More than 60 theology teachers attended the European Theology Teacher's Convention (ETTC) at Zaoksky Adventist University in Russia on May 27-31, 2009. The discussion focused on Seventh-day Adventist theological education in the post-modern world.
Among the participants and speakers were four members of the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of the Adventist Church and theology teachers from Adventist seminaries throughout Europe – Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine, and Lebanon.
The ETTC has established a solid tradition of convening every other year, each time at a different school, to deal with the common issues and problems that theology teachers face in the European secularized context. The convention at Zaoksky is the tenth meeting of this kind.
Rolf J. Pöhler from Friedensau Adventist University summarized the purpose of the 2009 convention: “How can we effectively share our Adventist beliefs with people who have a post-modern mindset? This is the greatest challenge the church is facing in the secularized world. Are our schools preparing our future pastors-teachers adequately for their mission in the post-modern world? While traditional dogmatic teaching confirms believers in the faith, winning converts in a post-modern culture requires a new, dialogical approach. What does this mean for the understanding and presentation of our fundamental beliefs in a culturally relevant way?”
Roberto Badenas, Director of the Education Department of the Euro-Africa region of the church commented, “These meetings are extremely important and beneficial. They give our theology teachers from different countries an occasion to meet, to get to know each other personally, to share their concerns and visions and to exchange experiences and information. This is important to foster further collaboration and cooperation among schools. Such meetings create synergies and promote a spirit of unity and mutual assistance. They substantially help to update and improve the system of theological education in our church.”
Besides the twelve lectures presented in the plenary sessions several discussion groups met organized by areas of interest. The program also included a visit to the nearby Yasnaya Poliana, the home of the famous Russian writer and thinker, Leon Tolstoy. Another tour took the group to some of the most interesting monuments of Russian religious history and culture in Moscow.
The previous convention took place at Friedensau University in Germany in 2007. The next convention is to be held at Cernica Theological Institute in Romania in 2011.