Strengths
- Trains people for ministry while they are actually in ministry.
- Better context for testing gifts and character.
- Trains students in skills for ministry.
- Makes theological education more accessible.
- Take the local church seriously.
- Encourages multiplication.
- Cost efficient.
- Engages the gifts of those in the local situation.
- Very difficult for local leaders to provide a thorough education, both in time and expertise.
- Can produce narrow training, shaped by the strengths and weaknesses of the local pastor.
- Doesn't expose students to the wider church.
- Loss of rigour.
- Encourages independency.
8 comments:
what about a vitual colledge with video conderencing between local churches from a central base or in between churches it has its own cons but could have a wide number of pro including exposing people to churches from world wide effortlessly if organised
Great to hear your reflections. My experience in 10 years of C-bte training might not be an average experience but would be reflected at various levels by those who take it on.
- I have had vast exposure to a wide variety of ministries throughout Tasmania, Australia, UK, America and Indonesia.
- This exposure has put me in touch with a large group of possible mentors; some of whom have had a good deal of influence on my character, ministry and theology, this is alongside the consistent influence of my local mentor, Brian Wilson.
- My experience is that those who are are serious about their training make themselves available for intensive type training spanning weeks. This takes a fair bit of commitment as family life, work and ministry all need to be balanced around it. I guess this is the reality of anyone in a tent making / full time ministry.
- My experience is that it strongly encourages codependency which is not only built into the CSP (Consistent Study Process) but also keeping a balance of life, ministry, work etc. requires assistance from others within the local community.
Like I said, not everyone is going to have my experience but I think a good local mentor will seek to give us a well rounded experience. The quality of this local mentor to train and to put you in touch with additional mentors is where this training stands or falls.
Thanks for joining in the discussion Kelvin.
"- My experience is that it strongly encourages codependency which is not only built into the CSP (Consistent Study Process) but also keeping a balance of life, ministry, work etc. requires assistance from others within the local community."
What does this mean? Normally 'codependency' is an unhealthy dependence on others - needing others/needing-to-be-needed... that's not what you mean, right?
One other thought about your comments - your description points out how church-based doesn't really replace campus-based, it just relegates it to intensives.
Interesting thoughts mate, 'interdependency' might have been a better word for the job.
I don't think you've quite got your head around ‘church-based’. It doesn't relegate campus-based to intensives, although intensives are necessary part of the training. Rather it promotes a whole new premise for theological education - the whole of life. The idea is that a person’s character, family, work, theology, ministry etc. are all being balanced and developed while the education is taking place; the actual integration of the education into life and ministry is the key. Intensives take various shapes but always supplement the daily / weekly training, not the other way round.
That being said, I know that campus-based education is also promoted as ‘the whole of life’ education, but in your other posts you also agree that they do this less effectively.
My opinion (not that this is of too great a value) is that there is a lot of value in 'campus-based' education, but only once a student’s life and character have been sorted out through years of sweating it out. Too much knowledge before character development is never a good thing.
Interesting comment kelvin. Just as a thearitical should I limit my reading of good challenging christian books if I decided I was of poor character and involve myself in character building exercises (how ever you would do that?)
Thanks Kelvin.
My comment about the intensives, was simply making the point that the intensives re-introduce benefits of campus-based study into church-based curricula, but they do it be re-introducing campus-based study, ie the intensives. As a result the also re-introduce some drawbacks of campus-based, such as cost and time commitments away from ministry on the ground.
The whole of life education issue is a valid one. My feel here is, like mentoring, that this is best promoted in church culture, rather than necessarily built into educational institutions.
Really appreciating your interaction, brother - very stimulating to have someone who's had so much personal experienced of the church-based model!
But what is interesting is the drawbacks due to intensives actually consolidate the 'church-based' training. The drawbacks that you speak of (cost and time commitments) are directly integrated into the everyday life of the student making up part of their character development.
As to the book, go ahead and read, particularly if it is going to develop your character.
The suggested weaknesses of CBTE are stated far too categorically. They are 'potential' weaknesses, perhaps dangers - weaknesses that would become apparent where CBTE is not implemented properly. The Apostle Paul seemed to have gone alright with this approach as detailed in Scripture. I think we should explore it thoroughly and see if it can be implemented really well, because the benefits are real and great.
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