In two decades, a billion Christians will make Africa global Christianity’s center of gravity. But will a transformed Africa radiate God’s glory?In two decades, a billion Christians will make Africa global Christianity’s center of gravity. But will a transformed Africa radiate God’s glory?
Consider: Kenya’s very first university began only in our generation — in 1970.
By contrast, young monks, studying Law in Bologna (Italy) received the Pope’s authority in 1066, to become a University — a “Community of teachers and scholars.” The Church established/managed every one of Europe’s early universities.
America’s first university — Harvard — was founded by the Puritans in 1636, because they wanted to prepare ministers “For Christ and the Church,” as leaders in every sphere of life.
As early as 1792, Charles Grant, an evangelical civil servant, became the prophet of India’s education. With help from William Wilberforce, he went on to become the Director of the East India Company and a Member of Parliament. First colleges began in 1818. By January 1857, Grant’s successors had persuaded the British Crown to give India her first three universities — Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay.
As Secularized Education Self-Destructs Could Africa Become the World’s Education Leader?
In January 2019, over 200 leaders of Uganda’s “National Association of Born Again Pentecostals” unanimously voted to equip each of their 30,000 churches to become centers of high quality digital education.
Students would enroll in accredited universities but would go to the local church to study under Academic Pastors. The curricula would come online, created by the world’s best Subject Matter Experts. Experienced pedagogists and videographers would assist the teachers.
A global network of scholars would back this initiative to create a new education ecosystem. Along with curricula and textbooks, Scholars would also create encyclopedia to take control of worldview formation and dictionaries to take control of the languages, initially created by Bible translators. This will re-integrate into education Veritas and Virtue. Educational micro-financing would enable churches and students to serve the poorest using available educational technology.
Ensuring that God’s will is done on earth was the very purpose of Christian education. In Bologna the monks were studying Law because theologian-scholars had already created the Justinian Code in Constantinople between AD 529 to 565. (See my chapter on Law in “This Book Changed Everything.”) Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Church had been building up Europe’s best and largest legal systems. Bishops were the judges in Church courts. They needed legal experts — Chancellors and Advocates— to serve as intermediaries between judges and the litigants.
So that Christian judges may administer God’s justice and righteousness. The same was true of medicine. Monasteries and nunneries were obeying Christ by ministering to the sick. That helped them accumulate knowledge. As monks and nuns started coming to renowned physicians, professional medicine became a university faculty along with Theology, Philosophy and Law. Music was a part of theological training and what we call science grew out of the study General Revelation (theology) and Natural Philosophy.
Scholars from all over Africa will come together on April 26-27, 2021 to begin this education revolution. One outcome of this virtual Conference will be to build up a team to write one or more books on the role the Bible has already played in creating modern Africa . . . and the role it must play in make Africa a light to the world. The researchers and writers will work with documentarians to take the research to the general public.
The current plan is that the scholars will come together in person for the next summit from August 1-6, perhaps in Uganda. That will launch the revolution formally. Our global 20-year Business Plan will mobilize human and financial resources to support two dozen or so Christian universities to build up one or two Research departments each to match global standards. After the Pan-Africa summit, international team members will be available to travel to various countries in Africa for another week or two.
You can get a fuller picture from our new 756-page book, The Third Education Revolution. Today the e-Book is being uploaded on amazon.com. In 3 weeks, the printed edition will be available in the USA. The African edition should go into production in a week’s time. Meanwhile, this week we plan to start uploading sections of the book on www.ThirdEducationRevolution.com
Powerful vested interests will contest this mission to disciple nations in the spiritual and social arena . . . Therefore, please zoom with us in fasting and prayer on Wednesdays at 11 am Central Time. The links and specific prayer requests will be posted on our website.
