Monday, May 9, 2016

"They had been with Jesus" (Acts 4,13)

The best theological education is not in the classrooms or libraries filled with books. It is living and walking with Jesus day by day like the 12 disciples. Even the Jewish leaders realized that the apostles' deed came about because they had been with Jesus. Now that Jesus is no longer with us physically though ever present spiritually by the Spirit, the next best thing is living and walking along a teacher or rabbi. For the past four months plus, it has been an intense community lIving for me, almost communal because we shared three meals together, worshipped together every morning, attend classes and then in the weekends some students will travel with me for ministry. The best theological education is through imitation of the teacher. How he leads prayers and is a man of prayer, a worshipper, a singer of the Lord's songs, a fellow disciple of Christ will do much more than theoretical discussion or scholarly books though both have their place and purpose.
I preach so that my students can preach like me, how I handle the knowledge of Scripture, in the demonstration of the Spirit and power. I pray so that the students can pray like me in intercessory prayers, in fervency and in faith. I sing so that my students will sing to the Lord and worship the only one true God. Many of them can sing better but they learn to sing from their hearts and not from their mouths with beautiful voices. I live among my people;  I am a ready help. Once I was awakened at 1.30 am when a student fell sick and they needed the keys to drive to the hospital. When a student was admitted to the hospital as I just took on my role I visited her twice and she had repaid me more than once in her kindness and love for fellow students and myself. Living together, community living and serving together is still the best theological method and if theological educators failed to see that they will have missed Jesus' own training of his disciples and how they shook up the world and turned it upside down.

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