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ACTEA eNews #17 -- Feb 2004The mission of ACTEA is to promote quality evangelical theological education
in Africa by providing supporting services, facilitating academic recognition,
and fostering continental and inter-continental cooperation.
1. ACTEA Faculty Workshop on Islam for Nigerian SchoolsSchools in Nigeria are now invited to register for ACTEA's faculty workshop on Islam. The workshop is intended for faculty who are teaching about Islam and Muslim outreach in theological schools and missionary training institutes. The goal of the conference is to equip these teachers to more effectively
train future pastors and missionaries to meet the challenge of Islam in The workshop is being held 16-18 April 2004 (the weekend after Easter) at Miango Conference Centre, Plateau State. Pre-registration is required by 31 March, and requires a deposit of N2,000 (with the balance of N4,000 due at the time of the conference). For further information and for registration instructions, contact ACTEA at: actea.africa@gmail.com (Due to space limitations at the conference site, invitations for this event are being limited to schools in Nigeria.) A similar conference (though not sponsored by ACTEA) is being held in Lagos, 20-22 April. For further information, contact wemi_international@hotmail.com 2. Ghanaian Seminary Moves Toward AccreditationACTEA is pleased to announce that Marantha Bible College (Accra, Ghana) has been granted Affiliate membership in the ACTEA Consortium of Theological Colleges. Membership implies that the institution has met core academic standards and is granted provisional academic recognition as it completes the process of accreditation with ACTEA. Marantha Bible College (Accra, Ghana) offers academic programmes at the secondary, diploma, and bachelors degree level, on a part-time as well as full-time basis. These programmes of study offer specialisations in Pastoral Ministry, Evangelism/Missions and Discipleship, Christian Education, Educational Administration, Institutional Chaplaincy, and Guidance and Counseling. The school is non-denominational and holds to a doctrinal basis including "an inerrant, infallible Bible and the fullness of the Holy Spirit." The school emphasises its balance in academic excellence with a passion for ministry and spiritual formation. "Our philosophy of education involves training your mind to reflect and integrate the principles of the Scriptures into your life. This will transform your character and give you a passion for ministry. You have hands-on-experience through mentoring in small groups from faculty and staff, who are actively involved in ministry. We will enable you acquire ministry skills." The main campus holds an 11,000 volume library (with over 2,000 electronic books available on 25 networked computers) and residential facilities for 60 single and married students. The school also operates two extension centres in other areas of Accra. As well as now being an ACTEA Affiliate, Maranatha is also accredited by the National Accreditation Board of Ghanašs Ministry of Education. For further information contact the Principal, Bernard Marbell, at maranatha@idngh.com 3. Help for Computerising Student RecordsSchools seeking to computerise student records may want to consider the latest version of "Trousers", version 2.0 for Windows. Trousers [tro(pical) u(ser-friendly) se(minary) r(eporting) s(ystem)] is a computer software program which supports the academic record-keeping of a small-to-medium sized Bible school or seminary. With Trousers you can
Trousers is now used by over 150 schools on six continents. It includes features of special interest to schools operating in the developing world. Trousers offers partial but very useful support for non-English users by allowing substitution of local language equivalents for text. The end result is that all reports, including transcripts and grade sheets, can be created completely in Spanish, French, Portuguese, or other languages. Trousers 2.0 runs on any PC using Windows 98 or higher. Trousers is written, distributed, and gladly supported by Jim Crispin, a computer business systems consultant who lives in Wheaton, IL USA. Trousers software and related support is available at no cost to schools who agree with the author's Statement of Faith. For further information, or to obtain a copy on CD-ROM, contact the author at: softwaretrousers@cs.com The programme is also downloadable (7.7MB) off the Trousers website at: www.trousers.org 4. Conference on Economic Thinking and Ministerial FormationA two-day conference with the theme, "Economic Thinking for the Theologically Minded" is being organised by the Centre for Values and Public Issues, Lagos, Nigeria, for the heads of degree-awarding seminaries in Nigeria, regardless of denominational affiliation. This conference, scheduled to take place in Lagos, 17-18 June 2004, is designed to facilitate economic empowerment in ministerial formation. Heads of institutions are invited to indicate their interest by writing to cvpinigeria@hotmail.com or The Director, Centre for Values and Public Issues, 35/37 International Airport Road, P. O. Box 4748, MM Airport, Lagos, not later than 3 March 2004. 5. Keeping up with Africa--Reviews of Recent BooksO'Donovan, Wilbur. Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 2000. 262 pp, pb. O'Donovan has been a missionary in Africa for over 30 years, has taught at six theological training schools on the continent, and currently teaches at the Evangelical Theological College in Addis Ababa. "Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa" is very different in subject matter from O'Donovan's earlier and now widely-used "Biblical Christianity in African Perspective" (2nd edition 1995). That volume dealt with a variety of theological topics, some familiar to traditional western theology (such as Christology and Eschatology), and others important to Christianity in a traditional African setting (such as the Bible's perspective on beliefs and practices of African traditional religions, sorcery and witchcraft). This new book focuses instead on issues most often associated with urbanized Africa. Both books are characterised by a conservative evangelical outlook, a deep appreciation for Africa, her people, her church and her issues, and both are written in simple, clear English. Both books are also aimed at helping African Christians deal biblically with African issues, and both frequently use brief case studies of actual people and events to illustrate problems and solutions. In most cases a lot more could be said about each issue raised, but what is said is important. O'Donovan addresses the problems and effects of westernisation and urbanisation, such as poverty, pornography, prostitution, AIDS, abortion, materialism, politics, power and corruption, women in the church, abuse of women, the needs of youth (including street children), nominalism, healing and prosperity theology. O'Donovan also suggests ways to deal with these immense problems, often giving true-life examples. Yes, Africa is facing megaproblems, but she is loved by a mighty God whose people must be involved in His solutions for those megaproblems. Like O'Donovan's previous book, this one deserves to be widely used as a convenient, timely textbook in theological colleges throughout the continent. It should also be in every library at every level. [Review supplied by "BookNotes for Africa", a twice yearly
specialist journal that offers 40+ such reviews per issue on recent
Africa-related "I find BookNotes invaluable for broadening my perspective on Africa
and stimulating my reflection on the issues there." 6. ACTEA eNews and ACTEA Librarians eNews availabilityACTEA eNews continues to be available without charge to all individuals interested in theological education in Africa. eNews is also available in French translation, as COHETA eNews. Readers are welcome to subscribe to either or both. Having published 17 issues since September 2000, eNews continues to expand it readership, now numbering over 1,000, over 150 of these subscribing to the French edition. ACTEA also publishes an e-mail newsletter for theological librarians in Africa, ACTEA Librarians eNews, now with over 150 subscribers around the continent. The serial is ably edited by David Fitz-Patrick, librarian of the Bible Institute of South Africa (Cape Town). One of the features of this newsletter is a regular column by Phyllis Masso (Nairobi International School of Theology) concerning library automation. The newsletter is also available in French translation as BIBLICO. Those wishing to subscribe to ACTEA Librarians eNews or BIBLICO should indicate this in an e-mail message addressed to: sbcunn@hisen.org ACTEA eNews is an e-mail forum for the periodic exchange of news, information, and resources on behalf of the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA), ACTEA-related institutions and theological programmes, supporting organisations, and interested individuals. Please forward this message to others who might benefit from ACTEA eNews. Potential contributions to ACTEA eNews are welcome and may be sent to the editor at sbcunn@hisen.org. If you would prefer not to receive future editions of ACTEA eNews, you may unsubscribe by replying to this e-mail message, with "unsubscribe" in the subject area. If you received a forwarded copy of this message and would like to subscribe, contact ACTEA eNews at sbcunn@hisen.org stating preferred language (French or English). ACTEA is an agency of the Theological and Christian Education Commission of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa.
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