Zoom Seminary

My conversation with Rick Hiemstra about online theological education and the implications for church ministry is now available. You can listen to it here or wherever you find your favourite podcasts.

The Faith Trends Podcast · Zoom Seminary - Ep. 4

Clergy Reslience and Podcasting

I just finished recording an upcoming Faith Trends podcast episode. The co-host, Rick Hiemstra, ploughed through my thesis and asked insightful questions about what he discovered. I'm so impressed! Outside of my PhD defence committee, no one has posed such direct questions about my 200 page research project. I'm hoping to have more opportunities to talk about my research into online theological education and pastoral formation. I would love to work with pastors, denominational leaders, and educators to discern how we equip future Christian leaders and ministers in a world increasingly saturated by Internet technology and digital devices.

After the recording I had a chance to listen to the episode where Rick and Lindsay (the other co-host) talked with Briercrest Seminary professor, Dr. Margret Clarke. Margaret is an expert on clergy resilience in Canada and her podcast interview provides a window into her research. I had the privilege of working with Margaret as part of a round table discussion on educating clergy for wholeness at Briercrest's online conference last month. I highly recommend getting in touch with her and asking her for a copy of her dissertation executive summary. It's interesting, accessible, and packed full of helpful findings. In the meantime, feel free to listen to her Faith Trends interview here: https://soundcloud.com/faithtrends/clergy-resilience

 

My accepted paper abstract - Christian Education in a Secular Age

A few weeks ago I wrote about an abstract I submitted to the Christian Education in a Secular Age conference at Briercrest. I am happy to report that my paper proposal has been accepted! 

For those interested in a sneak peek of what I'll be saying in October, here's the abstract; it's been stripped of footnotes and bibliographic references.

Dredging The Shallows for Charles Taylor’s “Fullness”: Nicholas Carr, Human Flourishing, and Online Theological Education. 

We all see our lives, and/or the space wherein we live our lives, as having a certain moral/spiritual shape. Somewhere, in some activity, or condition, lies a fullness, a richness; that is, in that place (activity or condition), life is fuller, richer, deeper, more worth while, more admirable, more what it should be. (Charles Taylor, A Secular Age)

Does online theological education promote human flourishing? Human flourishing could be summarized by Charles Taylor as “a fullness, a richness” we come to experience in life. Taylor suggests this “fullness” is accessible “somewhere, in some activity, or condition”. The earliest forms of theological education, known as Paideia, involved culturing the soul toward “fullness”. The educational model introduced by the University of Berlin in the early 19th century changed things, downplaying Paideia’s focus on student character instead emphasizing the science of research. This prioritization of the intellect resulted in pedagogical shifts that eroded the concept of culturing the soul. In turn, this resulted in a Western educational evolution away from valuing character development instead nurturing the mind. The recent shift toward Web-based learning, hastened by the Pandemic, appears to further prioritize knowledge over
character formation. This leads to an important question: Can Taylor’s “fullness” be accessed online?

Internet education’s academic benefits are clear: learning has become more accessible, more engaging, and more creative. However, the Web’s impact on the quest for human “fullness” has a dark side. According to technology critic and author Nicholas Carr, the Web is not a place of “fullness” but of Shallows. Carr suggests Internet usage is making us more distracted and less able “to experience … empathy, compassion, and other emotions”. Additional research suggests Internet usage increases anxiety, lessens family communication, and has not yet provided the sort of character development that comes from embodied mentorship opportunities.

As the influence of online learning grows, Christian educators have an opportunity to discern and enact a theological response to online pedagogies. The doctrine of the incarnation provides a model of human flourishing that prioritizes the body as an educational medium. The incarnation, God becoming human, reveals the value of physical embodiment in relationship with others. For theological educators interested in student flourishing, consider enacting an incarnational pedagogy: Emphasize embodiment and social presence in learning while carefully discerning how technology enhances and diminishes embodied human “being” and adjusting teaching methods accordingly.

 

Virtual Virtue: Exploring the Fruitfulness of Online Pastoral Education

I will be presenting a paper at Tyndale Seminary's 2021 Wesley Studies Symposium on Zoom.

My presentation focuses on some of my PhD research findings, examining the role of technology on character formation in online pastoral education programs. 

The research is important for at least two reasons:

1. According to a 2019 article published by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), 62% of ATS accredited schools were approved at that time to offer online distance education (Gin, Lester, Blogett, 2019). That represents almost two thirds of all accredited theological schools in North America.

2. Since the pandemic, there has been an even greater shift toward online learning. In an August 2020 Faith & Leadership interview with ATS Executive Director, Frank Yamada, he referred to the newly adopted accreditation Standards saying: 

... we changed residency requirements. With these new standards, there are only residency requirements for the Ph.D. program, and all the other degree programs no longer have residency requirements ... it provides schools the flexibility to be able to do, for example, more online distance education at this time. (Read the full article here)

Yamada acknowledges the heightened need for online education during the pandemic. With the new Standards, even more schools are able to shift courses and programs online. 

With the rapid uptick in Internet theological education, how are programs of pastoral formation affected? Even more importantly, how does this educational milieu affect ministerial students?

Consider attending the Wesley Symposium this year. It's free and you might find some answers to those questions.