In 2018 IBTSC Amsterdam will again take the lead in arranging a meeting of the Consortium of European Baptist Theological Schools. The final dates and venue have yet to be confirmed but it is likely to happen at the end of June 2018.
The theme of this conference gathering will be ‘What is the “theological” in theological education?’ This will be an invitation to think theologically about the practice.
It could be argued that at times it appears that the only thing that makes theological education ‘theological’ is the content, an emphasis which may or may not be accompanied by a focus on education.
The main question invites the potential for a range of trajectories, some perhaps provocative and the following only offered as examples…
‘Is talk of formation a myth, if not, how do we know that it has taken place, how does it take place, where does it take place, and how do we measure it?’
‘Is ministerial “training” different from theological “education”?’
‘Does the theological school need to be free from the Church as well as the State in order to serve the Church?’
‘In-church training is all the rage, is it a false panacea?’
‘How does the theological school serve the Church?’
‘Should and how can the theological school be prophetic?’
‘What has bread and wine got to do with books and seminars in a day and age when much education is distance and part-time?’
There will be a call for papers at the end of the year.