Communal reception of the spirit’s gifts of grace: re-imagining a decolonised Church of England theological education

In this article, I examine the three classical models of theological education: paideia, Wissenschaft, and professional training within the context of the Church of England's expectations for theological education as expressed through the new Formation Framework. Drawing on the publications from Eerdman's series 'Theological Education Between the Times', I critically examine the three models through the lens of whiteness and argue that the classical models can each be used to oppress and exclude people of colour. In response, I offer a re-imagining of how the Church of England might think about a de-colonised theological education as the communal reception of the Spirit's gifts of grace. I use this descriptive and teleological account to offer a renewed vision for the three classical models, showing how professional training might be re-orientated by a theological education focused on the Spirit's grace; Wissenschaft might be re-purposed through the concept of receiving gifts; and paideia might be revived through the intentional formation of racially, socially, vocationally and denominationally diverse communities.