Theological education is essential, as it directly relates to the cultivation of church talent. The theological talents nurtured by the Chinese church not only needs to have a solid foundation in theology, but must also be able to integrate with China's social and cultural realities, in order to shepherd the Lord's flock on Chinese soil.
Western seminaries are typically characterized by their strong specialization and academic rigor. The academic fields are finely divided, and most faculty members are experts or scholars in their specific areas. They can teach professional theological knowledge, guide students in writing excellent theological papers, and help students build a solid theological foundation. However, most of what is taught in Western classrooms is more focused on academics and consulting, making the study more of an accumulation of knowledge and information. This can lead to a disconnection between theological knowledge and spiritual life, as well as between theoretical study and pastoral practice.
Pastor Hu, from a city in Eastern China, has been practicing theological training for many years. He shared some of his and the staff workers' experiences in indigenizing theological education.
Apart From the Classroom, Faculty and Students Should Also Stay in the Church
Currently, Pastor Hu teaches students while also participating in church ministry. He said that, like him, other teachers at his seminary also take on pastoral roles in churches, with none of them confined solely to classroom teaching.
Hu does not want his students to become bookworms. According to him, students do not engage in ministry during their first semester. However, by the second semester, they begin serving in churches, taking part in preaching, evangelism, and youth ministry, gaining exposure to people and various aspects of church work.
Building Caring Relationships Between Teachers and Students
Pastor Hu places great emphasis on the interactive relationship between teachers and students. In his view, students come to study not just to gain some knowledge and wait for graduation to find a church position for survival. He hopes that every student will be seen, cared for, and loved. To achieve this, they have established teacher-student care groups, where each teacher is responsible for specific students. In daily life, teachers and students eat, wash dishes, put things in order, and do cleaning together. Students also share their growth reflections with their mentors.
Character and Spiritual Formation Are the Key
While theological knowledge is important, theological education is by no means just vocational or professional training for ministry. It can be seen as holistic development. As Pastor Hu said, “In other industries, people may not care much about the character of the professionals as long as their skills are excellent or service is satisfactory. For example, if a doctor is highly skilled but unfaithful to his wife, people would still seek him out because of his reputation. But for a pastor, this is absolutely unacceptable.”
Pastor Hu believes that a student should build a relationship with the Lord to gain spiritual growth and life transformation. In this regard, human efforts seem limited, and more of God's work is required. However, Pastor Hu and his team still focus heavily on students' spiritual formation. They have drawn lessons from the practices of traditional Chinese spiritual schools, requiring students to engage in morning and evening prayers and keep spiritual journals. This way, students spend more time drawing close to God, reading the Bible, and growing through prayer and meditation.
Embracing Open Theological Views and Reading Classical Chinese Literature
Pastor Hu shared some of his experiences attending seminary. He recalled, “In my seminary class, I was the youngest without special experience or remarkable achievements. Winning diverse awards, many of my classmates were very accomplished. At that time, students would argue over theological viewpoints, which continued until graduation, leaving a deep impression on me.” After many years of pastoral experience, Pastor Hu feels that it is not a problem to hold to the Reformed theology as a personal stance, but it is too narrow to teach only the Reformed theology in the class. Therefore, he suggests maintaining core essential doctrines while being more open to secondary issues, saying that holding an Evangelical stance may be more beneficial.
Additionally, Pastor Hu proposed an idea: that Chinese pastors should read more Chinese classical literature. In traditional theological education, seminary students usually only read the Bible and study theology or exegetical books, neglecting Chinese cultural studies. Combining traditional culture with theological education, pastors would better understand our cultural heritage and more effectively carry out the Great Commission.
Of course, Pastor Hu has faced many challenges in training students: these range from the minor issue of how teachers can compete with smartphones for students' attention to the larger question of how to better facilitate students' further education. However, regardless of these challenges, his exploration of indigenizing theological education is ongoing, and this is just a small part of a larger effort.
- Edited & translated by Abigail Wu
神学教育直接关系到教会人才的培养，因此显得至关重要。而中国教会培养的神学人才，不仅需要扎实的神学知识，还要能结合中国的社会、文化等现实处境、在中国大地上为主牧养羊群。
西方神学院普遍的特点是专业性与学术性都很强。学院的专业领域划分非常细致；教职人员大多是某个领域的专家、学者。他们能讲授专业的神学知识，也能教导学生写出优秀的神学论文，并且帮助神学生们打下稳固的神学根基。但西方课堂中所教授的大多以学术、咨询为主，学习更像是一种知识与学问的积累。这很容易造成信仰知识与属灵生命的脱节、理论学习与教牧实践的脱节。
华东某城市的胡牧师在神学培养中已践行多年，他分享了一些自己与同工在神学教育本土化的实践经验。
老师与学生不能只在教室里，还要在教会里
胡牧师目前是一边带学生一边参与教会服事的。他讲到不仅自己这样，他所在神学班的其他老师也会去教会中做牧养的工作，都不会只在神学教育的课堂里天天讲课。
胡不希望自己的学生们是书呆子。据胡牧师介绍，学生们在第一学期不参与服事；而在第二学期就进入教会，参与讲道、传福音、青年人的牧养，接触人群和事工。
师生之间建立关怀小组
胡牧师很看重师生间的互动关系。在他看来，学生们来这里学习，并不是只为学点知识，以等待学业结束之后，谋个教会的职位解决生存问题。他希望每个学生都是被看见、被关怀和被爱。为此，他们专门建立了师生关怀小组，每个老师都有自己关怀的学生。在日常生活中，老师和学生一起打饭、吃饭、刷碗、整理、打扫；学生们写的成长心得也会拿给自己的导师看。
品格、灵命塑造相当关键
在知识层面的神学装备固然重要，但神学教育绝非简单有关传道职业或神学专业的培训课；它可以看成是一种全人培养。正如胡牧师所言：“社会的其他行业中，大家对从事业务的人品如何并不会太在意，只要专业水平够高或者服务水平够好就可以了。比如有个医生医术高明，但对妻子不忠，人们不会特别关注他的品行；而是依旧慕名前往求他看病。但传道人可绝对不行。”
胡牧师认为人要灵命成长、生命改变，需建立与主的关系。就这个问题而言，看似人为的工作比较有限，更需要上帝的作为。但胡牧师他们还是很注重学员的灵性培养，他们借鉴中国传统灵修院的做法，要求学生们做好早祷、晚祷、写灵修笔记等。这样，学生会花更多时间亲近上帝、阅读圣经，并在祷告、默想中逐渐成长。
神学观念可以更开放、神学生也要多读中国经典文学
胡牧师讲述了自己上神学院的一些经历。他回忆说：“在我曾经就读神学院的班里，我年纪最小、也没有特殊的经历或突出的成绩。我们那个班里很多优秀学生得过各种奖，很厉害。不过给我留下很深的印象是，大家对某个神学观点一言不合就争辩，这样吵吵闹闹一直持续到毕业。”等胡牧师信仰多年、积累了许多牧会实践经验后，他觉得将改革宗的神学思想作为个人持守的立场倒也没太大关系，但如果是要做神学教育，那未免太窄。所以，他建议在神学教育中坚持核心基本要义、其他次要内容可以更开放的看待，持福音派立场可能会更有好处。
此外，胡牧师还提出一个建议很值得尝试，就是中国传道人可以多读中国经典文学。在传统神学教育中，神学生们大多 只去阅读圣经，学习和研究神学、释经类书籍，而忽视我们中国文化的学习。但如果在过去的神学学习的基础上，再加上传统文化的补充，传道人能更深刻地理解我们自己的文化基因、更好地践行大使命。
当然，胡牧师在培养学生的过程中，也受到过诸多挑战：小到老师要如何与手机争抢学生注意力的问题、大到如何更好地派送学生进修深造等问题。但不论如何，胡牧师的神学教育本土化探索一直都在进行，而这样的探索也只是个小小的缩影。
经验|华东一城市牧者关于神学教育本土化的尝试
Theological education is essential, as it directly relates to the cultivation of church talent. The theological talents nurtured by the Chinese church not only needs to have a solid foundation in theology, but must also be able to integrate with China's social and cultural realities, in order to shepherd the Lord's flock on Chinese soil.
Western seminaries are typically characterized by their strong specialization and academic rigor. The academic fields are finely divided, and most faculty members are experts or scholars in their specific areas. They can teach professional theological knowledge, guide students in writing excellent theological papers, and help students build a solid theological foundation. However, most of what is taught in Western classrooms is more focused on academics and consulting, making the study more of an accumulation of knowledge and information. This can lead to a disconnection between theological knowledge and spiritual life, as well as between theoretical study and pastoral practice.
Pastor Hu, from a city in Eastern China, has been practicing theological training for many years. He shared some of his and the staff workers' experiences in indigenizing theological education.
Apart From the Classroom, Faculty and Students Should Also Stay in the Church
Currently, Pastor Hu teaches students while also participating in church ministry. He said that, like him, other teachers at his seminary also take on pastoral roles in churches, with none of them confined solely to classroom teaching.
Hu does not want his students to become bookworms. According to him, students do not engage in ministry during their first semester. However, by the second semester, they begin serving in churches, taking part in preaching, evangelism, and youth ministry, gaining exposure to people and various aspects of church work.
Building Caring Relationships Between Teachers and Students
Pastor Hu places great emphasis on the interactive relationship between teachers and students. In his view, students come to study not just to gain some knowledge and wait for graduation to find a church position for survival. He hopes that every student will be seen, cared for, and loved. To achieve this, they have established teacher-student care groups, where each teacher is responsible for specific students. In daily life, teachers and students eat, wash dishes, put things in order, and do cleaning together. Students also share their growth reflections with their mentors.
Character and Spiritual Formation Are the Key
While theological knowledge is important, theological education is by no means just vocational or professional training for ministry. It can be seen as holistic development. As Pastor Hu said, “In other industries, people may not care much about the character of the professionals as long as their skills are excellent or service is satisfactory. For example, if a doctor is highly skilled but unfaithful to his wife, people would still seek him out because of his reputation. But for a pastor, this is absolutely unacceptable.”
Pastor Hu believes that a student should build a relationship with the Lord to gain spiritual growth and life transformation. In this regard, human efforts seem limited, and more of God's work is required. However, Pastor Hu and his team still focus heavily on students' spiritual formation. They have drawn lessons from the practices of traditional Chinese spiritual schools, requiring students to engage in morning and evening prayers and keep spiritual journals. This way, students spend more time drawing close to God, reading the Bible, and growing through prayer and meditation.
Embracing Open Theological Views and Reading Classical Chinese Literature
Pastor Hu shared some of his experiences attending seminary. He recalled, “In my seminary class, I was the youngest without special experience or remarkable achievements. Winning diverse awards, many of my classmates were very accomplished. At that time, students would argue over theological viewpoints, which continued until graduation, leaving a deep impression on me.” After many years of pastoral experience, Pastor Hu feels that it is not a problem to hold to the Reformed theology as a personal stance, but it is too narrow to teach only the Reformed theology in the class. Therefore, he suggests maintaining core essential doctrines while being more open to secondary issues, saying that holding an Evangelical stance may be more beneficial.
Additionally, Pastor Hu proposed an idea: that Chinese pastors should read more Chinese classical literature. In traditional theological education, seminary students usually only read the Bible and study theology or exegetical books, neglecting Chinese cultural studies. Combining traditional culture with theological education, pastors would better understand our cultural heritage and more effectively carry out the Great Commission.
Of course, Pastor Hu has faced many challenges in training students: these range from the minor issue of how teachers can compete with smartphones for students' attention to the larger question of how to better facilitate students' further education. However, regardless of these challenges, his exploration of indigenizing theological education is ongoing, and this is just a small part of a larger effort.
- Edited & translated by Abigail Wu
Urban Pastor's Attempt at Indigenizing Theological Education
