A Theology of Confessional Teaching

Candidates to professorial posts are usually required to supply a “philosophy of teaching.” Such a document outlines candidates’ fundamental thinking about their goals for teaching and how that works itself out in the classroom. However, for those seeking to serve in a theological confessional setting, is it not fundamentally more important to ascertain candidates’ “theology of teaching” even before one asks for their philosophy of teaching? A theology of teaching should seek to answer, at the very least, the following questions: On what biblical and theological grounds is theological teaching even possible? What are the goals and anticipated outcomes of teaching? How does this all relate to the mission of the church?