New Frontiers in Theological Education
As Sophia Theological Seminary sets out to recruit its inaugural cohort of students, the search to find the type of deep-thinking, hard-working, world-changing individuals to participate in this journey is caught up in a dual frontier facing both the church and agriculture. At the heart of the Sophia concept is the students’ work on a produce farm that generates revenue for the seminary in return for a theological education. Concurrently, the modern church and the modern farm both find themselves at a point where significant cultural shifts are needed to ensure the health and longevity of the human condition. Generating awareness of the need for said changes in either of these institutions is difficult, as our world has grown increasingly disengaged from the church and the farm. But drawing parallels between theology and agriculture is a hallmark of Sophia Theological Seminary and Sophia Farms, and these unique challenges are what energize us. Let me elaborate a bit on these frontiers and the rich opportunities they hold.
Both the church and agriculture have traditionally measured success through yield: the church through membership numbers, and the farm by pounds of commodity produced. Many congregations measure effectiveness by total attendance on Sunday mornings. The ability of the “mega church” to fill a theatre style sanctuary through entertainment value is seen by some as the direction for the future. For many congregations, the compassion and love taught by Jesus takes a backseat to generating a powerful and politically influential church that comes with the numbers. Likewise, modern agriculture prides itself on “feeding the world.” Never in the history of humankind have fewer people called themselves farmers and the total quantity of agricultural commodities generated been higher. The “green revolution” brought on by the advent of chemical fertilizers, advancements in chemistry to kill weeds and pests, and industrial scale mechanization have produced huge increases in crop yields. There is a thus a general reluctance to stray from these “successful” methods for an unproven alternative.
But what good is yield when in the United States we waste nearly 40 percent of the food produced? What good are full pews when the church has gained more notoriety for what it is against rather than what Jesus actually stood for? What good is the year-round availability of any fruit or vegetable (bred to ship unblemished for thousands of miles) when nutritional density and flavor profiles continue on downward trends? And what good is a politically influential church that does nothing to offer respite for hard working but poorly paid immigrants exploited to support a cheap food system? Increases in agricultural yield have come at the expense of the consumer’s relationship with the farmer and the loss of an understanding of how food production interacts with the created world. The trajectory of the contemporary church seeking power has resulted in loss of the nurturing relationships that characterize Spirit-filled lives.
The focus on numbers in both the church and agriculture has degraded both the quality of interpersonal relationships as well as the quality of relationships between humans and the earth. But there is a general reluctance to step away from institutional practices that, aided by contemporary marketing, have romanced the consumers of religion and food that all is well, and that profit and sustainability is dependent upon size. Through the inception of a seminary model that depends not upon numbers and tuition, but rather regenerating relationships between people and the earth, Sophia Theological Seminary and Sophia Farms is taking an alternative path.
