Reliable leadership is an indispensable component of any progressive society. The rapidly changing African society with its numerous challenges calls for reliable leadership. The Church which is the most trusted institution has failed to offer this reliable leadership to the African society. In spite of the fact that the Church in Africa is experiencing tremendous numerical growth, she has failed to produce enough leaders and the few available are not well-equipped to meet the needs of the African people in this century. If the Church in Africa hopes to be relevant to the African society, she has to re-think her training system. She must produce leaders who can be relied on by the African people. This is only possible if she produces enough wellqualified leaders to match the rapidly growing African Church and society.
The Christian Church in Kenya is currently experiencing high numerical growth. But what is its future? Is numerical growth an indication that the Kenyan Church has a secure future? To answer these questions this paper utilizes the case of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), which is the largest Protestant denomination in Kenya, with a membership of about 4 . 2 million people and a growth rate of 6 . 7% per annum. While there may be other indicators as to the future growth and sustainability of the Church in Kenya, the paper assumes that Theological Education Institutions (TEIs) where church leaders are formed and trained largely determine the strength of the future church. Quantitative and qualitative field research is described covering the five key ACK TEIs identifying several weaknesses in them. While the purpose of theological education in the ACK is to equip the clergy with the necessary skills to lead the church, the paper suggests a more integrative model incorporating knowledge, skills, character, empathy, and action. Further proposals are offered to remedy the deficiencies of ACK TEIs such as utilizing new modes of study e.g. distance learning, e-learning etc., revitalizing the Theological Education by Extension program which has been allowed to die, and a revised curriculum is suggested.
Leadership remains the biggest challenge facing the Church in Africa today. The Anglican Church in Kenya (ACK) was started in 1844, but was it was not until 1888 that the official training of church leaders was commenced with the opening of a Divinity School at Frere Town. Since its inception the ACK has experienced a tremendous growth in membership, growing at the rate of about 6.7 per cent per annum. In spite of this rapid growth, the ACK is in leadership crises due to lack of enough and well-equipped clergy to run it. The Anglican population of about 3,711,890 Christians is served by only about 1555 clergy, translating to clergy per Christians ratio of about 1 : 2400. This affects the Church's mission in that it is impossible for one clergy to effectively provide spiritual care to 2400 Christians. On top of this, the majority of the clergy currently serving in the ACK are not properly trained to match the rapidly changing Kenyan society. About 83 per cent of these clergy have diploma and below theological qualifications. If the ACK has to be successful in its mission in this century, it has to reconsider its training systems.
Family value system is the basic foundation on which stable societies are created. Sustaining the authentic traditional family value system in a wave of change as strong as western imperialism called for a society that was ready to struggle to retain their culture. This study is on colonialism and its’ implication on the African family stability in Embu North Sub-County of Kenya from 1895 to 1965. The study employed the descriptive research design. Data was obtained from oral, archival and secondary sources. The researcher interviewed a total of 50 respondents who were purposively sampled using snowballing technique. The study corroborated data from oral, archival and secondary sources to ensure the validity and reliability of the study. The discussion starts with aspects of the traditional values that existed among the Aembu by the time colonialism was imposed on Kenya in 1920, advances to how these aspects were executed in family and communal life among the Aembu and moves to how the Aembu were able to retain these family practices and values during the colonial period of 1920 to 1965. Cultural Evolution theory was used to examine colonialism and its implications on the African family stability in the area of study. The findings of the study were that there were family values that the Aembu people maintained before and during colonialism like circumcision (especially female circumcision), the culture of dowry payment, naming system, hospitality, and polygamy; that these family values were evident in their cultural traditions and practices and served to explain their unique African identity, were held in high regard, passed the test of time and were preserved from 1920 to 1965. This study has Contributed to the colonial historiography of the Aembu of Embu North Sub-County, Kenya.
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