited schools. They provide the basis for ongoing institutional and educational improvement as well as descriptions of minimal expectations.

While they may be interpreted in slightly varying ways as a function of each respective school’s structure and educational mission, ATS recommends that Christian institutions of theological higher learning in America adhere to eight General Standards (2015): (1) purpose, planning, and evaluation, (2) identity, (3) curriculum, learning, teaching, and research, (4) library and information resources, (5) faculty, (6) student recruitment, admission, service, and placement, (7) authority and governance, and (8) institutional resources.

The 1^st General Standard (2012) by which the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools assess the vitality of member institutions is the school’s reliance on ongoing evaluation. According to the Standard, “theological schools are communities of faith and learning guided by a theological vision.” Honest ongoing evaluation of its mission, leadership, governance, financial resources, administrative structures, and educational programs is the only way that schools can “continue the heritage of theological scholarship, attend to the religious constituencies served, and respond to the global context of religious service and theological education.”

The town-gown thrust of the Association’s initial criterion is expanded in the Commission’s 3^rdGeneral Standard that emphasizes the need for theological schools and seminaries to “collaborate and communicate beyond the theological school’s immediate environment to relate it to the wider community of the church, the academy, and the society.” According to ATS, “theological scholarship is enhanced by active engagement with the diversity and global extent of those wider publics, and it requires a consciousness of racial, ethnic, gender, and global diversities.” Consequently, the 3^rd General Standard, encourages theological schools to demonstrate “practices of teaching, learning, and research (theological scholarship) that encourage global awareness and responsiveness.”

In his article, Five Principles for Change in Theological Schools” (2017), Frank Yamada, the current executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, indicates that theological education in America is at the crossroads of major shifts both in higher education and in the church. In order to effectively navigate this new world, Yamada recommends that theological schools embrace “a bifocal vision, a sightline that embraces both our legacy and the need for change in our schools.” Yamada offers five principles for advancing such a concomitant vision: (1) conduct a sober assessment, (2) engage the right people in the right positions, (3) change from the margins, not the center, (4) acknowledge that change is difficult, (5) be collaborative.

Yamada’s 3^rd principle, namely, the need to advance institutional change “from the margins rather the center,” deserves serious consideration as it is firmly centered on healthy town-gown partnerships advocated by ATS’ General Standards. Traditionally, new programs in most of institutions of higher education, begin at the core with the faculty and the curriculum. Corroborating the research conclusions of the Clergy into Action project, the Commitmentsof the Campus Compact, and Patriarch Bartholomew’s Scholars Conclave, Yamada encourages theological schools to avoid such inclinations by seeking to harness the creative energy for new programs through a synergy between town and gown. In this fashion, Yamada insists, “the creative process would start outward and move inward.”

Except for the most naïve, America’s seminary and theological school leaders all agree that their institutions are experiencing extraordinary challenges that threaten their very survival. The adoption of a solid scriptural paradigm such as the Transfiguration of Jesus may help navigate the numerous complications that are often associated with these difficulties. Only in this way can our nation’s academies of theological inquiry avoid the temptations of denominational elitism and/or institutional sequestration.

Pope Benedict XVI once wrote “no one lives on Mt. Tabor while on earth. We must not remain in isolation from the world and its contradictions, as Peter would have wanted on Mount Tabor” exhorted the Pontiff. “Rather, the Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from Him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.”

America’s theological schools and seminaries are in need of adopting such a paradigm of transfiguration. Mountaintops are indeed valuable, but they do not provide a suitable environment for expansion.  On the contrary, summits are frequently covered with hard clay, rock, and low creeping vines. As one climbs higher, the air becomes thin and the plants scarce. To experience robust growth, one has to climb down into the valleys where there is an abundance of water, sunshine, and lush rich colors.

This then, is the primary mission of America’s seminaries and theological schools – to engage the world through the transfiguring grace of Jesus Christ. To do so, however, leaders of these institutions of Christian learning must, like Peter, James, and John, faithfully respond to the invitation of God to climb down off their respective educational peaks and serve the town rather than build tabernacles in honor of their gown.

(This and several upcoming issues of Frankly Speaking will discuss how the eight General Standards of the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools can be used to revitalize theological education in America.)

The wisdom of God is sleeping in many of our nation’s seminaries and theological schools. While economic volatility, global aggression, terrorism, utilitarianism, and relational dysfunction grips contemporary society, the priceless insights of Christian spirituality are often missing from the marketplace of ideas. All that is required to invigorate the spiritual malaise are mature religious leaders, imbued with the “wisdom from above” (James 3:17), who are able and willing to courageously steward God’s elegant Truths in their respective contexts.

Part Two of Transfiguring Theological Educationwill examine the first General Standard of the Commission on Accreditation of the Association of Theological Schools, namely, Purpose, Planning and Evaluation. In particular, this essay will discuss how the process of institutional evaluation can be employed by educational leaders who, undaunted by fiscal, administrative, and pedagogical challenges, are also interested in discerning effective ways to “wake” the quiescent wisdom slumbering in the suppositional repositories of their institutions of higher theological education.

On August 4^th, two days before the liturgical commemoration of our Lord’s Holy Transfiguration, the Orthodox and Catholic Churches celebrate the memory of the Seven Youths of Ephesus, a legendary group of young persecuted Christians who were sealed inside a cave in Asia Minor in the third century A.D. emerging years later following a miraculous slumber.  According to Christian accounts, in order to escape the persecution of Emperor Decius (249-251), seven young soldiers or “Sleepers,” as they are referred to in Islamic tradition, hid themselves in a cave near Ephesus.  Learning where the men were hiding, the emperor ordered the entrance of the hollow secured with heavy boulders.

Nearly two centuries later (184 years), construction workers unsealed the grotto’s opening and discovered the un-decayed bodies of the sleeping soldiers. Once awakened, the spiritual witness of these young companions confirmed the doctrine of the resurrection which was, at the time, being assailed by heretics. An Orthodox Christian hymn sung during the commemoration of the event describes the Seven Youths as “equal in number to the pillars of God’s Wisdom.”  By “their words,” the Canticle exhorts, the youths should be praised “for crushing the ungodly teaching of the tyrants as with stones.”

What are the “seven pillars of Wisdom” that sleep in many of our nation’s seminaries and theological schools? And, what are the barriers that prevent this deposit from effectively reaching contemporary contexts? While the “boulders” of financial, administrative, and andragogical challenges are passionately debated, school leaders should also resolve the preeminent ways of advancing the mission of their indispensable enterprise, namely, the formation of religious leaders that posses the intellectual precision and exhibit the wisdom-based vitalities required to transfigure society. In order to do so, however, theological schools and seminaries must evaluate if their foundational capacities are firmly established on Wisdom’s sure footings.

As communities of faith and learning, guided by a theological vision, theological schools are encouraged by the Commission on Accreditation for the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) “to conduct ongoing institutional planning and evaluation of outcomes to assure faithful implementation of the school’s purpose, priorities, and denominational and theological commitments.”  According to ATS, the overarching goal of its member schools “is the development of theological understanding, that is, aptitude for theological reflection and wisdom pertaining to a responsible life in faith.”

Effective theological schools are, therefore, distinguished for fostering a culture that encourages ongoing evaluation of their denominational commitments and theological aptitudes of reflection, understanding, and wisdom. Only by honestly assessing these vitalities can educational institutions reliably determine if, in fact, the propensity for wisdom is effectively being formed in their graduates. A such, ATS recommends comprehensive evaluation as the primary method that an institution of theological higher learning can use to determine the extent to which it is achieving its primary purpose, priorities, and goals.

In their book, Educational Assessment of Students(2018), Anthony Nitko and Susan Brookhart define institutional school assessment as “a process for obtaining information that is used for making decisions about students, curricula, programs, and educational policy.” Since excellent schools make decisions that are informed by constant and consistent assessment, Nitko and Brookhart encourage educational leaders and teachers to evaluate student results and design classroom assessment activities that provide the information necessary to make best decisions for their institutions.

The Standards of Accreditation, published by the Association of Theological Schools, adhere to Nitko and Brookhart’s definition by both outlining the minimal requirements for accreditation and identify qualities associated with good institutional practice. According to ATS, evaluation includes: (1) the identification of desired goals or outcomes for an educational program, or institutional service, or personnel performance, (2) a system of gathering quantitative or qualitative information related to the desired goals, (3) the assessment of the performance of the program, service, or person based on this information, and (4) the establishment of revised goals or activities based on the assessment.

According to first General Standard, “the scope of institutional evaluation includes, (1) the ability to fulfill the school’s mission, (2) the ability to provide the resources necessary to sustain and improve the school, and (3) the ability of governance and administrative structures, personnel, and procedures to exercise leadership adequately on behalf of the school’s purpose and to operate the school with integrity.” Unfortunately, the approach to theological education by the nation’s theological schools and seminaries is too often overly conceptual, cognitive, individualistic, competitive, and isolated from the Church and the local communities they were originally intended to serve. Studies have identified widespread tendencies of division between theory, practice and various theological disciplines.  As a result, while impersonal intellectual precision may exist, the aptitude of pastoral wisdom sleeps.

If institutions of Christian theological education are interested in adhering to ATS’s overarching goal of forming graduates with “an aptitude for theological reflection and wisdom pertaining to a responsible life in faith,” a viable solution might include identifying “the wisdom from above” as the primary criteria for their respective institutional self-study and evaluations (James 3.15).  In so doing, they will be able to more effectively develop and advance strategies that nurture an institutional “ethos” capable of integrating both contemplative and practical wisdom. Integration is not an attempt to maintain a balance between the academic, the spiritual, and the practical, as though things were done one at a time. Integration means bringing these aspects together into a whole and doing them at the same time. Rather than separating the disciplines of worship, academics, training, and experience, a wisdom-based praxis of formation could integrate them all. But, what exactly are the qualities of a wisdom-based praxis of formation?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “wisdom” as “understanding of what is true, right, or lasting; common sense; good judgment; learning.” The word that is used for “wisdom” in both the Old and New Testaments carries with it the meaning of having a “skill in living, following God’s design and avoiding moral pitfalls.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary defines wisdom as “being skilled in godly living.”

Wisdom is a powerful quality and a theme occurring 41 times in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs. “Wisdom,” insists King Solomon, “is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her” (Proverbs 8:11). Emphasizing that the pursuit of wisdom is not simply speculative but involves the entire human person (mind, body and soul), Solomon, suggests that “Wisdom’s house is built on seven pillars” (Proverbs 9:1). The Old Testament King’s proverbial description is much more than a personification of God nature. On the contrary, subsequent biblical writers suggest that Solomon’s “seven pillars” refer to a list of spiritual vitalities, generally classified as (1) truth, (2) knowledge, (3) reverence, (4) counsel, (5) prudence, (6) justice, and (7) virtue.

Apart from Solomon’s seven “pillars” (Proverbs 7-8), an equal number of wisdom qualities are notably described by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11), the Apostle James (James 3:17), and Saint Peter (2 Peter 1:5-9) who seem to suggest that there are quantifiable components to the virtues that comprise wisdom-based praxis of spiritual formation. A purposeful order and relationship is evident in each catalogue of the qualities listed below.

Contemporary theological schools and seminaries would be well served to understand how to distinguish and integrate the transformative formation of both aspects of wisdom in the hearts, minds, and bodies of their students. Saint James describes contemplative wisdom as the spiritual capacity for discerning the right course of action between the inauguration and consummation of God’s eternal kingdom. The development of wisdom is a life-long process that edifies the faithful how to integrate inner mystical experiences with natural world contexts. Practical wisdom, on the other hand, is the social architecture for community formation. Accordingly, the Church should be noted as expressing the “meekness of wisdom” in patterns of speech and action that are “pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere” (James 3.1-4.12).

The integration of contemplative and practical wisdom entails the exercise of various forms of Christian ministry. For the Apostle James, these include teaching (James 3.1), singing songs of praise (James 5.13), prayers for forgiveness and healing among the elders (James 5.13-15), the mutual confession of sins (James 5.16), and the restoration of sinners (James 5.19-20). In so doing, practical wisdom realizes the same end as contemplative wisdom, namely, the development of the individual and community into the image and likeness of God.

Apart from the Scriptural heritage, numerous patristic writings provide valuable insights to an understanding of the qualities of wisdom-based spiritual formation. An early prayer of Saint Augustine, a 4^th Christian theologian and Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity, reflects this realization that humans follow a similar path of spiritual maturity that begins in darkness and moves toward wisdom.  He explains, that “when we turn away from the changeless light of Wisdom, life is full of folly and wretchedness.”

Life’s fulfillment, Augustine insists, “consists in its turning to the changeless light of Wisdom.” As an early Christian hierarch, Augustine’s priority was ministry. His writings, therefore, are a direct result of his pastoral provision. Augustine, consequently, directs pastoral leaders to pursue wisdom through a seven-step praxis of formation: (1) fear; (2) piety, (3) knowledge, (4) resolution, (5) counsel, (6) purification of heart, and (7) wisdom. The process is cyclical and life-long. While each stage of Wisdom’s formation builds on the previous, the seventh quality leads back to the first.

The spiritual formation of theological students has been a major theme of discussion for theological educators in many parts of the world for many decades. For example, a 1989 World Council of Churches (WCC) publication defines spiritual formation as “the intentional processes by which the marks of an authentic Christian spirituality are formed and integrated . . . always God-centered and earth-based.” The Standards of the Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa ACTE include a similar recommendation. According to the ACTE, seminary and theological school educators must take “an active part in the life and worship of the institution, and a visible personal interest in the students and their welfare.” As such, their educational plans “must embrace a concern for the students’ spiritual as well as academic development.”

Like the WCC and ACTE, the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) exhorts theological schools and seminaries to “balance academic and nonacademic concerns.” Theological education, recommends the ICETE, should “combine spiritual and practical with academic objectives in one holistic integrated educational approach . . . to attend to the growth and equipping of the whole man of God by deliberately fostering the spiritual formation of the student.”

Recognizing the heavy emphasis on cognitive learning and answering the anti-intellectual suspicion toward the contemporary theological academy, the Association of Theological Schools has emphasized the need for member schools to advance strategies of personal and spiritual formation. In 2017, the ATS Educational Models and Practices in Theological Education project hosted a peer group forum in of more than 200 theological educators from 110 schools. Student “formation” for religious leadership was among the ten important issues addressed. The peer group agreed that together with intellectual and ministerial learning, more attention should be given to the personal and spiritual formation of students.

Sensitive to the contemporary critique of theological education, ATS sponsored the Readiness for Ministry Project (RfM) for the purpose of developing criteria for evaluating ministry preparation. Profiles of Ministry (PoM), was additionally added by ATS to help schools of theological learning evaluate not only the skills and competencies required for the beginning cleric, but also qualities of formation.

In a feature article published in their online periodical, Insights into Religion, ATS outlines 10 essential skills that will be required of the next generation of religious leaders in America. While some skills are time-tested, such as listening and collaborating, tomorrow’s religious leaders will also need to be entrepreneurial and communicate in new ways. The following table compares the PoM taxonomy of formation characteristics with the Association’s proposed list of 10 essential skills that future religious leaders will need to exhibit.

In his first medical best-seller, Awakenings (1990), author Oliver Sacks, dramatizes the remarkable “awakening” of Leonard Lowe, virtually a lifelong victim of a baffling 1920’s Encephalitis sleeping disease, later understood as a form of Parkinsonianism. In a semi-catatonic state since the age of eleven, Leonard is awakened by Doctor Malcolm Sayer, a young neurologist who refuses to accept the status quo of his now 41-year old patient and successfully treats him with L-dopa, an experimental drug-therapy.

While “awake,” Leonard has a lot to say to the “healthy,” especially on the topic of cherishing the ordinary life that most merely assume as normal and inevitable.  “I feel saved,” Leonard remarks, “resurrected, re-born.  I feel a sense of health amounting to Grace . . . I have been hungry and yearning all my life . . . and now I am full.  Appeased.  Satisfied.  I want nothing more.”

One can only imagine the emotions that the Seven Youths of Ephesus experienced when, like Leonard, they discovered that they had been asleep for a long time. Unlike the hospital patient, however, the nearly 200-year awakening of the seven young companions from a cave of resurrection gave them the opportunity to help an entire society, wandering around in their own kind of stupor, adjust their thinking, more fully engage life, and enjoy words of wisdom that can satisfy their spiritual hunger!

“Wisdom from above” has the intrinsic power to transfigure theological learners and the society into which they will one day be sent to serve. More importantly, it has the vitality to transfigure the very educational institutions that seek to nurture its formation in the hearts and minds of its students. The campus of a seminary or theological school can either be a cave or a castle . . . a tomb or a womb.  A cave is customarily a place of darkness. A lonely place. A confining place. A dead place. And yet, because of our Lord’s Resurrection, the cave of theological inquiry and formation can provide a new anointing, a new vision, and a new sense of purpose . . . a holy place of transformation and rebirth!

COMMUNICATING FROM THE CROSSROADS (Part 3)

By Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP

1. The ability to maintain personal, professional, and spiritual balance.
2. The ability to guide a transformational faith experience (conversion).
3. The ability to motivate and develop a congregation to reclaim their role in reaching new believers.
4. The ability to develop and communicate a compelling vision.
5. The ability to interpret and lead change.
6. The ability to promote and lead spiritual formation for church members.
7. The ability to provide leadership for high-quality, relevant worship experiences.
8. The ability to identify, develop, and support lay leaders.
9. The ability to build, inspire, and lead a team of both staff and volunteers.
10. The ability to manage conflict.
11. The ability to navigate successfully the world of technology.
12. The ability to be a lifelong learner.

THE ROPE OF SHARED GOVERNANCE (Part 4)

By Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP

THE STAMP OF STRATEGIC PHILANTHROPY (Part 5)

By Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP

“By doing good with his money, a man, as it were, stamps the image of God upon it, and makes it pass, current for the merchandise of heaven.” ~ John Rutledge

The rare British Guiana 1c magenta is considered the most valuable stamp in the world. Cut in the shape of an octagon, the stamp is the only one of its kind known to exist. Issued in limited numbers in 1856, the rare impress was discovered in 1873 by a 12-year-old Scottish schoolboy among his uncle’s letters. Since its initial rescue, the stamp has broken the previous world auction price four times, most recently selling in 2014 to shoe designer Stuart Weitzman for $9.5 million in only two minutes.

Before the advent of stamps, the addressee, and not the sender paid for the missive’s delivery. The introduction of the postage stamp by Great Britain in 1840 exempted the recipient of any responsibility. As the anglicized term “philately” is derived from a compound of two Greek words meaning “an affinity” and “exempt from tariff,” famous philanthropists and collectors of rare stamps like Buffet, Carnegie, DuPont, Steinway, and Weitzman, gradually became known as philatelists.

Planned giving is the strategic stamp of philanthropic philatelists. It is the prized postmark that can help theological schools and seminaries overcome their recurring financial challenges. While most educational institutions rightly place an equal emphasis on annual giving, major gifts, and capital campaigns, expert development officers require an additional focus to assure the future sustainability of their respective schools. Rather than inducing donor fatigue through frequent fundraising appeals, these leaders better serve their institutions of theological learning by cultivating long-term strategic-minded donors. By encouraging such potential planned givers to judiciously invest the altruistic stamp of their resources today, they are, in fact, helping entrepreneurial philatelists dispatch their impactful legacies to future recipients, free from any latent tariff.

The previous four parts of the commentary entitledTransfiguring Theological Education have utilized the General Standards of Accreditation (2017) published by the Association of Theological Schools in America (ATS) to help the nation’s theological schools and seminaries identify ways of overcoming the fiscal, administrative, and pedagogical challenges that currently threaten their survival. This essay will continue this pattern by examining how planned giving strategies can help institutions of theological higher education meet their long-term goals and help provide for responsible and effective financial management.

According to the 8^th General Standard onInstitutional Resources, “an institutional advancement program should be planned, organized, and implemented in ways congruent with the principles of the school.” Apart from annual and capital giving initiatives, the Institutional Development and Advancement subsection of the 8^th General Standard recommends that development efforts should include “planned giving conducted in patterns consistent with relationships and agreements with the school’s supporting constituencies.”   But what exactly is planned giving and how can the nation’s theological schools and seminaries harness the valuable postmark of the strategy’s fundraising potential?

Planned giving is a strategic comportment within a comprehensive moves management cultivation process. In their journal article entitled, Planned Giving: The Future of Fund Raising (1991), Joan Edwards and Alden Tueller describe planned giving as a process that generally seeks “large contributions of accumulated assets, real estate, stocks, bonds, trusts, and paid-up insurance policies that require the oversight of a contributor’s financial advisors.” Planned giving should, consequently, not be understood as an add-on fundraising contrivance, amateurishly posted on a website menu of giving options. It is not a simple development tactic concerned with balancing the immediate budget, but an intricate, proactive, donor-centric, and long-term institutional advancement strategy.

In his monograph, Philanthropy and Fundraising in American Higher Education (2011), Noah Drezner, founder and editor of Philanthropy & Education, describes planned giving as a “strategic and long-term approach that has produced the nation’s largest gifts in higher education.” Frequently referred to as “legacy,” “bequest,” or “endowment gifting,” planned giving seeks to cultivate the promise of deferred resource(s) that are often (1) final and nonrecurring, (2) based on donor values, (3) include a reduction of gift taxes, and (4) transformational. Apart from providing philanthropic alignment and a path toward sustainability, Drezner agrees with Edwards and Tueller that planned giving fundamentally seeks to align a donor’s legacy aspirations with the assurance of significant mission impact.

The origin of planned giving can be traced to the classic Greek and Roman civilizations where perpetual family foundations allowed 1^st Century citizens to leave and receive bequests. Later, throughout the medieval period, many social services were performed using the proceeds from land rents held in charitable trusts, and by the remainders from gift annuities funded for the benefit of the Church. During the Reformation, however, statutes were enacted that stipulated, that after a maximum of 20 years, the lands held by the Church were to return to the donor. More recently, America’s early educational, cultural, religious, and social service agencies were established and funded by philanthropists like Ben Franklin, John Harvard, John Carroll, Francis Alison, Leland Stanford, and others whose generous planned gifts created charitable trusts, foundations, and endowments that continue to exist today.

As costs associated with theological higher education in America continued to rise, planned gifts and bequests increased in importance. In addition to alumni, annual, and corporate giving programs, planned giving became critical to an institution’s financial security and sustainability.  Planned giving is currently a way to support and enable philanthropic-minded individuals to make larger gifts than they could make from ordinary income.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) defines a planned gift as a “voluntary and, often, major gift that involves integrating personal, financial and estate planning concepts with a donor’s plan for lifetime or testamentary giving.” Apart from the possibility of significant estate tax benefits, a planned gift provides a way to give beyond the use of current assets. While annual donations are made from a donor’s discretionary income, planned gifts are frequently made at death as part of a donor’s overall financial and/or estate planning. Planned gifts, consequently, require the assistance of qualified professional consultants, legal, and/or financial advisors to provide the needed expertise and confidentiality to appropriately complete and execute. So how and to what philanthropic philatelists should theological schools pilot their planned giving strategy?

In their 2012 Southeast Regional Conference presentation entitled, Effective Ways to Have the Planned Giving Conversation with Donors, the United Way suggests a four-phase approach to planned giving: (1) relating (romance), (2) discovery (research), (3) advocating (request), and (4) supporting (recognition). During the relating (romance) phase, development officers are encouraged to determine the trust and confidence levels that a prospective planned donor has to the institution he/she represents.  While the second phase focuses on discovering a nonprofit’s legitimate need(s), the advocating stage seeks to determine whether or not the “perceived need(s)” aligns with the donor’s. The final supporting phase, tests the degree to which a potential planned giver would be satisfied with “investing” in such a partnership.

Marti Heil and Sandra Bate of the Indiana University Foundation advocate a similar cultivation approach. In their chapter, High-Net-Worth Donors, published in the 3^rd Edition of Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (2011), the authors outline a six-step process that includes: (1) exploration, (2) evaluation, (3) enlightenment, (4) engagement, (5) encouragement, and (6) endowment. Like the United Way, Heil and Bates encourage institutional advancement officers to remain “disciplined” in working with high-net-worth donors. They promise that the “rewards” of personalized and fully engaged donors, enlightened with the organization’s mission, will be “truly transformational.”

In his article, Primary Donor Motivation: The Subtle Difference Between “Giving With” and “Giving Because” (2011), Eddie Thompson, president of Thompson and Associates, a charitable estate planning firm, classifies donors according to three motivations: (1) emotion, (2) habit, and (3) strategy. While three-fourths of all donors give from habit, Thompson suggests that others contribute resources as a result of emotional appeals. Strategic donors, he argues, “almost always pledge significant gifts and make giving decisions based on some strategic significance.”

Donor-centric methods of planned giving best align with the characteristics and motivational dispositions of strategic donors. Like the United Way and the Indiana University Foundation,Thompson and Associates provides a charitable estate planning process for strategic-minded donors that includes: (1) confidentiality, (2) value-based affinity, (3) net-worth estate appraisal, and (4) expert recommendations. Unlike the more transactional approaches that emphasize tax reduction and wealth-transfer strategies, Thompson’s values-based estate planning approach seeks to align a donor’s (1) financial and relational needs/concerns for their spouse and heirs, (2) personal credo of life principles, (3) approximate net-worth, and (4) legacy aspirations. However, only when these issues are suitably clarified, should social-capital tax and wealth-transfer strategies, such as charitable gift annuities, pooled income funds, and charitable remainder unitrusts, be addressed. The result of such a thoughtful and deliberate process is the execution of planned gifts strategies that are far less likely to be revoked in the future.

Planned giving methods provide donors the ability to (1) make a gift, often larger than he or she thought possible, (2) enjoy the satisfaction of providing the means for an institution to fulfill its mission, (3) reduce gift/estate taxes, (4) reduce or avoid capital gains taxes, (5) pass assets on to family members at reduced tax costs, (6) increase income and effective rate of return, (7) possibly receive income for life, and (8) leave an impactful legacy without giving up assets. Like a stamped letter, mailed today and enjoyed by a recipient tomorrow, the pre-paid philanthropic postmark of a properly developed planned gift will sustain the mission and work of the nation’s theological schools and seminaries far into the future. Such altruistic gestures are often called “legacy gifts” because so many are created to endow future generations with formidable influence.

The Council for Aid to Education recently reported that public colleges and universities raised $43.6 billion in 2017. This is the largest fundraising total ever recorded by the annual survey since it began in 1957. Giving by bequest totaled an estimated $35.70 billion, increasing 2.3 percent from 2016. Unfortunately, less than one percent of the nation’s colleges raised more than 28 percent of the record-breaking totals. Like most of their non-religious counterparts, contributions have severely declined, and enrollment at many of the nation’s theological schools and seminaries has fallen by nearly 25% over the past decade. According to the 2017 Moody Investor Service Report, the main contributors of this injurious situation are: (1) decreasing denominational support, (2) tuition discounts, and (3) declining enrollment. As a result, some of the oldest and most celebrated theological institutions of theological higher education in America are on the brink of financial collapse.

Fortunately, according to a recent article (Oct. 16, 2017) in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, an estimated $30 trillion will be inherited by the next generation in the United States from the prosperous Baby Boomers in the next 20 years. Considered the largest reassignment of financial resources in human history, the Great Wealth Transfer, may be the single greatest planned giving opportunity for theological schools and seminaries in the modern era. In order for these institutions to take advantage of this massive reassignment of capital, however, sophisticated planned giving strategies are required.

The Center for the Study of Theological Education at Auburn Theological Seminary offers valuable guidance to institutions of higher theological learning willing to refine their advancement efforts in order to leverage this historic transfer of wealth. According to their publication, Great Expectations: Fund-Raising Prospects for Theological Schools, apart from setting realistic goals, and requiring the participation of their institution’s president, schools of higher education should implement planned giving methods that include a variety of financial instruments adapted to donor values and value-centered legacy aspirations. While planned giving programs will not solve their immediate financial needs, the monogram ensures that academies disposed to doing so, will be “investing in their future’s financial well-being.” To effectively advance such development strategies, however, theological schools and seminaries will be required to contend against the negative influence of the Matthew Effect.

The Matthew Effect, or Principle of Accumulated Advantage, may be summarized by the adages “fortune smiles on the fortunate,” and “nothing succeeds like success.” While the concept is often used to explain positions of fame and status, it may also be applied to describe the cumulative advantage of economic capital. First proposed by sociologist Robert K. Merton in 1968, the theory’s name was coined from a parabolic phrase attributed to Jesus cited twice in the Gospel of Saint Matthew: “To everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 13:12; 25:29).

A 2011 fundraising study conducted by the Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) identified the existence of the Matthew Effect in 27 countries within the European Union. Despite the presence of significant untapped philanthropic potential, it was determined that not all universities were equally endowed with the same fundraising capacities. Privilege, concluded the study, begets privilege when it comes to successful fundraising among universities.

Like the HEI Study, a 2017 Fundraising Report of the Council for Aid to Education also concluded that the most prestigious educational institutions in America tend to raise the largest amounts of money from private sources. Unfortunately, existing positions of prosperity and institutional privilege do, in fact, serve to perpetuate an ongoing cycle of accumulative advantage in American colleges and universities, a trend that is especially pronounced in the nation’s institutions of theological higher education.

Since strategic cultivation increases an organization’s image, reputation, and priority with both current and future planned giving donors, OINOS Consulting has developed a Strategic Cultivation Method that is based on the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-12). If employed in tandem with more specialized value-based estate planning processes like the Thompson and United Way models, the general strategy can help the nation’s institutions of theological higher education counteract the Matthew Effect. Like the British Magenta octagonal stamp, the OINOS cultivation process includes the following eight interrelated steps.

1. Servant: Classification of donors
2. Soil: Clarification of donor’s credo of personal values and aspirations
3. Situation: Alignment of personal credo with mission/vision of school
4. Seed: Calculation of resources
5. Scheme: Identification of most appropriate philanthropic tools/instruments
6. Start: Execution of strategy
7. Salutation: Celebration of philanthropic impact
8. Supervise: Monitoring of on-going donor/institution relationship

The Parable of the Sower, upon which the OINOS Cultivation Method is based, is a story about the awesome investment that God has imparted to humanity. According to Christian sacramental theology, each individual is unique, beloved, “stamped” at baptism with God’s saving Grace . . . the “talent” to which the Parable of the Sower refers. God expects the faithful to utilize their respective charism to extend His Message, not to play it safe . . . or to hoard His Grace by burying wealth, time, and talents in the napkins of self-absorption, negligence, and/or timidity. On the contrary, by courageously advancing effective planned giving strategies, the nation’s institutions of theological higher education can ensure that future seminarians and students will enjoy a “return” on the inheritance that the Lord has bequeathed to his current Church.

In September 2014, a Brooklyn mailman named Joseph Brucato admitted intentionally hoarding nearly a ton (40,000 pieces) of mail over a 10-year period. The postal worker was arrested after his supervisor noticed that the mail carrier’s personal car was stuffed with undelivered envelopes. It took law enforcement agencies five hours to remove the stash of stolen letters they additionally found in Brucato’s apartment. While severe criminal charges were dropped against the then 68-year old postal worker due to his advanced age and poor psychological condition, one can only imagine the reaction of the recipients who finally took delivery of the messages he hoarded from them ten years prior.

Humanity is an interconnected mailroom of aspirational legacies, envisioned by strategic donors who wisely examine the past for relevant precedent, scan the present context for opportunities, and selflessly dispatch their impactful altruism far in to the future. By adhering the prepaid stamp of their respective talents on today’s challenges, philanthropic philatelists can insure that the priceless missives that the nation’s theological schools and seminaries have inherited will not be hoarded in the attic of languid complacency, but rather, faithfully transferred and multiplied in the soil of educational excellence.

THE PLOW OF PARTNERSHIP (Part 6)

by Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62

The nation’s theological schools and seminaries find themselves facing an uncertain future. As enrollments decrease, financial debts mount, and skepticisms rise concerning the value of their degrees, institutions of higher theological education should consider seeking to successfully improve their situations by prudently inviting another school to merge their hands to the plow of partnership.

Theological schools and seminaries are fundamentally academies for/of God’s chosen vicars. Initially mentioned in the Old Testament Books of Samuel and Kings (1 Samuel 19:18–24; 2 Kings 2, 4:38–44), these “schools of the prophets” were the means for promoting the “righteousness which exalts a nation” (Proverbs14:34). Called into existence by the prophets Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha, the students of these coteries were not encouraged to enter into a contemplative retreat from society. On the contrary, they were challenged to bring the Word of God to bear on their contemporary situation by forming partnerships that would help curb the deterioration of Israel’s religious life. In no small degree, the graduates of these brotherhoods aided in laying the foundation of the prosperity which distinguished the reigns of David and Solomon.

Today’s theological schools and seminaries stand in such a similar circumstance. There is a need for institutions of theological higher education to prepare religious leaders who are willing and capable of favorably influencing society through prophetic thought, word, and action. The skills needed to assume such a prophetic posture include the capacities of engaging in critical reflection, integrating material received from the various disciplines of theology and applying these theories within the context of Christian ministry. Consequently, the challenge to appropriately combine the priestly, prophetic, and pastoral aspects of religious leadership is as essential today as it was in the time of the Old Testament.

The previous five commentaries of this series entitled, Transfiguring Theological Education, have utilized various official publications of the Association of Theological Schools in America (ATS) to help the nation’s theological academies identify ways of overcoming the fiscal, administrative, and pedagogical challenges that currently threaten their survival. Apart from advocating the need to implement shared governance models, donor-centered development strategies, and competency-based pedagogical structures, this essay will continue this pattern by examining how partnership mergers may provide a viable strategy for institutions overwhelmed by resource scarcities associated with bloated budgets, high debt, and limited enrollments.

According to Transitions, the 2017 Annual Report of the ATS Commission on Accreditation, institutions of theological higher education in America “are in a time of transition . . . and ad­justing to new realities and the public religious sphere.” The Commission outlines the following ten forms of transition that are increasing among member schools:

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Research conducted by the In-Trust Center of Theological Schools supports the ATS findings. In fact, the Center’s 2017 Annual Report expands ATS’s eighth transition category by outlining a typology of educational partnership that includes six arrangements: (1) consolidations, (2) true mergers, (3) conglomerates, (4) consortiums, (5) asset transfers, and (6) affiliations. While a consolidation is described by the Report as an arrangement wherein two or more institutions are collapsed into one new institution, usually with a different name, mission, and scale of operation (A + B = C), a true merger occurs when one institution is blended (merged) into a dominant institution with that institution serving as the exclusive legal successor (A > B = B+).

A conglomerate, on the other hand, occurs when two or more institutions enter a joint venture to address redundancies without losing their respective identities. A consortium describes a collegial collaboration for common resource-sharing agreements (cross-registrations, joint libraries, shared facilities, common technologies, shared operations, etc.). Finally, while asset transfers describe a relationship wherein one institution transfers some or all of its assets to a second institution which provides for the continuation of the first institution’s programs, an affiliation is a joint venture, preserving identities and governance structures, but providing common academic programming or operational services.

Like ATS, and In-Trust, the 2018 special report of Inside Higher Education, entitled, The Growing Role of Mergers in Higher Ed, states that demographic realities and financial strains are leaving more colleges struggling to attract large enough applicant pools. “In this environment,” the publication concludes, “more institutions than in the past are considering joining forces.”

In his 2016 Washington Post article, The Coming Era of Consolidation Among Colleges and Universities, author and former top editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeffrey Selingo, indicates that of the 4,700 degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States, more than 800 campuses exhibit a range of risk factors putting them in jeopardy of closing. Those risk factors include (a) enrollments under 1,000 students, (b) discounts that reduce tuition by more than 35 percent, and (c) high debt payments for campus improvements that have been made in recent years. According to Selingo, “nearly all of the 72 colleges that have closed their doors in the last decade had enrollments of less than 1,000 students.”

While increasing among secular as well as Faith-based institutions of higher learning in America, mergers and partnerships are, unfortunately, still interpreted in negative terms. Concerned about preserving their identity, dealing with faculty members, pleasing alumni, and annulling administrative cultures that habitually conceal problems, institutions with a fierce dedication to their unique mission often consider the possibility of pursuing a partnership an insurmountable challenge. Having hidden their administrative heads in the sands of wishful thinking, others are now compelled to consider partnerships as a last-ditch effort of survival. While a partnership merger may not be the most appropriate strategy for every institution to execute, an exploratory process would, nonetheless, provide leaders the data and projections for making intelligent decisions for addressing the serious institutional challenges of their institutions.

The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), recommends that institutions that are considering a partnership with another school utilize the exploratory process outlined in their Guideline, Petition for Change of Ownership or Governing Control. Published in response to the growing number of mergers, which, since the 2008 recession, have averaged almost one every four months, the Guideline focuses on such areas as mission, constituencies, educational effectiveness, financial and physical resources, and federal funding.

From what has been discussed thus far, it is evident that there is no shortage of valuable articles, study reports, and books that can be cited to describe the need and strategic value of partnerships. While much of the literature unfortunately trends toward pragmatic, fiscal, and administrative tactics, a brief review is, nonetheless, beneficial.

In his article, Ten Elements in Successful Collaboration, Dr. Robert Cooley, former president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, outlines ten valuable characteristics of institutions interested in establishing viable educational partnerships.

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In their guidebook, Partnerships: Framework for Working Together (2010), the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, outlines the following ten fundamental principles and standards for advancing a successful partnership strategy:

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Apart from describing the characteristics of a healthy partnership, the CCF Guidebook delineates fifteen barriers that impede the development of successful partnerships. Leaders of theological schools and seminaries would do well to utilize the following list to evaluate their respective institutional cultures before ambitiously embarking on any partnership strategy.

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In their 2017 monograph, Mergers in Higher Education: A Proactive Strategy to a Better Future, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) insists that the higher education sector is facing “unprecedented challenges, driven by rapid growth in mobility, communication, technology, and demands for skills and credentials—all fostering disruption of the higher education marketplace.” Although circumstances may vary, like the research of ATS, In-Trust, Selingo, and Colley, the Association recommends that educational institutions consider merging and/or partnering as a way of “ensuring continued growth and impact, greater efficiency, greater economies of scale, better value (to both consumers/clients and share-holders), improved competitiveness, and in some cases, improved chances of long-term survival.”

TIAA outlines seven factors that predict a successful strategic partnership. These include: (1) a compelling unifying vision and set of common values; (2) a committed and understanding governing body; (3) the right leadership; (4) an appropriate sense of urgency; (5) a strong project management system; (6) a robust and redundant communication plan; and (7) sufficient dedicated resources. Like the barriers outlined in CCF’s Guidebook, TIAA cautions that mergers should not be considered only in extremis, when (1) few resources and assets remain, (2) political goodwill, (3) staff morale, and energy are low, and (4) negotiating positions are weakest.

While a plethora of excellent resources exist that describe the characteristics and strategic value of institutional partnerships, before proceeding to establish a collaborative merger, theological schools and seminaries should refine these strategies by incorporating appropriate theological principles. What would a theologically-based partnership look like? How is it formed and what fundamental scriptural truths would inspire its relational arrangements?

According to Holy Scripture, authentic partnerships entail vertical and horizontal dimensions.  This is significant in that the doctrine of “perichoresis” – the Triune synergetic interrelationship among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit within the Godhead –  provides a perfect model of partnership (Gen. 2:7; John 1:4; 10:10; Acts 17:28; Gal. 2:20).  Scripture discloses that this Triune God invites all of creation into a multifaceted partnership with Him, that includes a vertical and numerous horizontal, human-to-human dimensions.

The application of the aforementioned theological doctrine of “perichoresis” is great for institutions of higher theological education who are interested in establishing genuine partnerships. Emphasizing this truth, Jesus once insisted that he/she who “puts a hand to the plow and looks back, is not fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). The message is clear. If, like a plowman, a servant of God desires to faithfully be in relationship with Him, he/she must maintain a forward concentration. Otherwise, by looking back, the horizontal plow line may become crooked, the vertical relationship strained, and the eternal harvest jeopardized.

When Jesus made this agricultural-based statement, His audience unquestionably knew that He was referring to the Old Testament story of the prophet Elijah who found his protégé Elisha “plowing a field with twelve-yoke of oxen” (I Kings 19:19). The scriptural passage indicates that Elisha immediately “let go” of his physical plow and faithfully placed his hands to the spiritual plow of partnership with Elijah . . . never looking back but taking time only to dispose of his worldly possessions (1 Kings 19:19-21). As a result, Elisha became Elijah’s successor, renowned for asking and receiving a “double portion” (2 Kings 2:9) of his partner’s God-given grace.

This is the type of “perichoric” relationship that should characterize theological schools and seminaries who are interested in establishing prophetic partnerships. Such institutions must be ready to “let go” of transitory mattocks and place complete trust on the plow-heads of Trinity-centered collaborations. They should trust, balance and complete each other’s strengths and resources, and, in the end, strive to humbly compound the ability to service the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of society.

In his article, A Missionary Paradigm of Partnerships Between the North and the South(2009), Samuel Cueva suggested that, in addition to sharing in a common mission, values, and resources, a biblically-based theology of partnership should also include sharing in suffering. This is an interesting insight and one that should be considered by institutions of theological higher education currently suffering the agonies of organizational challenges.

The Old Testament outlines five great examples of partnerships: (1) Abraham and Lot (Genesis 14:14-16), (2) Moses and Aaron (Ex. 7:1-2), (3) David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-3), (4) Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1:16-17), and (5) Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:2). While all provide general relational insights, four specific principles can be gleaned from a careful review of the synergetic partnership of the prophets Elijah and Elisha: (1) shared commitment, (2) authenticity, (3) catalytic solidarity, and (4) servanthood.

Shared Commitment. The first foundational principal of the Elijah-Elisha partnership was their shared commitment to God’s Will. Because of this faithfulness, Elisha was willing to sever his ties to the past, his family, and agricultural occupation and set out in faith with Elijah into an unknown vocational future. If theological schools and seminaries are serious in establishing a successful partnership with another school, then such an alignment of mission, values, and vision is fundamental.

Authenticity. The second foundational principal of the Elijah-Elisha partnership was their reliance on the synergy of authenticity and unwavering patronage. If institutions of higher theological education seriously desire to overcome their current fiscal and administrative challenges they too must strive to authentically support and encourage their partner school to refine and fulfill their respective charism(s).

During three difficult circumstances, Elijah advised Elisha to “stay behind.” Each time, however, his faithful partner relentlessly refused to leave his side. “As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live,” replied Elisha, “I will never leave you” (2 Kings 2:6-7). As successful mergers are rooted in a divinely appointed relationship, like Elijah and Elisha, partnered theological schools should always “go on together,” synergistically sharing their respective identities, while striving towards a common destiny. Only in such a dynamic environment can prophetic partners hope to share a “double portion” of collective success.

Catalytic Solidarity. The third foundational principal of the Elijah-Elisha exceptional partnerships was their catalytic relationship, characterized by their desire to promote creativity and nurture the innovative abilities of their partner. Like Elijah-Elisha, partnered theological schools and/or seminaries are not fixated on rigidly preserving the past but centered on the forward-focused plow of flexibility and innovation. It is essential that such partnerships be grounded in an unwavering belief in the integrity and authenticity of the other where members feel reassured in a safe environment of solidarity.

Servanthood. Successful partnerships are, finally, based in service, not self-serving agendas. Throughout their entire ministry, Elijah and Elisha demonstrated that they were willing to sacrifice their own needs in service to others. Every time different people in his community asked them for help, they were never disgruntled or disinclined but willing to accomplish their God-given prophetic mission by diligently providing solutions. Theological schools and seminaries will not be able to accomplish their mission if they are self-absorbed, inconsistent or not committed to their horizontal responsibilities. This principle cannot be overstated, because without a servanthood mentality, the unique prophetic mission that differentiates theological studies from other educational institutions will ultimately be stymied.

The prophetic partnership of Elijah to Elisha provides a valuable rhythm of collaboration for contemporary theological schools and seminaries that are interested in merging their respective educational institutions. As such, the leadership of these institutions should consider emphasizing the four-fold foundational principals of shared commitment, authenticity, catalytic solidarity, and the diligence of prophetic servanthood into their collaborative relationships. Only by adopting a shared commitment to societal engagement will partner schools hope to successfully advance their God-given missions, and thereby, assure long-term survival.

Joint ventures frequently fail because of lack of trust, inauthentic leadership, and incompatible value systems. “Two cannot walk together,” insists the prophet Amos, “except they are agreed” (Amos 3:3). Consequently, while a robust engagement of stakeholders and enhanced financial efficiencies are essential, successful partnerships are ultimately characterized by an ethos of self-sacrificial collaboration wherein individual destinies are woven into the very fabric of the other.

The synergetic partnership of Elijah and Elisha inaugurated a powerful transformation. The heaven-ward chariot translation of Elijah transferred a double-portioned of God’s Grace to Elisha (2 Kings 2:11). This is what can happen to theological schools and seminaries if/when they choose to join hands to the plow of educational partnership. In the final analysis, this is what precipitated the compound anointing, a greater glory then any one single person can exhibit on their own.

ACQUIRE THE FIRE!  (Part 7)

by Frank Marangos D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP

1. Applied Learning: Used by students to demonstrate what they can do with what they know.
2. Intellectual Skills: Used by students to think critically and analytically about what they learn.
3. Specialized Knowledge: The knowledge students are required to demonstrate about their individual fields of study.
4. Broad Knowledge: Encompasses all learning in broad areas through multiple degree levels.
5. Civic Learning: Enables students to respond to social, environmental, and economic challenges at local, national, and global levels.

1. Micro-Credentialing: Building a stack of certificates and micro-credentials that then would enable students to move into the labor market, to move on to further higher education.
2. Rule of 10: Students should be able to pay for higher education with savings generated from 10 percent of their discretionary income, over 10 years, and working no more than 10 hours a week while attending college.
3. Technology-Enhanced Immersive Learning: (both on-campus and online), massive-scale learning environments that allow people to learn at scales and in ways that have previously been not possible.
4. Adaptive Personalized Instruction: As students interact with adaptive technology, the system collects large amounts of data, models those data, and then makes predictions about each student based on their interactions, she explained.
5. Meta Majors: Broad categories like STEM, business or education that allow students to explore a field before committing to something more specific.
6. Cyberlearning Ecosystems: 21st-century learning culture for all students across a campus. At the core of that ecosystem is digital content, delivered via university-supplied iPads.
7. Critical/Problem Solving Thinking Skills: Developing the skills to think and work through problems and not only the mastery of subject-matter material.

1. Technology Enabler: There must be a technology that transforms a business process that once required deep training, expertise, iteration, and intuition into a rules-based process that can be performed by computer software.
2. Business Model Change: The new process or solution must be able to fit into a business that can be profitable while delivering customers a more affordable and convenient product or service.
3. New Value Network: The solution and business must be able to connect with other businesses that offer complementary services and whose revenue models are also complementary.
4. Standards: Since the technology enabler, business model, and value network create entirely new ways of doing business and organizing resources, disruptive innovation requires a rethinking of industry standards for quality, safety, and interoperability that define how the industry operates and typically support traditional products, services, and financing.

1. The recovery of the church-in-mission as the ultimate goal and purpose of the theological education.
2. A call for flexible content and course structure adjusted according to the developing needs of the student and the issues in the church and community.
3. The call for flexibility must include an integration of the traditional model and alternative models of theological training.
4. The lecturers are to be viewed as facilitators and models to guide in the learning process.
5. Need for a strong experiential learning component whereby the student is to be actively involved in church and community ministry.
6. A call for student evaluation to be based more on demonstrated competence in ministry rather than upon the grade point average (GPA).
7. A call for eclectic instructional methods. Less emphasis on the transmission mode and more emphasis on discovery, discussion and problem-centered projects.
8. The need for close, personal relationships between students and faculty.
9. A call to develop an approach that takes seriously the need for ordered learning among adults within churches.

1. Contextual Learning: Developing students for ministry necessitates that students are involved in ministry.
2. Partnered Investment: Having students immersed in a ministry environment transforms the program from being primarily a service contract between the students and the seminary to being a partnership in developing leaders between the seminary, church, and network.
3. Team-Based Mentoring: Diverse mentor teams are engaged in order to holistically develop students. Mentor teams often include an academic, network leadership, and practitioner mentor.
4. Integrated Outcomes: To ensure holistic development, the program is designed with integrated outcomes that aim to develop students in all areas of their life.
5. Timely Instruction: By the end of a CBTE program, all graduates will have demonstrated achievement of the same set of standardized outcomes. However, the order in which those outcomes are achieved is highly individualized. Under the direction of their mentor teams, students can tailor their learning pathway to the specific needs they face in ministry.
6. Recognition of Prior Learning: Credits are awarded for demonstrated competency, not completed courses. Students who bring extensive life experience, personal study or ministry service to a program have opportunity for advanced placement.
7. Rigorous and Adaptive Assessment: The rigor of a CBTE program rests on its ability to effectively assess students. Standardized outcomes and indicators are clearly defined and provided to mentors and students. Mentor teams use these rubrics to evaluate a student’s strengths and prior learning on program entry so they can focus energy on maximizing strengths and shoring up weaknesses. Continual assessment throughout the program ensures that students graduate only when they have demonstrated mastery in each competency, and are fully-equipped to serve their ministry context.

1. Is grounded in the theological and ecclesiastical values, practices, and competencies required by institutions and organizations that will be served by graduates;
2. Allows students to progress at their own paces to achieve mastery of identified competencies;
3. May be based on credit equivalencies or utilize direct assessment; and
4. Is facilitated by regular and substantive interaction with faculty as well as mentors and others involved in the educational process, including the robust community of learners.

1. The School-Network Connection: The need to see theological education as something that flows out of the church and/or context rather than something that simply serves the church or context. A school that implements CBTE must work hand-in-hand with ministry practitioners and local contexts to plan, prepare, and assess education. This creates a need to ensure that church-based mentors fully understand and appreciate the importance of accreditation standards.
2. Content as Subservient to Outcomes: While content is important and education without content is formless, it cannot be allowed to govern measurements of success. Outcomes become the primary focus of the educational journey and replace content as the orienting purpose of a degree.
3. Data Pool Expansion: The value of predictive analytics could soar if schools were to pool the data that their learning management systems collect. CBTE has the capability to foster collaboration among theological schools on issues as broad as collective licensing of learning systems, shared faculty development, and assessment practices.
4. Global Expansion: Many schools have significant foreign enrollment; others have extension campuses off shore. How well CBTE might serve persons from other cultures is undetermined. This deserves further examination.
5. Educational Effectiveness. The most important “unknown” is how CBTE’s educational effectiveness stacks up against more traditional education models over the long haul. Any attempts to report percentages related to graduation, placement, and long-term success in the field are premature. However, Northwest Baptist Seminary—with the longest CBTE track record of any ATS school—graduated 14 students in 2017, and its retention rate is higher than the norm. Sioux Falls Seminary has graduated six in its CBTE program and has decreased student debt by 67 percent in three years. CBTE enrollment is growing and CBTE programs are earning high marks from relevant constituents. Extensive data collection will confirm the educational effectiveness of CBTE and also will help fine-tune existing programs as well as meet ATS requirements.