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A AnewsThe Official Newsletter of Asia Theological Associationwww.ataasia.comOCT - DEC 2018The Future Church:A Theological Responsein terms of learningand even organizedreligion. Unfortunately,the same can be andwill be said even ofthe generations after.It certainly seems thatthe aforementioned isand will be the ongoingreality faced by the postmillennial generations.Millennials- one of the mosttalked about segments ofsociety and the generationthat grew up with and hasbeen surrounded by modernity,technology and relative ease.Having access to the internet andthus the world wide web alongwith a plethora of information, thetraditional ways of the generationbefore largely no longer appeal tothem- and this is especially trueThe above realityhas posed a numberofchallengesandquestions to the churchat large. How can thechurch effectively reacha digital generation?How should we respondto a generation thatclamoursformoreaction and less talk?How can the churchcreate a community thenext generation is sodesperate for? How cantheological institutions effectivelyequip the leaders emerging from agenerally self-entitled generation andengage them in God’s global mission?This should most definitely causetheological institutions to rethinkthe ways by which they educateand reach this generation fromwhich future church and seminaryleaders will emerge; so thus, thetheme for the 2019 Triennial GeneralAssembly- “The Future Church: ATheological Response”.More than being a settingwherein we can come togetherto learn, we hope that the 2019Triennial General Assembly willlikewise be an avenue for dialogue.In addition to having conversationson how we can together effectivelyengage the younger generation, wewant this General Assembly to bea place where in they can voice outtheir apprehensions on the churchand really be heard. One of theways by which we hope to makethat happen is by inviting youngerleaders who are mature enoughand have a global mindset to sharedoable ideas in the said event.Furthermore, with majority of thematerial on this generation fromthe West, we see it imperative todefine the Millenials, along with thegeneration/s following suit- from anAsian sociologists’ perspective.We will be tackling six topicsrelevant to the younger generationduring the plenary sessions and theyare as follows:First, building communities. Theyounger generation longs so deeplyto connect to the world around them.They are a social generation thatstrongly desires deep conversations.Yet in a world full of the superficialContinued on page 2

from page 1that is very difficult to come by. In anage where face to face interaction hasbecome a rarity and on-line interactionthe norm, what would it mean to makea true community happen?Unfortunately, there have been manywho have been tight fisted abouttheir tradition and have repelled theyounger generation from church- andwith this, how should we respond?Second is authenticity. Accordingto a survey, 55% of millennials are“Bible- neutral” or “Bible- skeptical”,with many uninterested in church andreligious institutions but are lookingfor an authentic experience. Theyounger generation want to see thechurch walk its talk- engaging in socialjustice, peace and reconciliation, andcommunity development.Fourth is digital Christianity.The younger generation operatesin an environment where having a(good) internet connection has beenclassified as a basic need. Technologyis no longer a luxury, and has becomea necessity. This most definitely hashuge implications on how the youngergeneration lives out and understandsChristianity. We need to look atspirituality in a digitalized world.Third is evangelical diversity.The younger generation does notsee the need for barriers betweendenominations and in fact wantsto navigate through this. They arenatural collaborators, greatly valuing“togetherness” and“partnership”.Fifth is arts and spirituality. Theyounger generation puts a premium onartistic excellence and are in fact a verycreative generation. What a loss it is tothe church to leave out the arts. Thechurch does need to create a space forcreativity and to pay attention to therole of the arts in the life of its people.Last but not the least is theologicaleducation and the Millennials. Theyounger generation generally has avery short attention span- 8 secondsto be precise; and because this is so,giving them lectures and preaching atthem will not work. In fact, a numberof the members of the youngergeneration have left the churchbecause of the traditional preachingformat. Theological institutions needto find ways in order to equip the nextgeneration in more engaging ways.The 2019 Triennial GeneralAssembly will be held on August 12-16at TCA College, Singapore. We hopethat you and your younger leaderscan come and join in this very relevantconversation so that we can togetherreach and engage the future church.ATA Triennial General AssemblyFUTURE CHURCH: A THEOLOGICAL RESPONSEDates: 12-16 August 2019Venue: TCA College249 Paya Lebar Road, #03-11, SingaporeFees*:(In USD)(Will vary depending on the accommodations)FOR INTERNATIONAL GUESTSAqueen Paya LebarSingle Room675.00Twin-sharing490.00Aqueen Joo-ChiatSingle Room665.00Twin Sharing480.00Aqueen LavenderTwin Sharing480.00*Conference fee is inclusive of 4 nights room accommodation (12-15 August nights), daily transportation toand from the venue for those staying in the hotel starting 12 August at 9:00 pm to 16 August 2019 and theregistration fee.The website to Aqueen hotels is: R LOCAL/ STAY OUT GUESTS 245.00*Inclusive of Meals from dinner on the 12th up until lunch on the 16thDeadline for registration is on the 30th of April, 2019.For more information, please visit www.ataaasia.com2 ATA news Oct-Dec 2018

ICETE holds its Triennial General Assemblyin Panama CityICETE or the International CouncilforEvangelicalTheologicalEducationheld its 2018 TriennialGeneral Assembly last October 29 toNovember 2 in Panama City. This eventwas attended by 433 leaders from 75countries, with about 60 from Asia.ICETE is a global body of nine regionalaccrediting agencies of which ATA isincluded.The theme of this year’s GeneralAssembly was The Sacred-Secular Dividein Theological Education. The plenarysessions, followed by table groupdiscussions, challenged theologicaleducators to assess and address theproblem of the sacred-secular divide(SSD) within their contexts. Theylikewise shared their collective wisdomon how to equip students with the rightworldview and tools in order for themto truly equip their church members foran effective service in all areas of life.The topics and presenters in theplenary sessions were as follows: Naming the Issue in ourChurches and Context - Dr. IanShaw and Mr. Mark Greene Theological Education in aSecular Age - Dr. Gordon Smith Theology of Work - Dr. DotunReju and Dr. Fletcher Tink Living Vocation: TheologicalFormation from Life and for Life- Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst From Origins to Purpose:Bridging the SSD throughTheology and Practice ofCreation Care - Mr. DaveBookless Naming the Issue in ourSeminaries - Dr. Ian Shaw andMr. Mark Greene Where are the Theologians? ACall from Across the ScholarlyDivide - Prof.Terry HallidayThe participants of the 2018 ICETE General AssemblyIt is worth noting that inpreparation for this event, severalregional consultations were held incollaboration with the London Institutefor Contemporary Christianity andLangham Partnerships led by Drs. IanShaw and Mark Greene to identify theSSD issues in churches and seminaries.Representatives from these regionspresented their findings during theplenary presentations of Shaw andGreene. Dr. Theresa Lua, ATA GeneralSecretary, shared on the issue of theSSD in Asia.Furthermore, the ICETE Academy(IA) was formally launched by the ICETEInternational Director, Dr Riad Kassis,and Dr. Marvin Oxenham, IA Director.The IA will provide training for theongoing professional development ofeducators and leaders in theologicaleducation using a variety of deliveryapproaches such as online, portfolio,and event related courses. As an IApartnering organization, ATA willparticipate in course production anddelivery.Apart from the abovementionedplenary sessions, ICETE also arrangedfor 27 workshops and seminars that theparticipants could choose from.The participants considered theICETE consultation to be a rich timeof collective learning, fellowship, andnetworking.ICETE International Director, Dr. RiadKassis, welcoming the participants.Dr. Theresa Lua presentingthe ministry of ATA.The 2018 ICETE General Assembly was a rich time ofcollective learning, fellowship and networking.ATA news Oct-Dec 2018 3

Equipping the Equippers:moving forward and expandingThis year, ATA’s “Equipping theEquippers”projectmovesforward and expands in India.Now on its second year, ATA conducteda year 2 workshop in South Indiaand a year 1 workshop in North Indiausing the four-year curriculum of theGlobal Associates for TransformationalEducation or GATE.The North India workshopfocused on the “Theological andPhilosophicalFoundationsofTransformational Education” and itwas held last September 27-29, 2018at the campus of New TheologicalCollege in Dehradun. There weretwenty-four participants from thefollowing institutions:1. PresbyterianTheologicalSeminary (Dehradun)2. Doon Bible College (Dehradun)3. New Theological College(Dehradun)4. Caleb Institute of Theology(Delhi)5. Filadelphia Bible College(Udaipur)On the other hand, the SouthIndia workshop focused on “TeachingMethodsforTransformationalEducation” and was held at theSAIACS CEO Centre last October 4-6,2018.There were forty-five participantsfrom the following institutions:1. Logos College of Theology(Kerala)2. Olive Theological Institute(Kerala)3. South Asia Institute ofLeadershipandCulturalStudies (Coimbatore)4. Jubilee Memorial Bible College(Tamilnadu)5. ACTS Academy (Bangalore)6. Southern Asia Bible College(Bangalore)7. South India Baptist BibleCollegeandSeminary(Coimbatore)8. ATA IndiaServing as facilitators for bothworkshops were GATE GlobalCoordinator, Dr. Gary Griffith andATA General Secretary and GATEAssociate, Dr. Theresa Lua. With themin the Year 1 workshop in NorthIndia were Drs. Paul Cornelius, ATAParticipants and facilitators for the North India Year 1 GATE Workshop4 ATA news Oct-Dec 2018India Regional Secretary and ManojaKorada, Faculty, Indian PentecostalChurch Theological Seminary. Drs.Cornelius and Korada are goingthrough GATE’s “Training the Trainers(T3) program”, a program which aimsto equip more people to becomeGATE facilitators in the region.In addition to all that they hadlearned from the workshops, theparticipants thoroughly appreciatedthe opportunity for engagementwith faculty from other institutions.Furthermore, the presence ofDrs. Jaison Thomas, Magdi Gendi,and Mr. Percy Deng, all OverseasCouncil Regional Directors, addedto the lively discussions and warmfellowship during the workshops.They are exploring the possibility ofoffering the GATE workshop for theOC partner schools in their regions.We are indeed moving forwardand expanding in our Equippingthe equippers project- and we candefinitely look forward to moreexciting movements and expansionsin the near future!Participants and facilitators for the South India Year 2 GATE Workshop