February 2010

Published On - April 4, 2021

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Download February 2010 eNews here

The mission of ACTEA is to promote quality evangelical theological education in Africa by providing supporting services, facilitating academic recognition, and fostering continental and inter-continental cooperation.

In this edition of ACTEA eNews:

  1. Updates on ACTEA institutions
  2. Opening for TCZ President
  3. Books for Africa by Richard Gehman
  4. BookNotes for Africa review
  5. Contacting ACTEA

1. Updates on ACTEA institutions

Since the last issue of ACTEA eNews, ACTEA is happy to announce changes in the status of several institutions, listed below. These institutions are to be congratulated for their significant achievements in the accreditation process.

Accredited:

  • EGST (Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the programmes of Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD), Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies (MABTS), Master of Arts in HIV/AIDS in relation to theological studies (MAHA) and Master of Arts in Leadership and Management (MALM).
  • EGST becomes the fifth post-graduate institution to gain ACTEA accreditation, along with Université Shalom de Bunia (DR Congo), NEGST (Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology) and NIST (Nairobi International School of Theology) in Nairobi, Kenya, and Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary in Ogbomosho, Nigeria.

Candidate:

  • Baptist Theological Seminary (Lusaka, Zambia)
    Several other institutions are expected to enter this category soon, so look for an update in the next issue of ACTEA eNews.

Affiliate:

  • Ethiopian Full Gospel Theological College (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
    Theological College of Zimbabwe (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe); also see #2 below.
    Several other institutions are also in the process of becoming affiliates.

2. Opening for TCZ President

The Theological College of Zimbabwe is an ACTEA candidate for accreditation and is currently searching for a new president to replace Dr. Victor Naka. Queries should be addressed directly to TCZ and not to ACTEA (see details below).

Theological College of Zimbabwe
Gwanda Road at Riverside Road, P.O. Box AC 587 Ascot
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Telephone: (263-9) 287032
14th January 2010

To Whom It May Concern:

Reference: Vacancy for the Position of President of the Theological College of Zimbabwe

The Theological College of Zimbabwe (TCZ) was established over 30 years ago under the auspices of the Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF), spent several years under the leadership of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), and has been under an interdenominational Board of Trustees since 1998. The college holds to a statement of faith based on the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) statement of faith.

TCZ exists to develop Christian leaders for effective leadership and ministry in both the church and society. The college has over 200 alumni serving all over the globe, most of who are still faithfully engaged in Christian leadership and ministry in Africa.

TCZ currently has an enrolment of approximately 60 students in full-time programmes like the 3 year Advanced Diploma in Theology, and Bachelor of Arts in Theology (BATheo); and Part-Time, Women’s Ministry, and BATheo Honours students. The college is formally Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa(ACTEA) Correspondent and steadily progressing toward accreditation with ACTEA. TCZ is also in the process of introducing a masters programme.

Over the past three decades five Godly leaders in the position of Principal or President have led the college. Based upon the experience of these leaders and the vision of the Board of Trustees for the future, the college is advertising for the position of President of the Theological College of Zimbabwe effective January 2011. The prospective incumbent would be considered suitable for exhibiting the following qualities:

  1. Must be a visionary and able to communicate the vision to others.
  2. Should be a strong leader but definitely a team player.
  3. Be a totally committed evangelical with a deeply acknowledged faith,
  4. Preferably should have a Ph.D., or at least a Masters degree and working toward a doctorate.
  5. Be a good administrator with good people management skills.
  6. Be strong in educational issues, especially Christian education,
  7. Have both oral and written communication skills.
  8. Have good teaching skills.
  9. Good PR person, including fund raising skills.
  10. Experience in pastoral work and church administration.
  11. Have the ability to lead a multi-racial multi-faceted institution.
  12. Should be passionate about leadership training, especially theological training.
  13. Be mature and have a well-balanced character

Applications for the position are to be submitted by the end of February 2010. The package for the position will be commensurate with the responsibilities of the position, and will be discussed with serious applicants.

Applications can be addressed by email to:

Rev. Jake Shenk
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Theological College of Zimbabwe
kudu@yoafrica.com
(Please do not post applications by mail)

3. Books for Africa by Richard Gehman

Dr. Gehman taught in Kenya for many years and is a long-time friend of ACTEA. Note his most recent contributions to the ongoing work of African leadership.

NEW PUBLICATION ON LEADERSHIP
Learning to Lead: The Making of a Christian Leader in Africa
By Dr. Richard J. Gehman
(Author of African Traditional Religion in Biblical Perspective)

This new publication is a 335-page textbook on Christian leadership based on the practical experience of African leaders. More than 175 African Christian leaders were interviewed by the author to gain their perspective on the reasons for success and failure in Christian leadership. This publication has grown out of thirty-six years of ministry in Kenya.

Dr. Fabian Maganda writes: “To Dr. Gehman’s eternal credit, his book brings to light the reality of struggles which African church leaders face. It provides a biblical blueprint for much-needed further work on the issues affecting Christian church leaders in Africa…I highly recommend this book to African pastors, students and lay leaders because its argument is based on biblical principles and lived experiences of African church leaders.”

Everyone seeking to serve in the Church in Africa today will profit from learning the qualities of church leadership found in this book.

This book is available in Kenya from the CLC Christian BookLink Kenya Ltd., The Whitehouse, Gitanga Road, PO Box 26665 – 00100, Nairobi. Tel. 254 (0)20 3592913 or 3861850. Contact person: Edith Wamalwa. edith.w@cblafrica.com
This book is also available in Nigeria – cewoldr@gmail.com
In Sierra Leone – jusuwai@yahoo.com
In Ghana – ceg@africaonline.com.gh
And in Uganda – stevebarasa@yahoo.com

ANNOUNCING THE REPRINTING ON PUBLIC DEMAND
WHO ARE THE LIVING DEAD?
By Richard J. Gehman

This book poses the question, “Who are the Living Dead?” – those ancestral spirits which are such an important component of the traditional African’s belief. The author sets out to answer this pivotal question, and in so doing opens up the whole area of traditional African religion to the scrutiny of Scripture. The author contrasts the deep-seated fear of death which is common to most people – even many Bible-believing Christians – with the hope and assurance which can be experienced by those who fully understand what God’s Word teaches about death and life after death. The book lays out the biblical solution to the problem of the fear of death and the living-dead.

This book is available from Evangel Publishing House, PVT BAG 28963, Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel. (254-20) 8560839 or 856204; Fax (254-20) 8562050; Email: info@evangelpublishing.org
Available on-line from Barnes and Noble; and Amazon.com

4. BookNotes for Africa review

Dedji, Valentin Reconstruction and Renewal in African Christian Theology (Nairobi: Acton, 2003. 284 pp, pb, c. $10)

This path-breaking study of contemporary African Christian theology is the revision of a doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Cambridge. Dedji, a Methodist scholar from Benin. offers an in-depth comparative assessment of four prominent figures in modern African theological discussion, namely: Jesse Mugambi of Kenya; Kä Mana of Congo (DRC), Kwame Bediako of Ghana, and Jean-Marc Ela of Cameroon. Dedji’s central thesis is that the cultural identity stream in African theology represented by Bediako, and the liberationist stream represented by Ela, need now to be superseded by the reconstructionist emphasis first launched by Mugambi in the early 1990s, and now best exemplified by Kä Mana. The main body of the book is a presentation and assessment of each of these four theologians. What distinguishes Dedji’s project is his attempt to expound each person’s contributions complexly, with measured, courteous assessment. Here is an impressive and attractive example of African theology maturely comparing, evaluating, and critiquing itself. The exposition begins with Mugambi, and his 1991 call for a new direction in African theological reflection, away from liberation themes derived from the Exodus motif toward reconstruction themes drawn from Nehemiah. Mugambi argues that addressing Africa’s desperate need for social reconstruction should become the defining mission of the African church and of African theology. But in Dedji’s view it is Kä Mana who now represents the most promising version of this reconstructionist agenda, in part because Kä Mana is utterly realistic about the crises gripping Africa and about Africa’s own accountability in that crisis, and in part because Kä Mana deploys a complexly nuanced multi-disciplinary interpretation of these realities and how they may be addressed. Dedji expounds Bediako with much sympathy, but Bediako’s preeminent concern with contextual identity both Kä Mana and Dedji himself judge as no longer appropriate amidst the continent’s harrowing cultural, economic and political disintegration. In such an Africa a dignified African Christian identity will only become achievable when African Christianity gives full priority to societal transformation. Also Ela’s powerful cry for liberating justice is exemplary, but Dedji wants a turn away from a justice always projected in terms of oppressed/oppressor, towards a justice that makes full space for accountability, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. It must be admitted that Dedji’s exposition sometimes seems overwhelmed by the data, and his obvious rhetorical skills are sometimes allowed to do duty for interpretive skills. Dedji has made a distinguished contribution that merits close attention. Nevertheless, it is nothing less than extraordinary and sobering that the biblical perception of the core human predicament and the Divine initiative in remedy is virtually undetectable either within the varied theological views expounded or within Dedji’s assessments. Here is seemingly a critical challenge to African evangelical Christianity, an absent voice yet needing to be heard.

[Review supplied by “BookNotes for Africa”, a specialist journal that offers 40+ such reviews per issue on recent Africa-related publications relevant for theological educators and libraries in Africa and elsewhere. The subscription rate within Africa is US$8 for four issues (airmail) or $12 to overseas addresses. Send inquiries and orders to: BookNotes for Africa, PO Box 250100, Ndola, Zambia, or email Stuebing@post.harvard.edu]

5. Contacting ACTEA

General ACTEA correspondence can be sent to Rev. Joe Simfukwe, ACTEA Director, at actea.africa@gmail.com or PO Box 250100, Ndola, Zambia. Accredited institutions may send their annual reports to the same address or contact the Deputy Director for Administration, Dr. Rich Stuebing, through email at adm.ass.actea@gmail.com.

Enquiries regarding Affiliate or Candidate institutions can be sent to Dr. Stephanie Black, ACTEA Accreditation Officer, at drstephanieblack@gmail.com. Correspondent schools should send information to the ACTEA Administrative Assistant, Ms. Sarah Fundulu, at adm.ass.actea@gmail.com.
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