Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

torical devices, churches see these students as people with potentially distorted spirituality, lacking reliance on the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the existing link between pastoral authority and preaching office, which is grounded in personal piety and spirituality, effectively excludes a notion of learning to preach in academic settings. As it stands, the current trend in relationships between baptistic churches and theological schools in Russia (and other post-Soviet countries) does not leave much 234 hope for the future. Their partnership is never equal. Currently, educational institutions fully depend on the support of local churches, which goes beyond mere financial contributions, but includes churches providing students and helping graduates with employment. As mentioned earlier, the alleged spirit of free thinking and pushing of the boundaries does not meet much sympathy with the rather conservative ecclesial culture of Russian Baptist churches. Hence, the existing seminaries, Bible schools and institutes are forced to adapt to the requirements and demands of the church life or cease to exist. Nonetheless, despite the present tensions in the relationships between ecclesial and academic institutions, | would like to conclude this project with a positive outlook. | have previously argued that the lack of understanding of mutually self-excluding views on the role of the Holy Spirit and individual learning must be seen as one of the main reasons for the Church/University contradictions. Such misunderstanding can be best illustrated through uncomfortable situations that young students of theology often end up in, when they return to their local churches, having participated in a few courses on theological disciplines, thus discovering an “alternative reality” to the world of a local church. Passionate, unwilling to compromise their newly obtained knowledge, they spark fiery debates with “uneducated” pastors or preachers, trying to enlighten and correct them. So, how can such conflicts be avoided? Can they be dropped in favour of a more pragmatic and mutually respectful position, where the University would not need to give up the free spirit of enquiry, whilst the Church would find it easier to involve people from other, less “charismatic” backgrounds? As | have stated at the beginning of this chapter, as well as through the whole of the dissertation, my aim is not to offer a modified curriculum that could potentially resolve existing weaknesses and fill in the gaps in the way the subject of preaching is approached. | do hope that my research might lead to something like it. At this stage, | would like to suggest only two possible corrections, or better to say, additions to the existing curriculums. Firstly, the subject of Baptist identity needs to be seen as an important starting point for any studies related to the preparation of ministers/preachers. Whilst the whole notion of “iden