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Crafting Lutheran Pastors in Tanzania Perceptions of Theological Education and Formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

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Crafting Lutheran Pastors in Tanzania Perceptions of Theological Education and Formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania STUDIA MISSIONALIA SVECANA CXIX Johannes Habib Zeiler Crafting Lutheran Pastors in Tanzania Perceptions of Theological Education and Formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania To Lukas and Julia Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Sal IV, Universitetshuset, Biskopsgatan 3, Uppsala, Friday, 7 December 2018 at 10:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Faculty of Theology). The examination will be conducted in English. Faculty examiner: Professor Knut Holter (VID Specialized University, Norway; Faculty of Theology, Diaconia and Leadership Studies). Abstract Habib Zeiler, J. 2018. Crafting Lutheran Pastors in Tanzania. Perceptions of Theological Education and Formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Studia Missionalia Svecana 119. 222 pp. Uppsala: Department of Theology, Uppsala University. ISBN 978-91-506-2725-1. The quest for theological education is embedded in the history of the churches in sub-Saharan Africa and is, at the same time, inherently linked to how the churches continue to evolve and shift in character over time. It relates to the self-understanding of the churches and their role in society, including their academic and pastoral obligations to adequately educate and train leaders to work in the localities. With its estimated 6.5 million members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) is today one of the largest Lutheran churches in the world. The role and impact of institutions for theological education are high on the agenda in the ELCT, not least as the various educational institutions for ministerial training are often seen as important means in the processes of theologising and strategising for the future. This qualitative study draws heavily upon interviews with Lutheran bishops and theological educators in Tanzania, and identifies leading motives and ideas behind their current engagements in the field of ministerial studies. More specifically, it shows how the informants reflect upon, argue about and negotiate their perceptions of higher theological education. It demonstrates by what means, techniques, and practices they claim to govern, guide, and form the students in theology. Formal ministerial studies are not carried out in a vacuum but in and through certain institutions, appropriately designed to serve their purposes. In order to gain academic accreditation, institutional and theological recognition, and to oversee the processes of quality assurance, the ELCT cultivates its links with relevant actors and institutions in Tanzanian society. Even the global networks and connections, such as other churches and missionary organisations abroad, play a significant role in this regard. Drawing inspiration from governmentality studies and the notion of governmentality, this study focuses on ‘how’ questions; it examines how the interviewees think about governing, and how they calculate, strategise, or respond to certain problems linked to the multiple forms and models of theological training. As such, the study focuses on how government operates, and examines what claims, hopes, and visions the informants have in mind when educating a new generation of clergy in a rapidly changing society. Keywords: Theological education, Ministerial formation, Higher education, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, ELCT, Lutheran, Pastor, Governmentality, Tumaini University Makumira, Tanzania, Sub-Saharan Africa Johannes Habib Zeiler, Church and Mission studies, Science of Mission, Box 511, Uppsala University, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden. © Johannes Habib Zeiler 2018 ISSN 1404-9503 ISBN 978-91-506-2725-1 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-362248 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-362248) Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... vii Abbreviations ................................................................................................. ix 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 11 Purpose of Study, and Research Questions .............................................. 12 Setting the Scene ...................................................................................... 13 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania ........................................ 17 Previous Research, and Relevance of the Study ...................................... 20 A Bourgeoning Field ........................................................................... 20 Significance of the Study ..................................................................... 24 Clarification of Terminology .................................................................... 26 Chapter Outline ........................................................................................ 27 2. Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives .......................................... 30 A Governmentality Perspective ................................................................ 30 Analytical Tools .................................................................................. 33 Methodological Considerations ................................................................ 35 Encountering the Field ......................................................................... 36 To Conduct Interviews ........................................................................ 38 To Transcribe the Interviews ............................................................... 42 Thematic Analysis ............................................................................... 43 3. Time of Transition - Institutions and Educational Initiatives in the Making ................................................................................................ 46 A Decolonised African Lutheran Agenda ................................................ 47 The Wider Academic Context in East Africa ........................................... 51 African Contextual Theological Education .............................................. 56 To be Lutheran is to be Ecumenical ......................................................... 57 Denominational Consciousness in the Making ........................................ 59 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................ 62 4. Models of Theological Education and Ministerial Formation .................. 65 Educational Initiatives and Institutions in Context .................................. 66 Residential Theological Training ........................................................ 68 Non-residential Theological Training .................................................. 76 Conditions for Studying Theology ........................................................... 78 Discontinuation of Theological Studies ............................................... 83 The Ordination of a Lutheran Pastor ........................................................ 85 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................ 90 5. Resources, Interests, and Priorities ........................................................... 93 ‘We have all studied theology at Makumira’ ........................................... 93 Lutheran Mission Cooperation ................................................................. 96 Same but Different? ............................................................................... 101 Regionalisation and New Directions ...................................................... 106 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................. 110 6. Chapel as Space for Lutheran Formation ................................................ 115 The Congregation and the Chapel .......................................................... 116 Learning through Practice .................................................................. 117 The Educational Task ........................................................................ 119 Chapel as Classroom.......................................................................... 124 Pastoral Formation in the Making ..................................................... 131 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................. 136 7. Encountering Charismatic Christianity ................................................... 138 Being Mainline, not Side-lined .............................................................. 139 Being Mainline and Charismatic ............................................................ 144 Lutheran Pentecostalism ........................................................................ 149 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................. 154 8. Mission and Ministry in Context ............................................................ 159 The Prophetic Mission of the ELCT ...................................................... 160 The Ministry of Teaching in Context ..................................................... 166 A System Undergoing Criticism ............................................................ 169 Additional Venues for Teaching and Formation .................................... 174 The Presentations at the Pastors’ Meeting ......................................... 177 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................. 181 9. Theological Education and Ministerial Formation as an
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