8 G AF C O N T E N
The global need for theological education
MO O R E M AT T E R S SP R ING 2 0 21
Bill Salier / Consultant for GAFCON TEN
I’LL NEVER FORGET THE DAY I SAW MY NORMALLY MILD-M ANNERED SENIOR MINISTER AT WIH TE HE AT. A GROUP IN THE LOCAL AREA STARTED COMING TO US AND OTHER CONGREGATIONS TRYING TO LURE PEOPLE INTO JOINING THEIR PARTICUL AR BRAND OF LEGALISTIC CHRISTIANITY.
loss of condence in the Bible as the word of God, and the subsequent lack of clarity about the message of the gospel and its implications. This didn’t happen overnight, but was a function of poor teaching in the colleges and universities training successive generations of congregational ministers and church leaders. TEN is a network linked by a common goal to ensure that every bishop in the Anglican communion has access to excellent theological education. This hey had a doctrine of baptism h w ich felt o ‘ ffi’ serves the further aim of multiplying the number of though we couldn’t quite say h w y, and other well-grounded disciples of the Lord e J sus Christ able to strange teachings besides. My senior minister full the great commission (Matt 282 :18- ).0 was on to this straight away. e H gathered us together These goals reect the important connection and pointed out the errors of their theology, and their between sound theological education and the growth of consequences. e H directed us instead to the positive the church in numbers and maturity. eW know that this teaching of Scripture. His passion in relating to this is true at the micro congregational level, and Gafcon group, h w ile polite, was evident. I saw the result of both acknowledges how true this is at the t‘ raining the good and poor theological teaching. And I was grateful trainers’ level: theological and Bible colleges. for the theological training that enabled my senior tI is important to get theological training right. minister to be discerning and clear in this situation. This isn’t always an easy task. Also, theological training My mind returns to this h w en I think about my can feel a long way removed from our everyday church new role consulting with the Gafcon Theological experience. Talk about and can all sound a Education Network (TEN). TEN is one of nine networks bit nit-picky and perhaps even judgemental. But the formed since Gafcon came into existence in 2008. New Testament scriptures are clear. The passion of Paul In a real sense, the success and failure of theological G ( al 3:1), o J hn (1 n J 4:1), and Peter (1 Pet 2) is clear h w en education is close to the heart of h w y Gafcon happened they both arm the truth, and they are faced with false in the rst place. While the presenting issues were teaching. They know the signicance of sound teaching. matters of human sexuality and their application in The Gafcon theological network vision seeks to Christian ministry, behind these issues was a general address the issues of both the quantity and quality of
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