The Tensile Core: Theological Pedagogy in a New Context

Older, second‐career and non‐traditional students in seminaries present challenges for theological curricula and teaching in situations where theological study and the actual practice of ministry are no longer sequential but simultaneous. The author proposes a threefold response to these challenges, combining scholarly excellence and compassionate pedagogy with an eye toward seamless integration of study, formation, and life. The axis connecting past and future within this trinity is compassionate pedagogy: an approach to teaching in which passionate mutual participation yields creative contextualizing of academics and practice, guiding students toward a comprehension of their lives and work as the central arena of theological inquiry.