Contextualising theological education in Africa by doing theology in a missional hermeneutic

Abstract

This article originated at curriculum development workshops for seminaries at different venues in sub-Saharan Africa. Its goal was to provide guidelines towards finding a hermeneutic key to practising theology contextually as a response to a process of spiritual discernment which would lead to a contextualised, missional theological curriculum and training. It briefly described elements of the history and context of theological training in the Christendom paradigm. It has little faith in the future of this paradigm, and argued that the southern shift of the heartland of Christianity points us in a new direction. The article said: look at the changing context, the influence of globalisation and the information revolution and revisit key theological parameters in Scripture. Observe what is happening in missional congregations and let all of these developments guide us on a journey to discover a new hermeneutic to do and teach theology in Africa.