Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Master of Sacred Theology Thesis Concordia Seminary Scholarship 3-1-2003 Fifty Years of Theological Education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea: 1948-1998 John Eggert Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/stm Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Eggert, John, "Fifty Years of Theological Education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea: 1948-1998" (2003). Master of Sacred Theology Thesis. 29. https://scholar.csl.edu/stm/29 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Sacred Theology Thesis by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Fifty Years of Theological Education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea: 1948-1998 Contents Preface vii Abbreviations I. A Brief Introduction to Papua New Guinea A. Geographical Setting 1 B. Cultural Setting 3 C. Political Setting 6 II. A Brief History of Christian Work in Papua New Guinea A. Beginnings of Christianity in Papua New Guinea 11 B. Start of Lutheran Work in Papua New Guinea 12 C. LCMS Beginnings in Papua New Guinea 16 III. Nine Years of Work Leading to the First Baptisms A. A Brief Look at What "Theological Education" Means 24 B. Pre-Baptism Instruction Is Received, Then Passed Along 28 IV. The First Formal Training Program: Birip School for Church Workers A. The Baptisms and Theological Reflection 32 B. The Baptisms and Additional Training 33 C. What the Additional Training Included 41 D. The Need to Expand and Enhance Gospel Proclamation 45 V. A Training Program in English: Martin Luther Seminary A. Regional Developments Encourage a New Program 49 B. Basics of Theological Education at Martin Luther Seminary 51 C. Mixed Results 54 VI. Birip School for Church Workers Transitions to Timothy Lutheran Seminary 60 VII. The Development of Bible Schools A. Ongoing Evangelist Training 70 B . Bible Schools Work with Timothy Lutheran Seminary 74 Contents vi VIII. Various Theological Education by Extension Programs 76 IX. Continuing Education for Church Workers 85 X. Papua New Guinean Christians Take Up the Challenge of Theological Education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church A. They Took Part in the Challenge from the Beginning 91 B. Taking Up the Administrative Challenge 92 C. Taking Up the Financial Challenge 95 D. Taking Up the Theological Challenge 101 XI. Some Concluding Observations 105 Appendix A: Survey Questions 110 Appendix B: Survey Respondents 117 Appendix C: Regional Map 119 Appendix D: Papua New Guinea Map (Main Area of GLC Work) 120 Works Cited 121 Preface This study of "Fifty Years of Theological Education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea: 1948-1998" developed as a result of several different things coming together at the same time. From 1985 until 1998 I served as an evangelistic missionary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in Papua New Guinea. Most of those years my wife, Jeanette, and I were involved in some form of theological education activity. In 1998 we were asked by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's Board for Mission Services to accept a temporary assignment in Ghana, West Africa, to help develop a clergy training program for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana. As we considered the request I kept asking: "What has been done in theological education in West Africa? What is being done in theological education in West Africa? Is there something that I can read which will provide a helpful picture of what I am being asked to become involved in?' When no one could point to a specific volume or study, I began wondering how I would respond to such a question about theological education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church. At the same time, there was an air of excitement stirring in the Gutnius Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, a partner church of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. This was related to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the start of Lutheran work among the Enga people. Where there had been no Christians fifty years ago, there were now thousands of Lutherans coming together to celebrate what had happened between 1948 and 1998. Attending the celebrations were the pioneer LCMS missionaries Rev. Dr. Otto and Jill Hintze and Rev. Dr. Willard and Elinor Burce. Also a part of the celebrations were Kowa Waimane, one of the men who is credited with having invited the Lutheran church to come and work among the Enga people, along with a number of people who had been part of the first group baptized in 1957. vii Preface viii As I observed and participated in the celebrations, I realized that I was sitting with and talking with those who had been part of this work from the beginning. It was history in the making. At the same time, questions about the history of theological education in West Africa, in Papua New Guinea, and in the Gutnius Lutheran Church arose in my mind. It seemed that now was the time to gather information from those who had seen and been a part of the beginning of theological education in what had developed into the Gutnius Lutheran Church. In a few years a number of these people would no longer be around to tell the story of what they had experienced. From a personal question about what I might encounter in West Africa, to looking at what I had experienced over the past thirteen years, to participating in the anniversary celebrations, the topic "Fifty Years of Theological Education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea: 1948-1998," emerged. With the topic in mind and the opportunity to write a thesis as part of my Master of Theology program, the stage was set to begin the research and pull together some of this history in the making. The research developed in various ways. Having already left Papua New Guinea for the work in West Africa I developed several surveys and sent them to current and former missionaries, students of the early theological education programs, students of later theological education programs and current teachers in theological education programs. The survey questions are found in Appendix A. As the survey was developed it became evident that the meaning of the phrase "theological education" was not as clear as might first be thought. Thus, there was a question included on the survey about how one would define theological education in the Papua New Guinean context. In addition to the surveys there were a number of other resources available to consult—books, periodicals, minutes of meetings of the Board of Control of Timothy Lutheran Seminary and pamphlets, some in English and some in Melanesian Pidgin. (All of the translations from Melanesian Pidgin, unless otherwise noted, are my own.) I interviewed Rev. Dr. Willard Burce, who spent most of his forty years of work in Papua New Guinea involved in various forms of theological education. There were also correspondence and my own personal experience to draw upon. The "Works Cited" list at the end of the paper will provide the necessary titles Preface ix of the references. This introduction is simply to prepare the reader for the various types of materials cited in the study. Materials available, personal interest and experience, and limitations of time and space have all contributed to what has been included or omitted in this study. No doubt there are gaps, and others who have been involved in theological education in Papua New Guinea or elsewhere will have questions as to why certain things were included or omitted. Obviously it has not been possible to look at all of the materials which could have been consulted. The definition of what theological education is may not seem as crisp and clear as one might like it to be from a western academic perspective, but it is part of the picture which has emerged. Rather than try to mold it significantly I have tried to present what I have found. In the task of researching and writing on the topic I have learned a great deal. I have developed a summary of how theological education in the Gutnius Lutheran Church unfolded from 1948 to 1998. I have found myself asking more questions about what happened, and what this may mean for the future in theological education, than could be addressed in this paper. Some of those questions and areas of thought have been identified at the end of the paper. The reader will likely develop additional questions and thoughts on what has been presented. It is my hope and prayer that this material will be as helpful for the reader as it has been for me in understanding what happened in theological education in the Lutheran work among the Enga people from 1948 to 1998. Finally, I would like to express appreciation to those who responded to the surveys and spent time discussing the issue with me. Your efforts have helped me look at various materials and different aspects of the topic which would have been left out had you not given of your time and knowledge. Abbreviations ALC American Lutheran Church ALM Australian Lutheran Mission DELTO Distance Education Leading to Ordination ELCA Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia ELCONG Evangelical Lutheran Church of New Guinea ELC—PNG Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea GLC Gutnius Lutheran Church LCMS The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod LMNG Lutheran Mission New Guinea MATS Melanesian Association of Theological Schools MBP Milne Bay Province MLS Martin Luther Seminary NGLM New Guinea Lutheran Mission NSP North Solomons Province PNG Papua New Guinea SHP Southern Highlands Province 'Ibb Theological Education by Extension TLS Timothy Lutheran Seminary WLC Wabag Lutheran Church WTS Wartburg Theological Seminary x I.