“Global Christianity”: Can You Find A Job?
Why a New Theology Ph.D. at ORU? Four
There appears to be a growing “fad” in “global” or “world” Christianity. This discussion will take up a realistic issue: jobs! A new academic program assumes that there is a viable market demand for its graduates. Simply put it for the ORU Ph.D. program, “Will the graduates with a theology Ph.D. degree strongly oriented in global Christianity find good jobs?” My responses will be provisional as the discipline itself is fast emerging.
In 2018, I took a survey, and around 150 scholars from various parts of the world responded. When I asked, “Does your school have a professor whose title includes ‘Global or World Christianity’?” 40% responded “yes,” and 2% indicated that they plan to have one in the next 3 years. More impressive is the responses to the question, if they believe that “master’s and doctoral studies in Global/World Christianity is a growing area of study with an increasing demand for professors.” 85.5% (or 125 out of 142 respondents) marked “agreed” or “maybe.” Indeed, 25.5% (or 27 schools) ran master’s programs in Global/World Christianity, and 5% more are planning to add new programs.
This explains why we receive more job notifications for similar professorial posts. More universities are establishing new programs on Global/World Christianity and advertising them. (37 schools already have such master’s programs, and 7 more are planning in three years.) Then somebody will need to train these professors. Thus, the next question, “Does your school have a Ph.D. program in or with Global/World Christianity concentration/track?” 25.9% responded “yes,” and 2.8% to roll out their programs in three years! An overwhelming 86.2% “wish” that their schools to “develop such a program.”
Is the studies of global/world Christianity just a fad? The evidence says a loud “no”! The trick, however, is that any study on global Christianity will be multidisciplinary. One can approach from historical, theological, missiological, cultural anthropological, or religious studies. ORU decided to focus on the theological aspect of global Christianity and the Spirit-empowered movement. And the Contextual Theology track brings each context into the theological process. We just know what we are good at, and where our limitations are. But one thing is clear: our graduates will have a better chance to make a difference while employed well.POSTED ON
“Practicing Theologians”
Why a New Theology Ph.D. Program at ORU? Three
Since we like to add the “practitioner” dimension to the Ph.D. program, an immediate question arises: “What’s then the difference between this and the traditional professional degrees such as D.Min., and D.Miss. (or DICS)?” If field-based data is brought to research, one may ask, “Is this Ph.D. a glorified version of the professional degree?” Not at all!
It is NOT where you obtain your data for theologization, but how and for what outcome one processes it. The prime goal of a Ph.D. study is one’s contribution to the existing knowledge. Any part of the existing knowledge can be criticized, revised, or added to.
Therefore, a Pentecostal leader’s work to bring elementary education to Muslim families in Francophone Africa can use the field data and experiences into the building of knowledge on Christian mission, education and poverty, interreligious engagement, and/or even the relationship between the church and state. The researcher naturally interacts with the literature available in the relevant areas. But the lively field data plays a critical role in validating, challenging and enhancing the existing understanding. The new knowledge is also “generalizable”: in spite of its specific contextual locatedness, the principles learned can be applied to other contexts. For this reason, epistemology (“how do you know what you know”) and methodology (“how do you evaluate and process raw information”) become the hallmark of the Ph.D. program.
How about professional degrees? Yes, they will help to improve one’s practice by reflecting on what he or she has been doing. Both are valuable but serve different purposes. #ORUtheology #ORUPhDPOSTED ON
“Theology in Context”
Why a New Theology Ph.D. Program at ORU? Two
The program understands that every believer does theology. This “liberation of theology” (not “liberation theology”) denies the privilege of a traditional special class called “theologians.” This “democratization” in Christianity also applies to the ministry of every believer (Eph 4).
Theology in Context (or the “Contextual Theology” track) shifts the place of theologization from the library to the world. While the program is interested in the global (therefore, macro) context of what God is doing, the gospel engages with each local context allowing a unique theological process and outcome. When we take consideration of the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit in this engagement, the process gets very exciting. The theology that comes out at the end will be relevant, dynamic, and living. Each Ph.D. scholar, therefore, will be the master of his or her own contextual theology, serving local faith communities. For this reason, we are pleased that the first cohort of 15 scholars is highly multicultural. #ORUPhD#ORUTheologyPOSTED ON
“Global” and “Spirit-Empowered”: Two Bottom Layers
Why a New Theology Ph.D. Program at ORU? One
I like to write a series of “blogs” on our Ph.D. program at Oral Roberts University. Of course, our program is not for everyone who plans to do a theology Ph.D. However, some may find it to have merit to consider, thus, to read this and next one.
As an introduction, two layers of our identity form the foundation: 1) Taking the radical shift in global Christianity in the last half a century. For example, from the early 1980s, more Christians live in the global South (and now close to 2/3)! This year, ORU has more than 110 nations in our student body and commits to serve world Christianity. And 2) The rapid growth of Spirit-empowered churches and communities. Its growth rate is highest among Christian families and among all the religions! Obviously, the program, therefore, would be suitable for aspiring thinkers, researchers, teachers, and practitioners from the global South (and those who believe in what the Holy Spirit is doing in these continents) and Pentecostal/Charismatic/Independent church traditions. Therefore, we plan to take the global picture as the context of our research and the radical work of the Holy Spirit at the center of life and research. #ORUPhD#ORUTheology