Developing a competency framework for ministerial formation from a postcolonial perspective

A South Africa contribution

Abstract

Assessment of students for ministerial practice is traditionally done through assignments and oral examinations, which often only concentrate on the knowledge component and outcomes of the program. Assessing students in this way has mimicked a view of ministerial practitioners as intellectuals preaching over the heads of the congregants and not being in touch with the pastoral and contextual needs of the members and normally leads to a disjuncture between knowledge, practice, and context. Disjuncture of this nature signals a need for a broader set of competencies than simply working with and analyzing texts in theological education. Developing a set of competencies also responds to the reality that the practice of ministry takes place within a rich diversity of postcolonial settings and practices. The central research question of this study was therefore formulated as follows: What are the central ingredients for developing a competency framework for ministerial formation from a postcolonial perspective at a research-intensive university in South Africa? In answer to this question, this paper looks at the ways in which a competency framework can help to translate generic graduate attributes into a set of competencies that is specific to the field of ministerial training. Some empirical work shows evidence of a growing postcolonial awareness in the development of these competencies.