Victoria & Tasmanian C of C Theological Education Review - Update

After my recent rant about the political machinery of the State Council of Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania, and the wonky (the Reviewer admitted his bias when he presented the report to the Council) review they sponsored into the state of Theological Education and Ministerial Formation in those states, I have had some feedback that needs to be reported on.

While the Board of the College accepted the Review, as commented to me by the CEO of Churches of Christ (are they a corporation or something, that they are led by a CEO?)and the Reviewer, their view seems to be that the Review was so flawed that most people dismissed it. This is not to say that the College has not taken note of any of the matters raised by the Reviewer. In many ways they thought the Review was caught up in identifying matters that had already been dealt with in recent times and some much longer ago, and the term used to me was that it was a bit like a "rear-vision mirror view."

I have been assured of two things which I want to share with you.

1. The College is simply getting on with the business of doing well what they have always been doing, with good student numbers and improving relationships with the Churches. By this comment, the practical and pastorally supportive approach to ministerial training in the context of an academically rigorous program of study is affirmed as continuing to be a feature of the College, as indeed it was when I was a student there thirty years ago.

2. The appointment of Andrew Menzies as Principal is not so far out of bounds as I was suggesting earlier. Andrew's ministerial background has been within the Baptist church as was the case for Greg Elsden when he was appointed Principal, and there is much to commend Tabor College as an academic institution standing alongside CCTC in the preparation of people for ministry in the church.

So, there are, in the view of those I have had contact from, good times ahead for CCTC, not least because they have the determination to simply continue doing the business they have always done well - namely prepare men and women for the challenges of ministry in local churches in the 21st century.