The pedagogical challenges of teaching theology and mission to students from non-traditional diaspora churches in Britain

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the findings of a research project into Ministerial Theology Programmes (MTPs) at three Higher Education institutions in England. These degree-level courses provide practice-oriented theological education for students in positions of leadership in churches outside the mainstream historic denominations. Anecdotal evidence from MTP tutors is that the churches represented are overwhelmingly Charismatic-Pentecostal, and the students differ significantly from those in virtually all other degree courses, being mostly middle-aged and of African or Afro-Caribbean background. The research reported here is the first extensive and systematic investigation into MTP student bodies, their expectations and approaches to learning, and the implications for designing and teaching MTPs.

KEYWORDS:

• Teaching theology; ministerial theology; non-traditional students; diaspora churches

Introduction

In recent years, some higher education institutions have developed degree-level courses providing theological education and ministerial formation for students from churches outside the historic denominations (e.g. Pentecostal churches), who are in, or are seeking, positions of leadership within those churches. In this article, we refer to these programmes as Ministerial Theology Programmes (MTPs). The design and delivery of MTPs present particular pedagogical challenges, as the student cohort is drawn largely from cultural backgrounds that are underrepresented in the wider student population.

There is a limited literature, dealing with research into non-traditional students at universities (Bamber and Tett 2000; Bowl 2001; Mercer 2007; O’Shea 2016; Roberts 2011; Thomas and Quinn 2007). There is evidence that, in the UK at least, students from non-traditional backgrounds, across all disciplines, have lower completion rates and attainment levels than mainstream, traditional students (Hancock and Wakeling 2019; Universities UK 2015).

There is no standard definition of non-traditional students, but Morey et al. (2003) state that they include mature-age students, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, first-generation undergraduates, students from ethnic minorities, and students with disabilities. The research has focussed on a range of topics, including barriers to learning (Bowl 2001; Schuetze and Slowey 2002), attrition (Billson and Terry 1982), the range of capitals that they bring to university (Mercer 2007; O’Shea 2016; Pascarella et al. 2004; Thomas and Quinn 2007), and their experiences of learning (Richardson 1994). There is, however, very little published research into the challenges experienced by non-traditional students studying theology, including those on MTPs. Knowledge of this field is largely impressionistic, owing to the lack of empirical evidence concerning the students, the teaching staff, and the impact of the programmes on the students’ lives and on their churches. As a consequence, the design of relevant curricula, and decisions about the appropriate pedagogical approaches to adopt in delivering them, remain speculative. The research reported in this paper is a modest step towards filling this gap.

The large majority of MTP students are from charismatic and/or Pentecostal churches, with a membership drawn from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. There are approximately one million black Christians in Britain and an estimated 4,000 black majority churches nationwide (www.bmcdirectory.co.uk; accessed 22/3/2022), along with a growing number of Latin American and Asian majority churches (Burgess 2014). Many of these diaspora community churches are independent congregations, although some are organised into denominations or are associated through informal networks. Furthermore, the large majority of MTP students are of mature age and face the personal demands of having to fit their formal studies into busy family and professional lives. In addition, there is anecdotal evidence, borne out by an earlier small-scale study (Garner, Burgess, and Eshun 2015; see also Burgess 2014), that these students can find it confronting to subject their deeply-held religious convictions and familiar church practices to critical theological reflection.

Learning for ministry

A number of studies of theological education and ministerial formation emphasise the value of learning from practitioners and the need to orient the learning to practice. Lynch and Pattison (2005) conducted focus groups in four British theological institutions to produce a phenomenological account of what students report as being beneficial in their experiences of theological education. Their research elicited three interrelated elements generally associated with positive learning experiences. First, students valued studying practical theology when it provided opportunities for learning directly related to their particular personal and professional experience. Secondly, learning was most likely to occur if students were helped to engage in critical reflection on their experience. Thirdly, critical reflection on experience was helped through collaborative learning with staff and peers. The authors found that although students and staff valued critical reflection in relation to experience, there was often a lack of clarity about what critical reflection means or the kinds of approaches that can be used to develop it.

In a small-scale study of Anglican ministers, conducted by David Heywood (2022), participants reported a disconnect between their academic study and the practical realities of ministry. Drawing on Wenger’s theory of learning in communities of practice (Wenger 1998), Heywood suggests that ministerial trainees are in the process of moving from one community of practice to another – from the ‘practice of Christian discipleship’ to the ‘practice of Christian ministry’. In the process, they encounter another community, that of theological scholarship (2022, 255–256). This can be a disruptive rather than an enabling experience. Heywood refers to the significant difference in the way that academic theology operates compared to ‘everyday discipleship’ (2022, 360). He concludes that the pedagogy required for ministerial formation is one of theological reflection rather than theological scholarship. However, as we will see later, our own research suggests that encountering academic theology, while initially disruptive, can encourage students to reflect critically on their own tradition and practice. This can be an enriching, if challenging, experience and lead to better practice.

Important work on learning for ministry has emerged from a group of writers in the United States. They include Craig Dykstra, Dorothy Bass, Christian Scharen, Eileen Campbell-Reed, Kathleen Cahalan and Bonnie Miller-McClemore. Dykstra coined the term ‘pastoral imagination’ to describe the ‘embodied ways of thinking and perceiving that excellent ministers mobilize in the course of engagement in their work’ (Bass and Dykstra 2008, 14). According to Dykstra (2008, 42), pastoral imagination ‘takes shape over time within the daily work of ministry’. The essential condition for fostering pastoral imagination is the church’s ecclesial imagination, which develops as communities of people learn to live lives that ‘reflect God’s grace for themselves and others’ and ‘see the world through eyes of faith’ (Dykstra 2008, 42–43). The purpose of practical theology is to ‘nourish, nurture, discipline, and resource pastoral and ecclesial imagination’. When practical theology and theological education as a whole become disconnected from pastoral and ecclesial imagination, ‘they inevitably forfeit a good deal of their reason for being’ (Dykstra 2008, 43).

Since 2009, Scharen and Campbell-Reed have been conducting a large-scale study of the way ministers learn pastoral imagination. The Learning Pastoral Imagination (LPI) project focuses on the learning trajectory of students, including seminary but extending into ministry beyond seminary. Two of their findings, reported at the five-year stage of their research, are particularly relevant to our own research. Firstly, learning pastoral imagination ‘happens best in formation for ministry that is integrative, embodied, and relational’. Many students experience their preparation for ministry as more about acquiring knowledge that is decontextualised from their contexts of ministry. Second, students learn most from teachers who ‘help to put their subject in the context of the whole complex practice of ministry today’ (2016, 14). Bass et al. (2016) also stress the importance of orienting ministerial learning to practice. They refer to a kind of knowledge that people need to live well, which they call ‘practical wisdom’. The challenge for theological educators and ministerial leadership ‘is to see how conceptual and critical thinking stand in relationships to the concrete and particular in everyday life, and how careful thinking across domains and types of knowledge leads to fuller insight and more prudent action’ (2016, 3).

The study

A study, funded by the Susanna Wesley Foundation (UK), was undertaken with the primary aim of collecting empirical data to inform future curricular developments and teaching approaches in MTPs. The research was conducted at three institutions in England, namely:

• The University of Roehampton, London.

• St John’s College, Nottingham.

• Christ the Redeemer College, London.

The principal data-collection method was interviews. The sample in each institution was selected opportunistically. An email invitation was sent by the researchers to all students enrolled on the MTPs and to their teaching staff. All who accepted the invitation were interviewed: a total of 40 students and 14 teaching staff across the three institutions. The interviews were recorded, with the participants’ permission, and transcribed. (The interview schedule is given in the Appendix.) In addition, at the University of Roehampton, a questionnaire was administered to 83 students who had not been interviewed, and non-participant observations were conducted in two classes.

The interview transcriptions were analysed thematically, and the emerging themes were compared and consolidated at regular research team meetings. They form the main focus of this paper; the findings relate in particular to the students’:

1. demographic, educational, and theological backgrounds;

2. motivations for enrolling in the programmes;

3. experiences within the programmes, including approaches to study, the challenges encountered, and achievements;

4. intellectual and spiritual development during their studies, and its predicted influence on their future ministries.

In what follows, some data from the questionnaire, the staff interviews, and class observations are included where they confirm or shed light on the main findings. We intend to report these other findings more fully in a later paper.

Findings

The major findings are presented, illustrated by excerpts from interviews, in the following three sections:

1. The typical MTP student.

2. Students’ learning experiences.

3. The influence of learning on students’ ministry.

4. The final section draws some pedagogical implications from these findings.

The typical MTP student

In order to develop a clear picture of the nature of the student cohort in each institution, data were collected relating to five characteristics. No significant differences were discovered between the student bodies in the three programmes. The characteristics investigated were:

1. demographics;

2. previous education;

3. experience of Christian ministry;

4. reasons for enrolling on an MTP; and

5. post-course plans.

Demographics

These were not systematically explored in the interviews, and the findings are principally derived from responses to the questionnaire administered at the University of Roehampton. The findings are assumed (with the support of some anecdotal evidence) to be broadly similar for MTP students at the other two institutions.

A large majority (82%) were aged between 40 and 59 years; the average age was 48. Only 2% were aged below 30. Just over half (56%) were female. Nearly three-quarters (73%) were currently married; 18% had never been married. In terms of ethnicity, the sample was overwhelmingly African (89%) or Caribbean (6%).

The church tradition with which a very large majority of respondents (85%) identified was Charismatic-Pentecostal; 8% described themselves as Protestant, and 5% as Roman Catholic.

Prior experience of formal education

A majority of interviewees (28/40) had completed secondary education, 26 of whom had continued into post-secondary studies. Of these, half (13) had acquired a formal qualification: 7 vocational; 3 Bachelor’s degree; 3 Bible College certificate. The other half did not complete their post-secondary courses.

These findings were borne out by the questionnaire responses, with one exception. There, all respondents had completed secondary education, but 40% had not undertaken further studies: they had all attended school in Africa, and had been out of education for many years before commencing the MTP.

Experience of Christian ministry

All but 1 respondent reported being engaged in some form of ministry, predominantly in a church (35/40); another 4 in the community. The main church ministry was serving as a pastor (8, all male) or pastor’s wife (9). The other forms of church ministry constituted leading a specific aspect of church life: worship; children’s and/or youth groups; cell groups; and men’s groups. Significant numbers of the questionnaire respondents further specified counselling, evangelism, and prayer ministry (25% or above, for each).

Reasons for enrolling on the course

Studies of adult education emphasise the importance of motivation for learning to take place (Knowles, Holton III, and Swanson 1998; Rogers 2007). Most adult learners are motivated by the desire to acquire skills and knowledge that they can use in practical ways (Rogers 2007). A little under half of the sample (16/40) gave no specific motivation for having applied to an MTP. The remainder said they had felt a desire to further their learning; some one-third of these expressed this as a sense of clear calling. Learning was seen in terms of enhanced knowledge and/or specific skills for use in ministry.

I had been admitted to do Business and IT but I just felt that wasn’t where I was supposed to be … there was a steering in my heart towards ministry and theology.

Having the call of God upon my life, I wanted to show myself approved unto God.

To learn more and go deeper into theology and the Bible – I’m not learning enough in my church.

I needed some course structure for my call in ministry

Only 2 regarded the course specifically as a form of ordination training.

Plans following the completion of the course

Half of the respondents (20) stated that they would continue in their present ministry; one-quarter (10) said they aimed to move to a new form of ministry. Of these, 7 suggested the possible form(s) of this future ministry, including: pastor and/or chaplain; children’s and/or youth work; international mission; starting a school; teaching; and general church leadership. A further 6 hoped to pursue further studies, mentioning as the possible field(s) of study theology, counselling, and nursing.

Summary

These findings are consonant with anecdotal evidence from MTP programmes elsewhere. The students are different, in significant ways, from those in virtually all degree programmes within other disciplines. The typical MTP student is middle-aged and of African or Afro-Caribbean background, and actively involved in some form of church work within a Charismatic-Pentecostal church.

The educational backgrounds of the students vary widely: approximately the same proportion had not completed secondary school as had obtained a tertiary-level qualification. Only a relatively small majority of the sample appeared to have enrolled on MTP with a clear motivation to learn understandings and skills relevant to ministry. Nonetheless, ministry clearly is a significant component of their lives: half of the interviewees indicated that when they have completed the MTP they intend to continue in their present ministry. Almost the same number intend to enter a different form of ministry; a number of these hope to pursue further studies in order to do so.

The interviews with teaching staff indicated their awareness that the nature of the student body has implications for their approach to teaching. A few are noted here; some specific details are discussed in more detail in a later section.

The fact that a substantial portion of the students have not even completed secondary schooling means that they typically lack essential academic study skills, most noticeably in writing. They, and some of those who have tertiary-level educational experience, find it difficult to develop the skills of critical and analytical thinking, particularly in relation to Christian faith and practice. They find it difficult to question the church’s authority to think critically about dogma, and to consider alternative interpretations of the Bible. The tutors feel that an essential step in developing critical thinking is to minimise, from the start, the students’ marked deference to the teachers’ expertise.

Each MTP cohort comprises almost entirely mature-age students in positions of church leadership, and tutors are aware of difficulties arising from the demands of work and family life, and of the weight of expectations of students’ families and congregations. Their leadership roles noticeably affect the group dynamics in the classroom: for example, students who are lead pastors tend to exercise, consciously or not, some authority over other students in the group.

Students’ learning experiences

Like any university course preparing students for a specific vocation, MTPs aim to enhance their capacity to acquire new, relevant information, to develop deeper understanding of the field, and to apply the insights gained to their chosen practice. It is therefore important for those designing and delivering the programmes to have a well-grounded understanding of students’ learning experiences and their influence on their personal intellectual development and their practice in ministry. In the interviews, considerable emphasis was placed on challenges the students encountered and on their evaluation of pedagogical methods and assessment. The findings are presented under three headings:

1. challenges experienced on the course;

2. the teaching strategies they found most beneficial;

3. views of assessment.

Challenges experienced on the course

Some studies suggest that non-traditional students enter higher education with lower stocks of cultural and social capital than their peers (Pascarella et al. 2004; Thomas and Quinn 2007). For example, they are more likely to struggle in managing the relational and financial facets of their lives, and often lack both personal skills and social support that could contribute to positive academic outcomes. Those from ethnic minorities may face additional challenges (O’Shea 2016; Richardson 1994). This was the pattern of findings in the present study.

Interviewees were asked a general question, to allow for as wide as possible a range of responses:

What challenges have you faced on the course, which have affected your learning and attainment?

Only 4 respondents (10% of the sample) said they had experienced no obvious challenges. The other responses fell equally into two broad categories: practical and cognitive challenges (4 interviewees mentioned both). Practical challenges derive from the fact that mature-age students, the majority of whom have jobs and/or families to care for, find it difficult to balance these responsibilities with their studies; for example:

It’s hard combining my role as a mother, professional nurse and a student; I sometimes have to work overnight to complete assignments

I’ve got three young children and it’s a challenge dealing with their school work as well as my own

I’ve got two young children … by the time they are settled, you sit down to read and after two pages, you are out cold.

The cost of childcare can create additional financial stresses. Some reported difficulties arising from marital breakdown, bereavement, and immigration problems. Several experienced disillusionment with the behaviour of other students, for example: causing disruption by arriving late; talking in lectures; and not participating in classroom discussions.

Nonetheless, research has shown that mature-age students in other disciplines, despite the number of serious problems they encounter, can draw on personal capital derived from extensive life experience. This can assist them in coming to grips with the demands of the HE environment and succeeding in their studies (Mercer 2007; O’Shea 2016). Half of our interviewees (20/40) had seriously considered giving up, but had developed resilience and self-discipline, which enhanced their motivation to overcome these practical difficulties and to continue with their studies. For example:

I want to be a good role model for my children, you don’t just give up when things get tough

The bigger picture, getting the qualification to do what I feel like I’m called to do … the ability to accomplish that which is set before me

Some respondents also referred to having access to spiritual capital, such as a sense of divine calling, prayer, and Christian fellowship, which they drew upon when tempted to give up:

The zeal to go deeper in the word of God and inner conviction kept me going on this course

A large majority of the remainder (16/20) stated that they had experienced considerable difficulties on the MTP, but had never contemplated discontinuing their studies.

Cognitive challenges arose from the respondents’ age and educational backgrounds. Learning is especially difficult for students who have been out of education for a long time, and have lost the mental discipline and application necessary for serious study. Furthermore, a number struggled with the difficulties arising from belonging in two distinct communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998) church and university. This exposed them to very dissimilar learning cultures. The majority belong to churches with authoritarian leaders who emphasise unquestioning approaches to biblical interpretation and discourage critical reflection on church practice; this contrasts strongly with the aims of MTPs:

At uni we are taught to think academically rather than spiritually

I’ve been challenged by secular approaches which contradict the Bible

It made me think, is this really the Bible I know? … How can I read other books to understand the Bible [it should be] the other way round

The reflecting! In the first term I almost reflected myself into depression.

The intellectual milieu of the university raises one specific and unexpected challenge, noted by a majority (28/40) of the students. Views held by the tutors and/or fellow-students differed from, and often challenged, their own. As this was rare in their church environment, many found it confronting. When asked how they dealt with this, all but 4 said they were prepared to question or challenge the tutor, and found this a valuable learning experience:

[The tutor] was now making me think logically and I was never taught to think about the Bible with my logical mind so that was a challenge

Sometimes we reach a point of asking the tutor to give more evidences of what they are teaching

I never used to ask questions, but now I cannot judge anything I see or hear until I get the reasoning of the person who is saying it

A few believed tutors sometimes express confronting views as a pedagogical strategy:

I initially felt that some lecturers who challenged students’ faith and knowledge were not Christian. But later understood this as a teaching strategy to challenge them to think.

These students were also willing at times to reconsider and modify their own views, without openly challenging the tutor:

When I disagree, I go and search it for myself. It’s a learning process because to me, education is not a year or two-year thing, it is an eternal thing

Something that you’ve known for a long time [if someone] tells you that this is not right, you tend to be a little bit emotional but then when you sit down, you think it’s good, it’s for my good

A large majority (34/40) found that it was a positive learning experience to hear and discuss ideas and opinions that were entirely new to them and/or were contrary to their own. Well over half of the sample (26/40) stated they had begun thereby to take a critical and more informed attitude towards their faith and Scripture.

Seeing it from someone else’s view who is also a Christian but a different denomination, it’s just interesting

Your mind has to be broader to have a wider scope of the understanding of the word of God and also of books and of people … you’ve got to have an open heart so you can be able to learn

Of these 34, 6 said that, although they had benefitted from listening to discussions of views different from their own, they themselves tended not to participate verbally in the discussion, in order to avoid conflict in the group.

These findings are broadly similar to those of the earlier study within the Roehampton MTP, referred to above (Garner, Burgess, and Eshun 2015), which identified three kinds of response by students to views contrary to their own. The researchers classified the responses as:

1. Compartmentalising

2. Showing respect

3. Deep learning

‘Compartmentalising’ occurs when a student responds (for example, in class discussions, presentations, and written assignments) in the way he/she thinks the teachers require, whilst privately not modifying pre-existing views. This occurred with a small minority in Garner, Burgess, and Eshun (2015), and was not in evidence at all in the present study. The other two kinds of response were found in approximately equal numbers. ‘Showing respect’ refers to listening carefully to and respecting others’ opinions, although not incorporating them into one’s own. The third kind of response involved honest examination by students of their own ideas in the light of alternative views. They learned to live with questions and uncertainties with regard to their faith and practices. These students felt they had become better informed and reflective in their thinking, and more critical of the accepted wisdom and traditions from which they came.

Positive examples of teaching

There was general agreement that the teaching on all three MTPs was effective, and facilitated learning. The tutors were said to be all approachable and willing to answer students’ questions; they were commended for presenting the course content in a systematic and straightforward manner.

I feel [they] can empathise with us as people that have been out of school for so long, [they] understand our struggles and are very patient

The lecturer has broken the subject down to be very simple. Without that we’d be lost

A few specific successful pedagogical strategies were mentioned. Approximately half (21/40) of the respondents referred to the value of free discussion, both in class and in one-to-one tutorials.

It helps to learn better when you work as a group because you hear different experiences from other students

Tutorials can also be helpful because you get a better understanding than when you are taught in class

[In tutorials] you can ask questions

A few (6/40) found that being required, and shown how, to keep reflective journals developed their thinking.

[The journal] helped me to grow and move on from all these little demons I had from back home

Given almost all of the students were from Pentecostal-charismatic churches, it was significant that several of them found the fortnightly Anglican chapel services were positive learning experiences.

I’ve never had a reflective approach to worship and that has allowed me to see the quietness in a new way

I really appreciate the reflection time you have in that quietness. Even lighting candles, I really embrace it

One aspect of the programme at Roehampton is that each student is asked to invite a trusted individual outside the university to act as a mentor. Half of the 24 Roehampton interviewees explicitly mentioned how this had contributed to their learning.

[My mentor] encouraged me to press on … and was not so much guiding as being supportive.

We discussed about ministry and it was very encouraging. She has also done theology so she was really helpful

I see my mentor as a genuine man of God and he has assisted me in every possible way to grow in my spiritual life

Assessment

Participants were asked to state which types of assessment they found most helpful and most challenging, and to explain why. Only half (20) of the answers were informative. For some, it was too early in their courses to have had much experience of assignments; others gave vague or irrelevant responses. Two modes of assessment were described, albeit by only a few respondents, as helpful to learning: essays (4) and presentations (3). Three others, however, found presentations the most challenging assessment; 4 participants felt that group presentations were unfair, as group members contributed unequally, but one mark was awarded to the whole.

When asked what had most helped them in preparing for assessment, 5 mentioned clear guidelines with examples of good answers:

When you look at the example that has been given, you know that this is what the lecturer wants so you are able to do the work better.

Seven respondents suggested assessment could be improved. Specific mention was made of more lenient marking and training in assessment-related IT.

Summary

Almost all MTP students encounter considerable challenges in the course of their studies. Many involve the practicalities of studying, and have been found to be common among mature-age students in any discipline. Those most frequently noted in this study arose from the demands of full-time work and/or caring for children. Some cognitive challenges are also age-related: people who have been out of formal education for a long time can find it very demanding to study systematically and continually. Nonetheless, the greater life experience of older students equips the large majority of them to recognise and overcome such challenges.

Other cognitive challenges are more specific to students on MTPs, who are typically from churches in which it is rare to subject theological views and assumptions to critical enquiry or encounter alternative ideas and practices. Consequently, the MTP students often initially find the reflection on one’s own and others’ beliefs required in university very confronting. Nonetheless, almost all respondents found they learned to adapt, and gained considerable intellectual and spiritual benefit.

The influence of learning on students’ ministry

Understanding the processes of MTP students’ learning, as presented in the preceding section, is essential to developing an appropriate pedagogical approach. In order to enable the teaching staff to evaluate whether the programmes achieve their pedagogical objectives, the study also collected data on the longer-term effect of this learning on students’ development within their chosen sphere of ministry.

A substantial majority of participants (34/40) described their studies as beneficial, in various ways, to their attitudes towards and practices within their ministry. Almost half (19/40) said they now take a more open-minded and critical approach in their preaching and teaching.

Before, I could maybe quote anything from the Bible but I am no longer doing this; I realise you could be misleading people totally

You teach people not just to get what they are told. You must question everything

Sometimes people just get a verse and preach on it but now, I read the whole book so I get background information about a verse.

Another positive effect of the MTP on ministry was described by 10 respondents, who felt it had encouraged them to take a more humble, human approach to ministry, particularly in its pastoral aspects.

[As a pastor] you need to be more human, you don’t need to be more spiritual.

Being here has helped me to accept God’s grace for my weakness

I find myself offering a word of advice or a word of prayer which before I wouldn’t have really bothered to do

They have their struggles but church is where we can give God the chance to change people

Among those who were not pastors or pastors’ wives, around one-quarter (6/23), mostly women, regarded increasing confidence in their ministry as a significant impact of the programme.

If we are discussing something in the church … I am becoming so confident and I am getting a lot of knowledge here and I want to share it with everybody

I have confidence about introducing new ideas to church

Mainly it has helped with how I approach leadership, with more confidence and more understanding.

As a woman in a Pentecostal church, I think I feel I have something to contribute for the first time ever

Six respondents said that the course had helped them to clarify the nature of their future ministry.

My idea of Christian ministry hasn’t changed but given me more idea of what I want and in which area I will like to work

One-quarter (10/40) did not intend to return to their current form of ministry: choosing instead to undertake further study (6) or move to a new ministry (4).

Along with these positive outcomes of the MTPs, 7 respondents reported having encountered from church members and/or leaders some resistance to the new ideas they spoke about.

Some listen and are receptive; others are not, in which case you speak out and then leave it.

When I am talking to my bishop, I have to do it differently because he … only sees it one way It’s very difficult to break certain barriers, certain things you’ve learnt you want to change.

Summary

It is evident that the programme had resulted in some form of deep learning for the majority of participants, whatever their initial motivation had been for enrolling on the course. What they had learned had positively affected their ways of thinking about their personal faith and their ministry within a church.

Approximately half of the participants reported having developed a more open-minded and critical approach from having their deeply-held views challenged. A significant finding was that a large majority felt that their studies on the MTP had beneficially informed their thinking about and practices within their church ministry. A number, particularly among the women, felt they were now more confident in conducting ministry; others reported adopting a more humble, less authoritative, approach. Some were in the process of planning to move towards practising a different ministry in future; some Roehampton MTP students have gone on to study at Master’s and doctoral levels.

Pedagogical implications

The aims of MTPs, and the students on the programmes, are distinctive, and the pedagogy cannot merely follow the well-established approaches of theological education. Teaching staff require a good understanding of the learning processes of students who have not been in formal education for some time, whose profound convictions developed independently of formal learning. The curriculum must be oriented to students’ spiritual needs and strengths, and pedagogical practice must address their theological assumptions, their pastoral practices, and potential conflicts with their home churches. Because MTPs are a relatively recent phenomenon in universities, however, there is as yet little research evidence of these students’ particular needs and processes of learning.

The findings of the present study indicate that teachers must strive for a dynamic balance between two aims of MTPs. On the one hand, they must enable students to develop the skills of critical inquiry that will enrich their epistemology, ontology, and theology. On the other hand, teachers must provide students with a professionally-oriented formation that informs and enhances, rather than causing them to doubt, their faith and identity as Christian leaders.

The 12 tutors who were interviewed in our study all had a wide range of experience in ministry, including outside the UK, and felt that this is a great asset in teaching on the MTP. It enables them to empathise with the students and to include the potential problems within the teaching programme, talking to the individuals concerned and/or to the whole class. The tutors believed that students’ spiritual insights and intellectual growth arising from the programme would inevitably affect, albeit incrementally, their church practice in positive ways.

Several pedagogical recommendations for successfully meeting the educational aims of MTPs can be made on the basis of the findings of interviews with both students and teaching staff. One is to include in the weekly teaching schedule a number of individual or small-group tutorials. These, of course, make heavy demands on staff time, but it is clear that such personally focussed and in-depth conversations are the most effective way of assisting students to cope with, and indeed learn from, the cognitive challenges discussed above. The importance of such interactions was summed up by a participant in the earlier study (Garner, Burgess, and Eshun 2015, 10):

I have spoken to one or two lecturers to clarify a few things because without that I would still have questions and doubt. But if they are able to explain, I may not necessarily agree but at least I have the clarification, which is always helpful.

The second recommendation is to incorporate, in all classes, practical activities aimed at developing in students the capacity for, and habitual practice of, critical reflection on a range of aspects of church practice in general, and ministerial practice in particular. Such activities are pedagogically effective by making explicit to the students their (usually extensive) prior learning and experience (Rogers 2007). On this basis they can assist the students to make their knowledge available to those for whom they exercise leadership in their churches.

Although this study did not arrive at substantial findings relating to assessment, educational research in various disciplines has established the importance of formative assessment for students’ learning (Hounsell et al. 2008). This suggests the majority of assessments in MTPs should be formative with indicative feedback. Tutors reported attempting to link assignments to an experiential base, including ministerial practice, but this is hardly practicable in some modules. This should encourage course designers to modify such modules. It is essential that assessment in MTPs is formative rather than summative, encouraging students to think critically, rather than adopt the common tendency to cite proof texts. An informal enquiry among students on the Roehampton MTP was that a formative approach made assessment more like a productive pedagogical tool rather than a duty, and that the quality of their submitted assignments had improved.

One feature of the Roehampton MTP at the time the research was conducted (the situation is now somewhat different) is that fortnightly worship services, following the Anglican liturgy, were integrated into the curriculum. The academic year began with a welcoming service and ended with a valedictory commissioning service. As well as deepening fellowship among the students and staff these services were found to play a valuable pedagogical role. For many, the Anglican liturgy was a new and enriching experience of an alternative approach to worship. Findings of the research confirmed previous anecdotal evidence that the periods of silence and reflective praying gave them opportunity to place their learning in the context of Christian worship. The preaching often explicitly addressed specific theological difficulties they had raised in class, and not infrequently the content of a sermon was discussed in subsequent classes.

As discussed in section 2, students responded in various ways to encountering new and challenging views in their interactions with both fellow-students and teachers, and in their reading. This is an important pedagogical consideration: students must be enabled to engage in deep learning, going beyond compartmentalising to understand and respect others’ alternative views.

As reported in section 3, for some students who have learned in this way difficulties arise in their relationships with their home churches. On the one hand, some felt heightened, at times unrealistic, expectations placed on them by their pastors and congregations. On the other hand, a number spoke of an unwillingness on the part of leaders and members to accept the students’ newly-formed ideas and practices within the church environment. Tutors were very aware of a tendency by some students to subtle forms of disengagement from their studies in response to this difficulty.

All interviewed tutors stressed the pedagogical importance of starting from and building on the students’ own experience. In contrast with other Theology programmes, the MTP has to address ministry from the standpoint of practice rather than theory. By becoming cognisant of their needs and desires relating to ministry, the teacher can focus on introducing new concepts and techniques, such as theological reflection, accordingly.

From the responses of the students and the tutors, seven specific strategies in the planning and delivery of courses were identified that can be useful in meeting the challenges outlined in this section. In brief summary, they were:

1. Teachers must be approachable, sympathetic to students’ difficulties, and ready to answer their questions;

2. The course content and teaching approach should be practice-oriented, with a specific focus on ministry within the church;

3. Worship services should be integrated into the curriculum;

4. Discussion in classes must be encouraged, with the use of small-group tutorials to enhance students’ interactions with other students and with staff;

5. Classes should include learning activities, such as group problem-solving, to elicit and build on students’ understanding and professional practice experience;

6. Students should be encouraged, or required, to keep journals in which they reflect theologically on what they are learning;

7. Assessment should be formative and practice-oriented, with clear guidance on how to meet the requirements.

Conclusion

A number of Ministerial Theology Programmes have been introduced in recent years in various institutions of Higher Education within the United Kingdom. Their object is to provide theological training for leaders in churches which are outside the historically mainstream denominations in this country, and which offer very limited – in many cases, no – professional training for their ministers and other leaders. This objective of the programmes means that the large majority of students on MTPs are mature-age, and come from minority ethnic community churches. They typically have theologically conservative backgrounds, and little experience of submitting their theological beliefs and church practices to critical reflection. They thus constitute a new and distinctive cohort in Higher Education, for whom the established norms of university education and pedagogy cannot be assumed to be appropriate.

In order to provide some evidence-based guidance for the design and delivery of MTPs, this project investigated the students’ specific learning needs; the learning strategies they adopt; and the challenges they encounter arising from both within MTPs and the circumstances of their lives. The research participants were students and teaching staff at three HE institutions in the United Kingdom. Data were gathered through interviews, non-participant observations in classrooms, and a questionnaire. The aim was to identify the pedagogical challenges in the design and delivery of MTPs. This paper has concentrated largely on the findings from the student interviews, supported by those from interviews with teaching staff, with some reference to data from other sources. On the basis of these findings, a number of recommendations for pedagogy within MTPs were presented.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Richard Burgess

Richard Burgess is senior lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Roehampton. He holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Birmingham and an MA in Biblical Hermeneutics from London School of Theology. Previously he was a theological educator in Nigeria. His research focuses on Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora in Europe.

Mark Garner

Mark Garner was Head of Whitelands College, one of the four colleges that make up the University of Roehampton. His main academic specialisation was in the field of linguistics and language teaching. He holds a MTheol from the University of Aberdeen, and was ordained in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Mark also taught some theology, with an emphasis on hermeneutics. He retired in 2020 and now lives in Australia, where he is a member of the Associate Clergy team at Christ Church Cathedral in Ballarat.

Daniel Eshun

Daniel Eshun is the Dean of Chapel at Whitelands College, University of Roehampton. He holds degrees in Anthropology and Sociology of Religions, History and Philosophy, Theology and Biblical Studies, Education and African Studies from Kings College London, University of Oxford, Durham University, and University of Cape Coast, Ghana, respectively. He has served as a Youth Worker, Ordained Parish Priest, and Theological Educator in the Church of England and Chaplain in His Majesty's Category A Prison. He now teaches on the Theology, Mission, and Practice Programme at the University of Roehampton.

Appendix: The interview schedule

A Background and motivation

1. Why did you decide to enrol on the course? 2. What is your educational background? 3. What church do you belong to? 4. In what ways are you involved in Christian ministry? 5. What do you want to do after you complete the course? 6. How do you think the course will benefit your Christian ministry and/or future career? 7. Have you ever felt like giving up the course? If so, why? What has kept you going?

B Experiences of learning and teaching

1. What challenges have you faced on the course, which have affected your learning and attainment? 2. Roughly how many hours each week do you set aside for independent studies? 3. Since you started the course, have you ever doubted your faith or the faith of other students and staff? If YES: 3a. Was there a particular incident, statement, or topic within the course that led you to doubt? 3b. How have you dealt with these doubts? 4. How do you deal with views expressed by your tutors and peers that you disagree with? 5. Have you found it helpful listening to the views of those from other Christian traditions? 6. What positive learning/teaching experiences have you encountered since starting the course? 7. What negative learning/teaching experiences have you encountered? 8. Which modules have you found most helpful? Why? 9. What approaches to teaching have you found most helpful? 10. What academic support outside the classroom have you found most useful? 11. In what ways, if any, has your Christian life, faith, and/or ministry changed as a result of being on the course? 12. What challenges, if any, have you encountered applying what you have learnt to your context of ministry?

C Learning theological reflection

1. What do you understand to be the meaning and purpose of theological reflection? 2. Have you found engaging in theological reflection helpful? If so, how has it benefitted your life and ministry? 3. To what extent have you engaged in TR in your context of ministry? Will you continue to do so after you have completed your studies?

D Experiences of the assessment process

1. What types of assessment have you found most helpful? Why? 2. What types of assessment have you found most challenging? Why?

E Impact on churches

1. How has your experience of teaching/learning on the course influenced your approach to Christian education in your context of ministry? 2. To what extent do you provide opportunities/to encourage laypeople in your churches to engage in theological reflection and reflective practice?