Reflections on Global Theological Education

Among life’s greatest gifts for me have been opportunities to rub shoulders with people from around the world. Together with Prof. Christian Scharen and PhD candidate Dax Mathew I participated last week in a consultation on global theological education at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Over two days in a classroom at Luther, about three dozen of us gathered to share how theological education happens in our U.S. Lutheran schools and in places around the globe. In the room and on screen by Zoom were seminary students, professors, deans and presidents, together with key leaders from the ELCA churchwide organization and Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

In a session of asset mapping, participants used Post-it notes to assess the gifts offered to global theological education by each of the partners. LSTC’s list included recognition of our noteworthy legacy forming leaders for church and society in 60 countries around the world. A professor from another seminary said for decades LSTC has been a “Mecca” in which hundreds of international learners have received part of their theological education and leadership formation. 

Consultation participants were acutely aware of North American tendencies to assume our educational institutions and processes are superior to those in other nations. Recognizing and honoring the wisdom of peoples in other lands, ELCA stances have changed from historical patterns that primarily offered support to enable students to attend our institutions. While such scholarships for study in U.S schools are still made available, 80 percent of the ELCA’s financial support now goes to students studying in their own contexts. Among those supported, 75 percent are young adults, two-thirds of whom are women. Of the ten students who shared their stories and areas of study, three are Lutheran and the rest represent a wide spectrum of traditions.  

Kaleb Sutherland, ELCA churchwide staff person who oversees scholarships, wrapped it all up for me in one sentence. “For us in the ELCA,” he said, being part of the global church “is not a nice-to-have but a must!”