This dissertation examines personnel/staff development at Nazarene College of Theology (NCT) in Siteki, Swaziland. The argument developed is that an educational institution needs a personnel development programme that will continuously improve the teaching skills of its teachers/lecturers and improve their performance. A literature study was used to investigate the historical and educational developments that occurs at NCT. Data was collected by means of two interviews. The study was limited to a small group of eight respondents since the entire staff at NCT amounted to that number. The findings indicated that two activities, namely, continuing education and participation in academic/professional conferences are being used. The findings also revealed the limitations related to the high cost of tertiary education, personal problems, the length of time to complete a university course and a lack of adequate staff development policy. Based on these findings, brief recommendations to improve practice of staff development are suggested. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Education Management)

A misunderstanding or ignorance of the concept of worship resulting in a misuse of the word worship has necessitated clarification within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), an evangelical church denomination. Leaders of PAOC churches, colleges and the denomination have for the most part, received their ministerial training at PAOC theological colleges. In order for PAOC people (i.e. congregants and leaders) to correctly understand and practice biblical worship, those leading the denomination, colleges and churches require accurate teaching on the concept. Curriculum development (revision) within PAOC theological colleges may be necessary for this to take place. This thesis, therefore, studies the worship curriculum and instruction within PAOC theological colleges and clarifies the concept of Christian worship. The PAOC denomination, colleges and churches base their doctrine and practice on the principles of the Holy Bible. Therefore, laying a biblical-theological foundation when defining and teaching Christian worship is essential. If instruction in biblical worship is inadequate and/or optional in PAOC theological colleges, the accurate understanding and practice of worship by PAOC leaders and, in turn, congregants, is diminished. The vast majority of a sampling of PAOC theological college graduates and PAOC leaders believe that all students at PAOC theological colleges should be required to receive instruction in biblical worship. Since the biblical definition of worship relates more to Christians living all of life for God (or spiritual formation) than just to corporate gatherings within the church, it is recommended that worship instruction with this emphasis be required for all students at PAOC theological colleges. This instruction should take place within the biblical, theological and practical theology departments rather than the church ministry or music departments. However, since the purpose for the corporate gathering is to teach and foster whole-life worship, teaching on corporate worship should not be ignored. In order to assist church leaders in offering biblical teaching on worship to their congregations, accurate and thorough instruction at PAOC theological colleges is necessary. Included in this thesis are lesson outlines for whole-life worship instruction within spiritual formation courses or groups, and worship theology instruction within systematic theology or doctrinal courses. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Using the “four-selves” Mission Strategy of self-governance, self-support, self-propagation and self-theologizing as an analytical tool, this study assesses the theological training of church leaders (clergy and laity) in the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) with regard to context, relevance and viability. Though the ACK has been in Kenya since 1844, and has been involved in vigorous evangelization, it has not grown to be fully self-governing, self-supporting, self-propagating and self-theologizing. This is evidenced mainly by its flawed theological training system which is neither relevant nor viable. The study is in ten Chapters. The first Chapter contains the introductory material, while the second Chapter gives the general overview of the ACK focusing on its growth and training needs. The ACK is a rapidly growing Church experiencing a growth of about 6.7 per cent per annum, yet she is not necessarily happy as she is not able to produce sufficient and well-trained personnel to match this growth. The third Chapter traces the history of pastoral training in the ACK, while Chapter four assesses the curriculum used to prepare church leaders in the ACK. This curriculum is uncontextualised hence irrelevant to the current Kenyan society. Chapter five evaluates the six ACK Provincial Theological Colleges. These colleges are inadequate and economically under-utilized hence not viable. The sixth Chapter underscores the importance of training Lay Church Leaders in the ACK through Theological Education by Extension (TEE), an effective training model which has failed because the ACK leadership has failed to prioritize it. The seventh Chapter discusses the main challenges encountered by the ACK in her leadership training and shows that these challenges are vital measures for improving theological training in the ACK. Chapter Eight examines the relationship between Christian Mission and Theological Training and it comes out clearly that Mission and Theology are inseparable entities. In the ninth Chapter, the author basing his arguments on the various findings in this study suggests some possible ways through which the ACK can improve her training systems. Chapter Ten concludes that if the ACK has to succeed in her mission she has to prioritize the training of her leaders. / Church Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

This evaluation study was conducted to determine whether or not the Theological Education by Extension (TEE) Programme, of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is a suitable means of training lay church workers for pastoral ministry. The research was carried out to asses the TEE Programme already in progress. As the Anglican Church of Kenya continues to grow, there is need for training of church workers, using a cost effective programme, without compromising the quality of the church workers. The research sampled five out of the twenty-nine ACK Dioceses, in which the TEE Programme is vibrant. In the five dioceses, the research further sampled lay leaders already in the church ministry. The research took the form of cycles in which implementation stages were conducted. The result of the research was interpreted to draw the conclusion of the purpose of evaluation of the programme. / Open Distance Learning / M. Ed. (Open and Distance Learning

This research investigates the teaching and practice of moral formation at three theological education institutions in South Africa. The theological institutions, while acknowledging moral formation in their aims and teaching ethical theory, have difficulty developing and implementing a moral formation programme. Among the reasons for this are the complex nature of moral formation and the numerous and wide ranging expectations placed on the institutions. In this research, morality is described in terms of relationship with God, with self, with others in the Church and society and with the environment. The findings of the research suggest that the teaching and practice at the institutions that involve relationships are most effective for moral formation. Hence it is recommended that the institutions find ways to foster the students‟ relationship with God, with themselves, with others and with the environment. Modes of moral formation that involve thinking and knowledge are important, but so are those modes that encourage emotional development and character and spiritual formation. Through projects and assignments, students can be exposed to the harsh realities of life and opportunities created to reflect on these experiences in the light of faith. Practical suggestions such as encouraging students to pray, meditate, reflect, journal and study are made. Other suggestions are that lecturing staff make more use of participative teaching methods such as discussions, case studies and stories, including the stories of the students. The mentoring role of staff and the importance of the faith community are affirmed. These relational teaching methods and activities are easier to implement in a residential seminary than in a distance learning situation. In order to fully implement the relational aspects of a programme for moral formation, it would be helpful for the theological institutions to explore various forms of blended education and to develop partnerships and work with local churches. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Ethics)

This research attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary within the context of theological education in Cuba and the Cuban Revolution. Three major purposes directed this research. The first one was historical: to document and evaluate the rise, survival and achievements of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary, which has continued its mission through extraordinary political opposition and economical difficulties. The second major purpose was institutional: to gain insight into Cuban seminary modus operandi. The third purpose of the study was to identify perceived needs of the seminary. This study sought to provide information that can facilitate a better understanding of Cuban Christian theological higher education. The Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary was founded in the city of Santiago the Cuba on October 10, 1949 by the Eastern Baptist Convention. This seminary exists for the purpose of training pastors for the Eastern Baptist Convention. The school offers a four-year program leading to a bachelor in theology degree. The Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention experienced the same oppression from the communist revolution as the rest of the evangelical denominations during the sixties and seventies. The worst period for the convention and the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary started in 1965 when many important people were recruited to work at the Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP). Fidel Castro recognized in 1991 that the Cuban Communist Party erroneously made atheism its religion. Although the Cuban communist regime never issued an antireligious policy, in subtle ways Christians suffered the consequences of the religious ideological conflict. Nevertheless, today the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary operates independently and without the direction of the Cuban government. Communism and Christianity have learned to live together in Cuba even though they started with difficulties. Theological education in Cuba not only survived the negative effects of the Cuban revolution, but also has emerged stronger than ever. Economic resources are the primary need of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary has been through many difficulties during its history. Nevertheless, these days represent the best time in the seminary history.

This thesis examines the relationship between professional practice and professional training of Christian ministers in post-Communist Central Asia. It responds to the call for study of the phenomenon of Protestant theological education in the post-Soviet bloc. Theological education in Central Asia has been developed without any research-led evaluation and is often found unsatisfactory by the emerging church, which calls for a more relevant, field-driven and contextualised training of its leaders. This study also responds to the gap in the literature on attitude development of ministerial students. This is a qualitative inquiry. Its primary emphasis is on in-depth semi-structured interviews of forty graduates of four major theological colleges in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, who had spent several years in pastoral ministry after graduation. This research seeks to identify the most common problems they face in professional practice; to identify the attitudes and capabilities underlying their problem-solving processes; and to analyse how their training enabled or failed to enable them to develop those qualities. This thesis argues that theological education can be viewed as a special case of professional training, with a unique cluster of spiritual qualities that are of paramount importance for the success of ministers. It also argues that, despite the graduates’ generally positive appraisal of their training, there was little connection between the training and the capabilities that the graduates needed to succeed in their current practice. It therefore argues that the institutions in Central Asia have inherited the flaws of the "schooling" paradigm of theological education. A more integrated, context-specific and missional model is needed. By developing a model for investigating the practical knowledge of ministers, this study attempts to provide the training institutions in question with a framework of capabilities and attitudes. This will allow those institutions to have a useful starting point in the reformulation of their curricula.

This thesis considers how religious diversification has shaped the roles of clergy and seminaries. The focus of this qualitative, interview-based study is seminaries and clergy affiliated with various denominations of Judaism and Protestant Christianity in greater London and New York City. Religiously diversifying societies in the US and England have brought forth new challenges for clergy and seminaries, prompting new questions about how or why a faith community should or should not engage with diversity in the public square. This study investigates how seminaries and individual members of the clergy, as sources of religious authority, are responding to religious diversification in different ways - the former sluggish to recognise the impact of religious diversification in curriculum and pedagogical structures and the latter seeing it as a resource for social action initiatives, local networks, and political activism. This has created a gap between training and practice whereby clergy have assumed greater religious authority in religious life. Beyond contributing to the field of sociology of religion, this thesis concludes by allowing the experience of clergy in interreligious engagement to inform appropriate pedagogies that could be employed by seminaries.

This dissertation examines personnel/staff development at Nazarene College of Theology (NCT) in Siteki, Swaziland. The argument developed is that an educational institution needs a personnel development programme that will continuously improve the teaching skills of its teachers/lecturers and improve their performance. A literature study was used to investigate the historical and educational developments that occurs at NCT. Data was collected by means of two interviews. The study was limited to a small group of eight respondents since the entire staff at NCT amounted to that number. The findings indicated that two activities, namely, continuing education and participation in academic/professional conferences are being used. The findings also revealed the limitations related to the high cost of tertiary education, personal problems, the length of time to complete a university course and a lack of adequate staff development policy. Based on these findings, brief recommendations to improve practice of staff development are suggested. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Education Management)

A misunderstanding or ignorance of the concept of worship resulting in a misuse of the word worship has necessitated clarification within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), an evangelical church denomination. Leaders of PAOC churches, colleges and the denomination have for the most part, received their ministerial training at PAOC theological colleges. In order for PAOC people (i.e. congregants and leaders) to correctly understand and practice biblical worship, those leading the denomination, colleges and churches require accurate teaching on the concept. Curriculum development (revision) within PAOC theological colleges may be necessary for this to take place. This thesis, therefore, studies the worship curriculum and instruction within PAOC theological colleges and clarifies the concept of Christian worship. The PAOC denomination, colleges and churches base their doctrine and practice on the principles of the Holy Bible. Therefore, laying a biblical-theological foundation when defining and teaching Christian worship is essential. If instruction in biblical worship is inadequate and/or optional in PAOC theological colleges, the accurate understanding and practice of worship by PAOC leaders and, in turn, congregants, is diminished. The vast majority of a sampling of PAOC theological college graduates and PAOC leaders believe that all students at PAOC theological colleges should be required to receive instruction in biblical worship. Since the biblical definition of worship relates more to Christians living all of life for God (or spiritual formation) than just to corporate gatherings within the church, it is recommended that worship instruction with this emphasis be required for all students at PAOC theological colleges. This instruction should take place within the biblical, theological and practical theology departments rather than the church ministry or music departments. However, since the purpose for the corporate gathering is to teach and foster whole-life worship, teaching on corporate worship should not be ignored. In order to assist church leaders in offering biblical teaching on worship to their congregations, accurate and thorough instruction at PAOC theological colleges is necessary. Included in this thesis are lesson outlines for whole-life worship instruction within spiritual formation courses or groups, and worship theology instruction within systematic theology or doctrinal courses. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)