BOOK REVIEWS 255

Reenvisioning Theological Education: Exploring a Missional

Alternative to Current Models. By Robert B a n k s . Grand R a p i d s :
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999. 272 pp. $20.00.
This book steps up to the plate with two strikes against it. First, the
book makes the almost fatal mistake of admitting that it is about theo-
logical education, a subject about which few seem to have an interest
in reading, even those who make their living doing it. Further, the
book openly advocates a missional approach to a type of ministry (theo-
logical education) that has traditionally been clumsy and uncomfort-
able in its endeavors to find a place at the academic table for mission.
Admittedly the book does not hit a home run from two strikes down in
the count, but it does do well in discussing a perpetually significant
question for the church, namely, whence will come the next genera-
tion of leaders?
The fact that Banks's book addresses the issues identified above
from an evangelical position is a victory. The book provides a vigorous
and profoundly theological consideration of the educational enterprise
that relatively few evangelicals seem to have joined. Further, Banks,
who is director of the Macquarie Christian Studies Institute at Fuller
Theological Seminary, provides a theologically meaningful considera-
tion of mission that goes beyond traditional evangelical attempts at
integrating missions and/or missiology into the theological curriculum.
The first part of the book provides an outstanding summary and
analysis of the key works that have established the character of the
recent academic discussion about theological education in North Amer-
ica. Banks classifies the literature on theological education in several
approaches or models: classical, vocational, dialectical, and confes-
sional. Although one could quibble with the ways some of the works
are categorized and related, the general schema works well.
In this first part of the book the author provides the most com-
prehensive review of the pertinent literature to date, and identifies
the core concerns: the fragmentation of theological education curricula
resulting from the lack of an overarching theological goal; the triviali-
zation of theology through its isolation from context and human expe-
rience; the isolation of theology and ministry as well as theology and
moral formation; and the silence of theology in the public arena as a
result of excluding social and cultural concerns from theological educa-
tion. Banks also identifies important theological deficiencies in the
discussion: portraying "God as a passive agent in the whole process of
theological education" (p. 63) and giving little consideration to the
role of Scripture (p. 73). Although many writers consistently describe
theological education as an essentially theological enterprise, they
tend to ignore Scripture as a serious source for theological considera-
tion of the endeavor.
In the second part of the book Banks develops a framework for his
missional alternative to theological education in relation to leadership
development. At this point some readers may tremble with both antici-
pation and dread—anticipation because an approach to theological
education that truly grounds itself in the Scriptures has become the
grail of evangelical theological educators, and dread because many of
these discussions tend to be disappointing hermeneutically, theologi-
cally, and educationally.
256 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / April-June 2001

However, Banks does not seek to make the Bible answer ques-
tions it does not ask, and he resists the tendency to use specific behav-
ioral patterns in the Bible as prescriptive for present-day leadership
development. After surveying several passages that describe the forma-
tive processes of those involved in the work of God, Banks identifies
some commonalities: (1) Different levels of commitment to and associa-
tion with a leader are represented among those who follow. (2) Com-
mitment to follow a leader always involves some cost. (3) The develop-
ment of leaders includes consideration of every area of life, and nor-
mally occurs in some community or group. (4) The purpose of the forma-
tion of groups was not "increase in knowledge or their basic traditions,
progress in moral or spiritual formation, or the development of skills
associated with ministry or leadership. It was active service or mission
in furthering the kingdom" (p. 123). Unfortunately Banks does not
develop the necessary sociocultural and theological grounding needed
to spell out implications for educational practice today.
The third part of Banks's book describes his missional alternative.
Missional theological education, according to Banks, is a call to service
for the Lord rather than preparation for His work (p. 132). Personal,
moral, intellectual, professional, and spiritual development all occur
through guided participation in and contribution to the life-changing
expansion of God's work on the earth. All components of theological
education—scholarship, personal formation, community formation, pro-
fessional skills development—should focus on service for God (p. 144).
Banks also explores how a missional model of theological educa-
tion will affect the way educators view learning, teaching, and the
role of faculty members. He proposes needed changes in the composi-
tion of the student body (e.g., more diverse, less restricted), the com-
munity of the academy (e.g., more personal, less programmatic), the
culture of the theological school (e.g., more intentional, less tradi-
tional), and the curriculum (e.g., more integrated and outcome-focused,
less self-contained).
The book ends too abruptly; it needed a final appeal for reform, a
final heartfelt burst of vision for change. Nevertheless it is recom-
mended to all who are involved in the development of leadership for
the church. The book's impressive and sensitive review of pertinent
literature is a treasure for those who have been out of the discussion
but want to get in. (Although well footnoted, the book lacks a stand-
alone bibliography.) Banks demonstrates that it is possible to create a
coherent and cohesive approach to theological education that is bibli-
cally grounded, theologically astute, and educationally responsible.
Although the implications proposed may not be applicable in every so-
ciocultural or ecclesiastical context, they do illustrate how to create a
teaching and learning experience that is consistent with an overarch-
ing theological paradigm.
Mark S. Young
 ^ s
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