Pitfalls Of Trained Incapacity

The need to train Christian missionaries was an afterthought of the Protestant missionary movement in the early nineteenth century. The Basel Missionary Training Institute (BMTI) was the first school designed solely for the purpose of preparing European missionaries for ministry in non-European lands. Pitfalls of Trained Incapacity explores the various sociological and historical factors that influenced the BMTI "community of practice" and how the outcomes affected the work of the Basel Mission in Ghana in its initial phase. It shows that the integral training of the BMTI resulted in missionary practices that lacked flexibility to adjust attitudes and behavior to the vastly different circumstances in Africa, impeded the realization of mission objectives, and hindered the emergence of an African appropriation of Christianity. By exploring educational and sociological perspectives in a precolonial context, this study reaches beyond its historical significance to raise questions of unintended effects of integral ministry training in other times and places. The natural cultural bias of groups with shared theological assumptions and social ideals--like the Basel Mission--suggests a strong propensity for trained incapacity, that is, for training processes that establish inflexible mental frameworks that are potentially detrimental to intercultural engagement.

ERT publishes quality articles and book reviews from around the world (both original and reprinted) from an evangelical perspective, reflecting global evangelical scholarship for the purpose of discerning the obedience of faith, and of relevance and importance to its international readership of theologians, educators, church leaders, missionaries, administrators and students. The journal is published as a ministry rather than as a commercial project, seeking to be of service to the worldwide spread of the gospel and the building up of the church and its leadership, in co-ordination with the World Evangelical Alliance’s broader mission and activities.

Tim Hartman's Theology after Colonization uses a comparative approach to examine two theologians, one from Europe and one from Africa, to gain insight into our contemporary theological situation. Hartman examines how the loss of cultural hegemony through rising pluralism and secularization has undermined the interconnection of the Christian faith with political power and how globalization undermined the expansive (and expanding) mindset of colonialization. Hartman engages Swiss-German theologian Karl Barth (1886–1968), whose work responded to the challenges of Christendom and the increasing secularization of Europe by articulating an early post-Christendom theology based on God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ, not on official institutional structures (including the church) or societal consensus. In a similar way, Ghanaian theologian Kwame Bediako (1945–2008) offered a post-colonial theology. He wrote from the perspective of the global South while the Christian faith was growing exponentially following the departure of Western missionaries from Africa. For Bediako, the infinite translatability of the gospel of Jesus Christ leads to the renewal of Christianity as a non-Western religion, not a product of colonialization. Many Western theologies find themselves unable to respond to increasing secularization and intensifying globalization because they are based on the very assumptions of uniformity and parochialism (sometimes called "orthodoxy") that are being challenged. Hartman claims Bediako and Barth can serve as helpful guides for contemporary theological reflection as the consensus surrounding this theological complex disintegrates further. Collectively, their work points the way toward contemporary theological reflection that is Christological, contextual, cultural, constructive, and collaborative. As one of the first books to examine the work of Bediako, this study will interest students and scholars of Christian theology, African studies, and postcolonial studies.

Aesthetic Practices in African Tourism explores "Rastahood", a community, youth culture, and new tourist art form created by young men on the margins of the Ghanaian economy as they came of age at the turn of the millennium. This book focuses on art, music, and affective experience created within tourism contexts, which enabled young men without educational or class capital to achieve mobility through work with foreigners, transforming the temporal horizon by expanding the geographic one. It traces the path that led young men down the path to Rastahood and investigates how they created an art form in, and of, a particular place and then used it to propel themselves far beyond its confines. The book ends with a leap forward into the present, out of Ghana, and beyond Rastahood, as men, now in middle age, look back upon the path that Rastahood created. It explores the social effects of neoliberal capitalism, specifically the rise of neoliberal subjectivities, collectivities, and socialities. The book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of anthropology, cultural studies, tourism, art, African and Africana Studies, popular culture; gender studies; migration; youth studies and those interested in African cities.

Marc Holzer and Richard Schwester have written a fresh and highly engaging textbook for the introductory course in Public Administration. Their coverage is both comprehensive and cutting edge, not just including all the basic topics (OT, budgeting, HRM), but also reflecting new realities in public administration: Innovations in e-government The importance of new technology Changes in intergovernmental relations, especially the emphasis on inter-local and shared regional resources Public performance and accountability initiatives Public Administration has been crafted with student appeal in mind. Each of the book’s 14 chapters is generously and colorfully illustrated with cartoons, quotes, and artwork—all reinforcing the book’s theme that the field of PA is rooted in the cultural and political world. Each chapter is also supported with a listing of key terms, exercises, and additional resources.

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of action learning, one of the most widely used development methods in health, social and community care. The book addresses the theory and practice of action learning in these fields, and considers action learning as an adult educational ethos as well as a helpful tool. Based upon emerging experience, it identifies good practice in action learning and offers a wide range of resources to enable individuals and organisations extract maximum benefit from this approach. Offering practical tips grounded in sound educational principles, this book is invaluable reading for all senior managers and professionals considering using action learning for leadership, management and organisation development purposes, including organisation development practitioners and action learning facilitators, and for medical and healthcare educators and their counterparts in social and community care looking for a general introduction to this growing field.

The Human Genome Project, discoveries in molecular biology, and new reproductive technologies have advanced our understanding of how genetic science may be used to treat persons with genetic disorders. Greater knowledge may also make possible genetic interventions to "enhance" normal human characteristics, such as height, hair or eye color, strength, or memory, as well as the transmittal of such modifications to future generations. The prospect of inheritable genetic modifications, or IGMs, whether for therapeutic or enhancement purposes, raises complex scientific, ethical, and regulatory issues. Designing Our Descendants presents twenty essays by physicians, scientists, philosophers, theologians, lawyers, and policy analysts addressing these issues from diverse perspectives. In three sections, the authors discuss the short- and long-term scientific feasibility of IGM technology; ethical and religious issues related to safety, justice, morality, reproductive rights, and enhancement; and regulatory issues including the necessity of public input and oversight and the influence of commercialization. Their goal is to open a dialogue engaging not only scholars and scientists but also government officials and concerned citizens. The authors conclude that while IGM cannot be carried out safely and responsibly on humans utilizing current methods, it is important to begin public discussion now to determine whether, and if so how, to proceed.