THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND THE QUEST TO FASHION THE SEMINARY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ° RICHARD CAVNES NEESE ° Managing Editor Faculty Dialogue An Overview A few years ago in an address to a gathering honoring the retirement of one of the senior officers of the Lilly Endowment, Leon Pacala, then serving as executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, outlined the forces at work over the past two or three decades that are reshaping the nature of theological education as we approach the 21st century.1 The most far-reaching and provocative change, Pacala argued, is the shift from a "clerical paradigm"-the chief end of theological education is the preparation of clergy-that has dominated theological education since at least the 19th century to a "community of faith" paradigm: theological education is the "disciplined nurture of that knowledge and understanding essential to the identity and existence of the entire community of faith." Following the direction of H. Richard Niebuhr (The Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry, 1956), current scholars and theologians have suggested that the mission of theological education must properly exceed its older, more limited role of preparing church ministers: socially and culturally-in this more expanded view-theological schools must "carry the burden of renewing the spiritual foundations of civilization." Niebuhr writes: "The first function of a theological school [is] . . . the exercise of the intellectual love of God and neighbor." A secondary function encompasses their educational or instructional roles. Scholar James Gustafson suggests that the emerging community paradigm will lead seminaries to refashion themselves as intellectual centers by focusing on the community of faith, its context, mission and meaning. The View from the Seminaries The effects of the paradigm shift from a "clerical" to a "community" model can be seen in the practices and composition of students participating in theological education over the past twenty years. _ Seminaries have shifted from single- (clerical paradigm) to multiple-purpose (community of faith paradigm) institutions. _ Enrollments have increased in number and diversity and the inventory of degrees, degree designations and programs has doubled. _ Over the past twenty years, the percentage of students in preordination programs has declined from 80 percent enrolled in Master of Divinity programs to 53 percent (or 48 percent of total school enrollments). _ At the same time, enrollments in degree programs not directed to ordained ministry have doubled to approximately 30 percent of current enrollments. _ Seminaries now have more older, second-career students-many from established professions-who bring a variety of "real-world" experiences and expectations to the classroom.2 _ The number of women students has increased dramatically-25-30 percent at most evangelical seminaries; approaching 50 percent at some mainline denominational schools. Accompanying this change, more women are serving on faculties and boards and sensitivity to women's issues, roles and historic contributions to the church has increased. _ The multicultural nature of American life is spawning specialized programs, bilingual instruction, and a new appreciation for ethnic religious traditions on seminary campuses. _ In the future, David Hubbard suggests, a third to half of theological education may be provided by people engaged in some form of specialized ministry. Seminaries will probably use smaller core faculties and larger adjunct faculties and farm out more education to churches and other Christian agencies. Many of the these congregations-including megachurches which offer a variety of seminars and continuing-education workshops-will serve as laboratories for seminary training. Theological education in the 21st century will be more extensively networked with churches and congregations. Other issues within the purview of seminaries include new business and management options and addressing the need for campus maintenance and renewal. Not long ago, the typical seminary executive was a former pastor or one-time professor transplanted into the growing complexity of seminary administration and financial management.3 Today many seminaries are streamlining their office practices, equipping their administrative teams with up-to-date management skills such as strategic planning, accounting and fund-raising. In an effort to achieve better stewardship of resources, theological schools have promoted interseminary cooperation-sharing libraries, computers and other resources-and strengthened partnerships among schools. Leaders of American colleges and universities have known for several years of the magnitude of the repair bill for deferred maintenance on campus buildings-between $60 billion and $70 billion. The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers estimates that the 202 seminaries of the Association of Theological Schools of the United States and Canada have their own "time bomb"-a backlog of more that $385 million in needed repair or replacement of capital items, ranging from roofs to boilers to entire buildings. The largest single category of capital renewal/deferred maintenance-nearly 40 percent of the total-is student housing, largely to convert it to meet the needs of a population that is changing from young, single males to older, married and/or female students.4 The View from Congregations In a recent article, Richard Ostling describes "a quiet revolution" that is changing the habits of millions of Americans and the way churches go about recruiting members from the fickle, consumer-oriented baby boomers who are increasingly visiting congregations in search of faith and meaning.5 _ Of the generation born after World War II, 95 percent received a religious upbringing. According to sociologist Wade Clark Roof, a third of these baby boomers never strayed from the church. Another fourth are dropouts who have returned to religious practice-however they are less tied to traditional denominational loyalties and hold more liberal views on social issues like abortion and homosexuality. _ Some 42 percent of baby boomers remain defectors from congregational life. Most however, believe their children should receive religious training. This has provided an opportunity for churches prepared to fill this need. Two attractive magnets that may pull dropouts back to the church are having children and facing at mid-life a personal or career crisis that reminds boomers of the fragility of life 3 without spiritual moorings. _ When West Europeans drop out of church, as the majority do, they often also abandon belief. Roof discovered in his research for A Generation of Seekers that most America are "believers but not belongers." Most dropouts say they believe in God-though a third also believe in reincarnation, ghosts and astrology. The God of their understanding is not necessarily the deity of the Bible nor is their Jesus necessarily the Son of God and unique Savior of humanity. _ Mainline Protestants-Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians-and Jews have lost half of the children born into the church ( 70 percent for synagogues); Roman Catholics have generally held their own while evangelical Protestants and an assortment of Eastern, New Age and unconventional religions have been growing rapidly. _ An increasing number of thoughtful observers are noting the danger for the church-mainline and evangelical-in pandering to the needs of returning baby boomers by promoting "supply-side spirituality." Marketing the faith can lead to unexamined accommodation of cultural narcissism, an emphasis on entertainment, and shallow therapies promoting well-being and personal success. Church historian, Martin Marty, comments that it is "lethal" to refashion churches around the visions of returning boomers who are ignorant of the Church's heritage, or to capitulate to a "random selection of cravings nurtured by non- Christian and anti-Christian forces." _ Baby boomers-many of whom have experienced the brokenness that accompanies divorce, substance abuse, loss of jobs, and a host of other crises-are searching for a faith that meets their real needs. To assure that neither Faith or faith-seeker is shortchanged, the church-as it reaches out to welcome these wandering questers-must focus on the glorification of God and not the gratification of human desires. The View from Students The stress and complexity of contemporary life put today's 4 clergy under increased pressure to provide moral leadership in an increasingly secular world. Recruiting and training gifted students for this demanding call is a task that exceeds the resources of individual seminaries and must be a responsibility of the whole church.6 Two centuries ago a sound theological education provided entrée to the centers of social influence. Many college presidents were recruited from the ranks of Protestant clergy. Seminary graduates established orphanages, hospitals and foreign missions. Today religion no longer holds a preeminent position in society and many competing professions offer alternative avenues of advancement for those who seek to be community leaders. The perception of the declining prestige of ministry has effected recruitment and the profile of contemporary seminarians. Larsen and Shophire surveyed about 2,800 master-of-divinity or equivalent students in Protestant and Roman Catholic seminaries and reported that: _ Seminary enrollment doubled between 1969 and 1984 driven by increases in the numbers of older, second-career students and women who bring special gifts of maturity to the ministry. Attendance of both of these groups appears to be leveling off. The average age of students in 1990 was 36. _ Many of these nontraditional students have family responsibilities that make rising educational costs and indebtedness a crucial issue. About 25 percent of the seminarians expect to have borrowed $10,000 or more for their educational expenses alone. _ Smaller churches with limited resources are experiencing increased difficulty in calling seminary graduates who have significant educational indebtedness. _ Churches located in small cities and suburbs produce two-thirds of the seminarians. Churches perceived to be conservative or middle-of-the-road supply 87 percent of the students. Another study by Educational Testing Service based on 80,000 records of Protestant, Jewish and Catholic seminarians for time periods of up to 40 years included these findings: 5 _ The Roman Catholic Church is the only major denomination with an acute shortage of clergy. The number preparing for the priesthood at all levels, including high school, dropped from 42,900 in 1966 to 8,394 in 1989-90. _ Discovered that, despite their continuing increases, women are entering the ranks of clergy at a much-slower rate than they entered law and medicine. For denominations-particularly mainline representatives like United Methodists and Presbyterians-concerned about attracting a new generation of students to the ministry, effective recruitment would appear to include these lessons: Make ministry an attractive option; nurture vocations early; and enlist a network of mentors-pastors, lay leaders and others-to encourage potential students. The View from the Pulpit Recent research suggests that the typical minister is a 44-year-old married man who has attended seminary, been in ministry 14 years, and draws an annual income of more that $32,000.7 Most pastors report that they are satisfied with their performance and that of their church. While churches may not be maximizing their ministry potential, pastors feel they are not the problem. A closer examination of the pastor's relationship to the congregation reveals harsher, less complimentary realities: _ Pastors are highly educated but generally feel poorly prepared for the job they hold. _ The tenure of pastors is on the decline, reflecting high levels of frustration and stress. Pastors are entering ministry at a later age in life and leaving early. _ While most churches are growing slightly or are maintaining their current size, they have great difficulty in achieving ministry objectives with limited staff, minimal budgets, a shrinking pool of volunteers (many frequently untrained, marginally committed, or engaged in demanding jobs and careers that limit discretionary time), and unrealistic plans for impacting the community. _ Lay members, despite fairly regular attendance by about 6 half of the population, are generally ill-informed about the basic tenets of their faith, often lukewarm in their commitment to building a community of believers devoted to serving Christ with passion, urgency and abandon, view their pastor and the church as only moderately helpful in dealing with change and life crises, and perceive the influence of the Christian Church to be on the decline. Awareness has been building in recent years among pastors and seminaries that old models of ministry forged in an earlier centuries are increasingly ineffective in addressing the needs of worshipers impacted by the stresses of contemporary culture. What new models and strategies are emerging that can assist the church in identifying and training gifted leaders who can offer authentic witness to the divine presence and purpose while equipping God's people for effective service in the environment of the 1990s and beyond? How will the "good seminary" define its mission and purpose in the 21st century? A View to the Future Noting the parallel tracks currently employed in preparing pastoral leaders-seminary training leading to a master of divinity (M.Div.) degree or placement by a church in an internship, apprenticeship or care program that prepares one to assume the pastorate of another church-George Barna critiques the weaknesses of the predominate seminary or "educational model" as prelude to offering an alternative.8 The deficiencies in the educational model, in Barna's view, include: _ A student selection process driven more by the financial, program and facility needs of the seminary than candidates' aptness for leadership in ministry _ Overemphasis of academic and theological training and classroom performance standards divorced from the real world of ministry _ An absence of community on seminary campuses that isolates students and deprives them from experiencing this central reality of the nature of the church _ A lack of postgraduate/continuing education training experiences that provide reality checks, opportunities to enlarge one's vision 7 of ministry and cultivate pastoral skills. Currently pastors spend an average of $700 per year to purchase these services from a patchwork of profit and nonprofit organizations and consultants. _ Seminaries fail to train pastors to seek fellowship with other pastors before they leave the school and accept church assignments. When no one is available to "pastor the pastor" and no support network has been cultivated, the stresses and frustrations of the pastorate can erode enthusiasm and effectiveness in ministry. _ In general churches lack intelligent, reliable standards for evaluating the performance of pastors as congregational leaders. While acknowledging that the current seminary system has value in providing theological education, Barna proposes an alternate model that focuses on leadership identification, training and continuing support. The components of the alternate model include: _ Entrance criteria for applicants that stress a demonstrated passion for ministry, a clear sense of calling, evidence of service in the local church and an evaluation of the fruits that ministry, and above average intellect and academic experience _ Employment of "ministry mentors"-individuals currently engaged in the crucible of ministry-rather than academically oriented professors to guide and train candidates for ministry _ A better balance of skills development and education. More emphasis on internships and real world ministry experiences; more courses in practices such as management, community research, ministry assessment, spiritual gifts identification, and development and volunteer management. _ Modeling and fostering attitudes that affirm the importance of community among pastors-including establishment of a network of other pastors with whom the seminarian, both as student and graduate, has recurring contact for mentoring, accountability, resourcing and encouragement _ Establishment of new standards for measuring pastoral 8 performance that guide and shape the training required to achieve these benchmarks of leadership _ Rather than perceiving seminary to be a one-time, multiyear event in a pastor's life, an alternate model for theological education might seek to establish an ongoing interactive program between pastor and training center. The center would be responsible for providing new skills or education aimed at keeping the leader abreast of the latest in hands-on ministry and might provide an assessment of ministry every few years to track personal growth, the health of the congregation being served and custom-tailored recommendations for continuing education/training. Hints of another vision of the ideal theological school appear in the work of sociologist Robert N. Bellah, senior author of the influential Habits of the Heart (1986) and The Good Society (1991).9 In 1990, Columbia Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian school in Decatur, Georgia, utilized a grant from the Lilly Endowment to underwrite an eighteen-month rethinking of the meaning and purpose of seminary education. Columbia hired Bellah to help tutor faculty and administrators in an examination of the relationship of Christ and culture as one component of reenvisioning the task of theological education. Bellah's ideal theological school requires an "organic unity" between the seminary and the church at large. The perception of some students that the seminary's chief function is to help them with their individual spiritual journeys and personal hurts troubles Bellah because it leads to self-absorption and isolates church leaders from the larger community. He says: "Of course we have scars, sometimes we have open wounds, but it is not just our own wounded to whom we are responsible. There are those out there who hurt more, and it is the task of the church to reach out to them."10 Like Barna, Bellah advocates continuing education-both for pastors and lay persons-as a link between parish and training centers. Bellah realizes that these fragile ties require constant and careful attention and care, but he remains optimistic that the effort is central to the mission of theological education and the church. In an article titled, "Small Face-to Face Christian Communities in a Mean-Spirited and Polarized Society," that appeared in the June 1992 New Oxford Review, he reflected: I have been told that one of our current 9 psychological gurus says that 98 percent of Americans are dysfunctional. No doubt he is right. He has just discovered original sin, though he is mistaken if he thinks two percent of us are without it. In other words, we are all more or less dysfunctional-I know I am-but with the grace of God we go about our work as best we can-needing, to be sure, the love of others and the grace of the sacraments, but not expecting that we will ever in this life be totally functional. Like several of his visionary colleagues engaged in reexamining the purpose and structure of theological education and its prospects for serving the churches of the twenty-first century, Ted Ward is critical of the clergy-laity/clerical-community of faith dichotomy fostered by, in his opinion, a faulty theological understanding of the nature of the church and the role of church leaders-a misunderstanding that a century of formalized educational practice has further fossilized.11 If present trends continue, Ward foresees the possible emergence of a two-tier system of theological education: one level of institutions emphasizing a longer-term curriculum to satisfy the needs of churches that believe they need leaders with doctoral-level training and another tier of theological institutions serving a large constellation of churches with a shorter term, function-oriented, less formalized educational regime. Ward's prescription for revitalizing theological education-one that he believes is more consonant with biblical mandates and the challenges/needs of the third millennium church-emphasizes a learning environment where there is continual interaction with a local portion of the community of faith and accountable relationships fostered by a broad mentoring network within the larger circle of the Christian community. In Ward's model, the local church becomes an experiential learning center where believers are socialized into the Community of the People of God and schools of theology become responsive resource centers ("hubs of shared resources") that facilitate this heart-of-the-Gospel process of spiritual formation and development. Rounding off his recommendations for revitalizing the process of preparing leaders for the church, Ward argues that effective theological education cultivates sustainable habits-open-ended reading, dialogue and intercultural reconciliation with diverse worldviews, self-assessment and planning, spiritual formation and development-that foster lifelong learning, spiritual maturation and encouragement in the pursuit of wisdom. Spiritual development is nurtured within the overlapping orbits of re-telling and re-living the Stories of the Book, meditating on the Person and Work of Christ and relating to neighbors with mercy and justice. 10 For all believers-and especially church leaders-continuing education and lifelong learning are hallmarks of the stewardship of life and fitting responses to God's graciousness expressed through the Lord Jesus Christ. Afterword There is a growing consensus among educators, pastors, lay leaders, denominational representatives and charitable foundations that North American theological education is at a critical crossroads. In 1988 a prominent Midwest charitable endowment with a track record of more than a half century of support to theological enterprises asked Barbara Wheeler, president of Auburn Theological Seminary, and David Kelsey, professor of theology at Yale University, to evaluate the direction of the foundation's theological-education grantmaking and to suggest new points of departure. More than a dozen theologians and educators served as evaluators and included these suggestions as guides for future support:12 _ Widen the circle of scholars and related constituents addressing theological education issues beyond mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics to include a greater number of evangelicals, minorities and young faculty members. _ Seek ways to facilitate understanding and communication across the ideological chasms created by too-sharp division of issues and programs into practical versus theoretical categories-or, by extension, as often expressed by correspondents in this paper: devote more resources to addressing the tensions and divisions engendered by contrasting views of the players and purpose of theological education expressed in oppositions like clerical/community of faith, clergy/laity, formal/nonformal and scholarly/experiential modes of learning and leadership training). The prospects that seminaries and their charitable donors and constituents can successfully address these assignments is conditioned by powerful forces that are reshaping American society. Two recent analyses of American culture illuminate the social climate that complicates the task of preparing church leaders and underscore the urgency for reform and renewal of graduate theological training. Os Guinness examines the "crisis of cultural authority" in the United States and Robert Wuthnow explores the changing structure of the American family and community that has fueled the rapid growth of the small-group movement. At the end of what some have called the "American 11 Century," China-born and England-educated author Os Guinness-a U.S. resident for the past decade-offers a provocative Tocquevillesque assessment of the American republic and the current crisis of cultural authority that strikes at the heart of the nation's identity.13 Guinness identifies four "revolutions" or "times of trial" that have punctuated the American odyssey: 1) the eighteenth century when the issue was independence and the first Great Awakening contributed to the first American revolution; 2) the nineteenth century when the issue was slavery and the second Great Awakening contributed to the second revolution; 3) the Great Depression of the 1930s that had no corresponding spiritual awakening-Protestantism was at its nadir and had lost its culture-shaping power; and 4) the present American hour: "the climax of the crisis of cultural authority-a time made still more urgent by the problem of responsible action in a revolutionary world, compounded by the problem of America's present calling into question America's past."14 Guinness suggests that five actions are likely to be evident in the current crisis if America chooses to pursue a preferable future that provides its diverse faiths with a revitalized and constructive role in public life: the American hour is a time to remember, a time for repentance, a time for resolution, a time for responsibility, and a time for realism. "The American hour has not yet passed . . . . The happier possibility is that America will respond-or, expressed more precisely, that when God speaks in reformation and revival, sufficient individuals will take heed and be the salt and light that will help revitalize American society."15 The crisis of cultural authority has profoundly contributed to the dramatic growth of the small-group movement in the United States. In an insightful article abstracted from his forthcoming book,16 Robert Wuthnow, notes that four out every ten Americans belong to a small organized group that meets regularly to provide care and support for its members: Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, youth groups and singles groups, book discussion clubs, sports and hobby groups, and political or civic groups. The small-group movement is a response to the breakdown of traditional support structures-family and close kin, neighborhoods, a secure job or career, a stable and rooted lifestyle-and reflects a continuing desire for community and a quest for the sacred. There are however, Wuthnow notes, basic differences between the traditional definition of "community" and "family" and the meaning assigned these terms by small groups. The social contract that binds small groups together "asserts only the weakest of obligations: come if you have time; talk if you feel like it; respect everyone's opinion; never criticize; leave quietly if you become dissatisfied."17 Most families have biological ties and long-term economic responsibilities-provision for food, shelter, clothing, education and medical needs-for their members that would never survive the small group's tenuous 12 rules of commitment. In the realm of spirituality, Wuthnow believes that the small group movement's quest for the holy has fallen short by emphasizing comfort and happiness without challenging members to move beyond the present moment, especially if movement requires sacrifices or hardship: true growth is inhibited and the individual becomes the measure of all things. At one time theologians argued that the chief purpose of humankind was to glorify God. Now it would seem that the logic has been reversed: the chief purpose of God is to glorify humankind. Spirituality no longer is true or good because it meets absolute standards of truth or goodness, but because it helps me get along. I am the judge of its worth. . . . The more common pattern [of small groups] seems to be a kind of faith that focuses heavily on feelings and on getting along, rather than encouraging worshipful obedience to or reverence toward a transcendent God.18 Wuthnow concludes that despite "some worrisome signs having to do with the ways in which [the small group movement] is redefining community and spirituality," it "is now at a critical juncture" and must decide how to proceed if it wishes to exercise greater influence in the decade ahead. The small-group movement must choose which of two directions it will go. It can continue on its present course, or it can attempt to move to a higher level of interpersonal and spiritual quality. Give its success over the past two decades, it can easily maintain the same course. It can draw millions of participants by making them feel good about themselves and by encouraging them to develop a domesticated, pragmatic form of spirituality. By helping people feel comfortable, it can perhaps even expand its numbers. The other option will require it to focus less on numerical success and more on the quality of its offerings. Besides comforting its members, the movement may find itself challenging them at deeper levels-to make more serious commitments to others who are in need, to serve the wider community, and to stand in worshipful, obedient awe of the sacred itself.19 Like the small-group movement, North American theological education stands at a critical hour as it confronts a crisis of authority in Western culture and the temptation to validate and market "a domesticated, pragmatic form of spirituality" rather than examining its heritage and reforming its commitments to a wider vision of faith and 13 community. Amid these formidable intermingled currents theological education merits the continued concern and support of foundations, churches, donors and constituents committed to revitalizing the community of faith and a culture adrift from its moral moorings so that, guided and empowered by the Spirit of the Lord, these institutions may, with mercy and justice, "carry the burden of renewing the spiritual foundations of civilization." Notes & References 1Leon Pacala, "Educating God's People: Seminaries Enter a New Age," In Trust (Autumn 1989): 21-3. The term "clerical paradigm" was suggested and analyzed by Vanderbilt theologian Edward Farley in his path-breaking 1983 volume entitled Theologia: The Fragmentation and Unity of Theological Education (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983). For excerpts and comments on Farley's work, see Kenneth A. Briggs, "Probing the 'Whys' of Theological Study," in Progressions: A Lilly Endowment Occasional Report, 4:2 (April 1992), 1-5. This issue, entitled "Theological Education: The Road Less Traveled," provides a recent overview of Lilly Endowment supported research on theological education, a concise summary of current issues, and a helpful selected bibliography. In Trust, published by the Washington Theological Union (Silver Spring, MD) is "a quarterly for members of governing boards and others who bear responsibility for institutions of theological education." Described elsewhere as "a reader's digest of theological education, drawing material from many unexpected sources," the publication provides thought-provoking and stimulating articles for leaders and allied audiences interested in the mission and role of theological education. 2Note the comments of David Hubbard who is retiring after a thirty-year tenure as president of Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA), in "The Twenty-first Century Seminary," Christianity Today (May 17, 1993): 45-6. 3For examples of how seminaries are retooling management, adding new skills, refining fund-raising techniques and promoting interseminary cooperation, see John Dart, "New Business Options East Old Budget Woes," in Progressions: A Lilly Endowment Occasional Report, 4:2 (April 1992), 14-7. 4For more detail, see Joseph Berger, "Subtle Cracks in the Aging Halls of Ivy," in Progressions: A Lilly Endowment Occasional Report, 4:2 (April 1992), 18-20. 5Richard N. Ostling, "The Church Search," Time 141 (April 5, 1993), 44-9. 6See Cecile Holmes White, "Wanted: Gifted Students for Seminary Slots," in Progressions: A Lilly Endowment Occasional Report, 4:2 (April 1992), 10-3. 7See George Barna, Today's Pastors: A Revealing Look at What Pastors Are Saying About Themselves, Their Peers and 14 the Pressures They Face (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1993). 8Barna, Today's Pastors, pp. 137-51. 9For some summary comments, see Melinda R. Heppe, "The Good Seminary: Robert Bellah Dreams of School and Church in Unity," In Trust (Autumn 1992): 14-7. 10Ibid., p. 17. 11Ted W. Ward, "Leaders Among the People of God," a series of chapel addresses delivered at Western Seminary, Portland, Oregon (October 5-8, 1993). 12Progressions: A Lilly Endowment Occasional Report, 4:2 (April 1992), 21. 13Os Guinness, The American Hour: A Time of Reckoning and the Once and Future Role of Faith (New York: The Free Press, 1993); see especially pages 399-415 for the comments that follow. 14Ibid., p. 401. 15Ibid., p. 414. 16Robert Wuthnow, Sharing the Journey: Support Groups and America's New Quest for Community (New York: The Free Press), 1994. 17 Robert Wuthnow, "Small Groups Forge New Notions of Community and the Sacred," The Christian Century 110 (December 8, 1993), p. 1237 (the full article spans the pages from 1236-40). 18Ibid., p. 1240. 19Ibid., p. 1240. 15