Closing thoughts on the Ethiopia Institute for 2011

Kenya, Central African Republic, South Africa, Zambia

Mozambique, Ethiopia, Chad, Nigeria, Congo, Namibia

Uganda, Senegal, Togo, Sierra Leone, Benin, Ghana

… are just some of the countries that were represented at the Institute in Ethiopia a couple of weeks ago.

Here are a few closing thoughts on the time spent in Ethiopia: 

OC had a unique platform this year, bringing together seminaries from around the whole continent who have not had the opportunity to come together in this way for over 15 years.  19 Countries were represented from the African Continent, 25 including outside continents. The people represented in these 19 countries were able to share common challenges and solutions. For example, when discussing the topic of entrepreneurial opportunities in the third stream of revenue for a seminary, one leader shared the invaluable asset a banana plantation has been for his seminary, in which another seminary leader realized aloud, “we could do this”.

The changes in the actual event have proven fruitful and the emphasis is now on how the school could benefit from this conference, not just how participants can benefit. Strategic changes to this paradigm shift include a MAP (Ministry Action Plan) designer per seminary instead of designed per participant. This encourages the seminary team at the conference to collaborate effectively in deciding what is best for the seminary.

Leaving Ethiopia was difficult, as it was a unique opportunity to see an entire continent of seminary leaders all committed to the same purpose Overseas Council is committed to: Advancing Christian Leaders.

Changes to the Institutes are proving fruitful!

An update from the Dean of OC Institutes, Scott Cunningham:

Generally, I have little interest in “conferences.”  In conferences,

people just confer.  There may be a transfer of information

(frequently from one person to many), but often there is no action or

change as a result.  What I do value is creating space for

transformative education.  And, that’s what I am committed to through

the Institutes for Excellence.  I want to see seminaries becoming more

effective in training Christian leaders as an outcome of such a week

as the one we are now part of here in Ethiopia.

 

One of the improvements we have made in this year’s Institute was to

encourage more than just the principal or president of the seminary to

participate in the Institute.  Yes, it is certainly important that the

head of the school be present.  But, we have learned that change is

the seminary is more likely if there is something closer to a

“critical mass” participating along with the principal.  So, this year

many of the seminaries have sent three or four participants.

 

During the small group discussions we have scheduled for the day, it’s

invigorating to observe the faculty, staff, and principals of each

school gathered together in conversation, deepening their learning as

they reflect on the presentations and making plans for what kind of

improvements they want to make in their seminaries upon their return.

 

Last month in the Costa Rica Institute, one of the principals told me

how much he appreciated the opportunity to bring several other

seminary staff with him to the Institute.  “It’s like a faculty

retreat.  We have always wanted to discuss these important issues of

financial sustainability, but it seems that we never had time.  You

have provided us the opportunity for this guided discussion together

as a staff.”  Today I heard the same kind of comment from the

president of a Nigerian seminary who came with his board chair and two

staff members.  In thanking me for the Institute he particularly

singled out this extraordinary opportunity for his staff to also

benefit, and even more, for the seminary to benefit from their

discussion and planning together this week.

 

Thank the Lord with us for the excellent presentations and the

fruitful discussion we observed today.  And, pray for strength,

courage, clear minds, and for the Spirit’s work among us tomorrow as

these seminary leaders consider how to lead change in their

seminaries.

 

Warmly in Christ,

 

Scott

this is just the beginning?!

The Institute for Excellence began officially this afternoon. Over 100 people have already arrived, with 20 or so additional people expected tonight or early tomorrow morning due to delayed flights. The diversity of the group is amazing, coming from 22 African countries, plus observers and participants from the US, UK, Germany, and Switzerland. The meeting is bilingual, English and French, with translation to the other language, although conversations in German, Portuguese, Twi, Amharic, and Swahili, among others, are taking place on the edges.

The theme of the week is “sustainability.” What does that mean? Basically, it gets at the problem of how a seminary manages to accomplish its mission within the constraints of limited resources. My colleague, Scott Cunningham, started the meeting off with a presentation that argued that sustainability is about the intersection of three key components of any training institution – its business model, its educational practice, and its mission. All of these are in turn nested in the dynamic context in which the school operates. Are theological schools able to respond to the rapidly changing needs of churches and broader society? Not a few leaders here feel a bit overwhelmed, as if the floor is shifting beneath them.

It is interesting to see many of the schools developing new and creative ways to sustain their missions, including approaches as diverse as renting out facilities, running a banana plantation, or providing agricultural and community development training. Dr. Daniel Aleshire, Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in the United States also gave a presentation on questions of sustainability in North America, to which my colleague and friend Dr. Victor Nakah responded from an African perspective. Today’s sessions merely “plowed open the soil,” setting the stage for much more robust interaction tomorrow. It’s really a joy for me to see these sessions growing increasingly interactive and oriented toward adult learning principles with each passing year. I’m really proud of my colleagues.

Tonight, we shared a wonderful welcome banquet hosted by our friends at the Evangelical Theological College. They served a lovely Ethiopian buffet. A number of special guests from the community joined us, including the US Ambassador to the African Union (based in Addis Ababa). He is a former pastor and president of a theological school in Atlanta. He encouraged the participants that they play a critical role in raising up transformative leaders in Africa. I couldn’t agree more. It’s really a privilege to be with such a diverse, talented, and engaged group of people. And this is just the beginning.

…And the Africa Institute Begins!

Here is a brief updated from Jason Ferenzci (VP of International Partnerships at OC), giving a brief context of the Institute beginning in Ethiopia today! 

Evangelical Theological Seminary is hosting the Africa Institute this year.

The Institute for Excellence in Ethiopia is up and running this morning! Our 100+ attendees come from 45 seminaries all over Africa. The topic for the week is , “financial sustainability and change” which was chosen after surveying seminaries all over the world in 2010.  Each school will send between 3-4 members of their team for the week, covering a portion of their travel and lodging costs as an investment in their team. This is a critical time as theological education (and education more broadly) faces immense changes. This Institute isn’t a “chalk and talk” workshop where a bunch of western experts share the “proper” way to do things. Rather, this is a big discussion, drawing on the decades of experience in the room and the real challenges that these men and women face. A lot of time will be devoted to group work among individual school teams, seeking to facilitate application exercises and creative thinking about individual situations.

My investment has been largely on the front end, through a lot of work with my African colleagues (Victor Nakah of Zimbabwe and Philippe Emedi of the DRC) and the director of our Institutes (Scott Cunningham, who himself lived and worked in Africa for more than 25 years). It is a privilege to work with a team like this.

It is our hope that this week will lead to:

• a sense of commonality and fellowship among participants (many look forward to this gathering every year)

• serious and practical reflection on the topic of sustainability of seminaries in Africa, including interaction with some leaders from other parts of the world (including Daniel Aleshire of the Association of Theological Schools in North America).

• reflection on what it means to lead change within communities. While some of this will be rather “nuts and bolts,” utilizing John Kotter’s materials, we are deliberately focusing more on the human element of change leadership, for it seems to us that this is the most critical, especially for Christian institutions.

• personally, I look forward to learning a lot and having good fellowship with African friends.

Thanks for the update Jason!

Pre-Addis

[eagerly awaiting Institute in Ethiopia]

We have confirmed that the Institute for Excellence in Leadership Development is looking to win the award for the largest number of participants at any thus far! We are excited having come away from the Institute in Costa Rica last month, eager to see how the new dynamic changes made in these events will bring about a higher quality of interaction, planning and implementation for each of us participating! If you are curious what those changes are, just click on the San Jose tab and our Dean of Leadership Development -Scott Cunningham- has outlined them there! We will be implementing these changes generally, but with specific contexts in mind, working closely with the OC Regional Directors to accomplish this task! I’ll post pictures, quotes, and stories from the Institute next week as they arrive! Please pray for the Institute to be a tool for the Lord to use and shape each of us as he will!

2010 Institute in Nairobi