It was a great encouragement to attend just for one day the ICETE International Consultation for Theological Educators which took place from 5-9 October 2009 in Sopron, Hungary. It was good to reconnect with friends and colleagues from Central Europe and elsewhere in the world and to be re-energized by the various presentations. The distinguished international evangelical scholars Bishop Hwa Yung of Malaysia, and Professor Henri Blocher of France, were among principal speakers at the event. The Consultation’s theme was: “Energising Community: Theological Education’s Relational Mandate.”
The ICETE website gives a syllabus of the issues dealt with in the consultation:
"The 2009 ICETE Consultation will seek to focus on relational theological education, how the biblical values of relationship and community might be usefully reenergised within our contemporary patterns of theological education. In what sense might community be considered a mandated priority for theological education? To what end, with what limitations? How might a theological college best embody biblical community in its institutional culture? How can students be more effectively equipped in relational competencies and community-formation skills? In what practical ways could theological schools demonstrate biblical community in relation to other theological schools, the church, and their own local context? The 2009 Consultation programme will enable creative interaction among theological educators from around the world on the implications of these biblical values for our programmes, and for understanding our own roles freshly within such a framing.
Among those to address the Consultation in plenary session, additional to Hwa Yung and Henri Blocher, will be: Daniel Bourdanné from Chad, General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES); David Baer, President of Overseas Council in the United States; Joseph Shao of the Philippines, General Secretary of the Asia Theological Association (ATA); Manuel Reaño of Peru, Rector of the Seminario Biblico de Colombia; and Riad Kassis, professor at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon. Also participating in the Consultation programme will be: Geoff Tunnicliffe, International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of the Lausanne Movement (LCWE); and Chris Wright, International Director of Langham Partnership International (LPI). The Consultation format will also provide for a range of seminars, workshops, roundtable discussions, and much informal contact on other areas of interest additional to the Consultation theme, thereby enabling rich stimulation, interaction, reflection and fellowship for participants."
ICETE’s triennial international consultations are widely popular for offering the only occasion of its kind for evangelical theological educators from all parts of the world to gather for peer professional reflection and interaction at global level. The events provide multiple occasions for collaborative networking, cross-pollination, and reflective engagement, thus furthering a shared commitment in preparing biblically-based church leadership for the global Christian community in the 21st Century.
Participants in ICETE’s 2006 Consultation in Thailand came from: Angola, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Congo, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad, Ukraine, USA, and Zambia.
For more information: http://www.icete-edu.org/.
The ICETE website contains excellent articles for downloading on extremely relevant issues related to theological education from e.g. Alister McGrath, Chris Wright and Miroslav Volf: http://www.icete-edu.org/resources/.
