As the church declines, I wonder if the Church Pension Fund would be sensible enough to send clergy to technical schools. Have the ministry programs combine the role of public intellectual and handyman. Bishops going to churches that are falling apart and doing something useful, like fixing their boiler. Both women and men.
Yep, its time to revamp the curriculum.
Amen, amen.
I recently read something by someone saying (and I’m paraphrasing unfairly), “The Africans are grateful when their clergy can get a good seminary education; we should double-down on the Biblical studies and be grateful we can get it.” But this seemed to ignore what are the ways in which our church leaders are weak (not that we’re super duper on the Biblical studies) and what we need to do an effective job. Not that I have any solutions.