Theological Colleges Not Favoured

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31993, 21 May 1969, Page 14

Theological Colleges Not Favoured

A theological degree should be taken as a normal degree at a university, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral (the Very Rev. Martin Sullivan) said in Christchurch yesterday.

“The people who opposed this were the dyed-in-the-wool liberal rationalists,” he said. “They are dead, but many of them won’t lie down." Dean Sullivan said that many theological students, isolated from the hurly-burly of the world for two or three years in a theological hothouse, were praying for and thinking about a situation which did not really exist. Theological students should be mixed with other men who would challenge, irritate and enrich their lives so that they were already contemporary with other men when they went out into the Church. “I know of no other calling which is isolated in this way,” he said. “You may argue that medical men are, but only to a point.” “Signs On Horizon” Already on the horizon, however, there were signs of united colleges including students of several denominations. If this could be done, why not continue it to the whole of the theological outlook? he asked. Dean Sullivan said that to help to face the problem of theological training, recruitment and staffing, the Church would be well advised to seek the advice of outside people who were concerned with and engaged in staffing in industry, commerce and science. This would provide a fresh insight to the problem, but it would not necessarily mean that the Church should imitate slavishly their ideas. “The emphasis in the ministry must always be on quak ity rather than quantity,” said Dean Sullivan. “We must set our sights high and not depart from them, however awkward and difficult this might be. “I would much prefer to see one worth-while man in a parish overworked and extended than to see two men of less quality employed just for the sake of expediency,” he said. AU sorts of people heard that the Church was short of ministers and offered themselves. In many cases the person was not of the right qual ity.

Among the important qualities a'clergyman must have was an adequate and complete academic training, not just to gain a degree but to teach him how to think. He must not just be interested in people, but love them. “Primarily he must be a servant. It may be argued that he ought to go out into the world and rough it. There is some point in this, but not for too long. “He must never be a cocksure little guide. He must have little dignity in the sense that he must never stand on it, and he must display compassion rather than judgment. "He must have the qualities of leadership, and one of the most priceless gifts I would look for would be imagination. He should not be clever, but holy.” Dean Sullivan said that a clergyman must rid himself of the prejudice that the Church he served was the only Church, and he must seek the utmost brotherhood with men of other denominations and faiths, until unity dawned. Many men today were not offering themselves for the ministry because they saw the role they would be asked to play in the Church as not demanding enough of themselves or of their gifts, said Dean Sullivan. Clergy today must be able to listen and to find out a great deal more about people, where they were and what they were thinking rather than to tell them what to do prematurely. They should be inductive, not deductive.