It has been a week since the Synod internship started and there are plenty of things that I have learnt. In my first reflection paper, I covered my thoughts on the importance of church history. So today I want to talk a bit about some of the thoughts that I have regarding theological education and the importance of it.
The first thing about theological education is that it is a lot broader than we think it is. Theological education is not limited to attending a seminary, bible study or the preaching of a sermon but it also encompasses things like worship, prayer and dress code. In that sense, we all go through some form of theological education.
The first thing about theological education is that it is a lot broader than we think it is. Theological education is not limited to attending a seminary, bible study or the preaching of a sermon but it also encompasses things like worship, prayer and dress code. In that sense, we all go through some form of theological education.
The second thing is with regards to the importance of theological education. When I heard Dr Simon Chan and Clive Chin, I was reminded of a conversation that I had with my mentor. He would constantly remind me that the goal of theological education is three fold – Biblical knowledge, Theological perspective and Spiritual formation. All these three points are equally important and not to be taken in isolation. Instead they interact with one another throughout our Christian lives.
Biblical knowledge is essential to our understanding of the nature of God. With biblical knowledge, we are then able to apply and think through issues from a theological perspective. Dr Simon Chan gave a good example regarding the motivation behind social services and social issues. But perhaps another analogy that we all can relate to might help. We often ask ourselves the question “What would Jesus do?” or as some would put it, WWJD? But we fail to realize that this question is one of perspective. Without the study of scripture, one can hardly justify their answer to the question of WWJD.
Theological education is also crucial to our spiritual formation. Similar to the chapel that is located directly above the library at Trinity Theological College, so is our spiritual growth and formation based upon the foundations of the very word of God. J.I Packer in his inaugural lecture on December 1989 said, “I want our systematic theology to be practiced as an element in our spirituality, and I want our spirituality to be viewed as an implicate and expression of our systematic theology...”
Theological education is also crucial to our spiritual formation. Similar to the chapel that is located directly above the library at Trinity Theological College, so is our spiritual growth and formation based upon the foundations of the very word of God. J.I Packer in his inaugural lecture on December 1989 said, “I want our systematic theology to be practiced as an element in our spirituality, and I want our spirituality to be viewed as an implicate and expression of our systematic theology...”
In short, right theological education, will lead to a better understanding of the bible which in turn helps us to gain a better theological perspective on matters and the application of God’s word will draw us to a deeper and more intimate relationship with God thus building and enriching our spiritual lives.
With this understanding of theological education, we should all the more commit ourselves to the study of scripture and encourage one another not to be intimidated by this term but rather to help and build one another up.
With this understanding of theological education, we should all the more commit ourselves to the study of scripture and encourage one another not to be intimidated by this term but rather to help and build one another up.
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