Bernhard Ott (theologian)

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Bernhard Ott (born June 7, 1952 in Rüti , Canton of Zurich ) is a Swiss Protestant theologian , missiologist , lecturer and author .

Live and act

Bernhard Ott grew up in the Zurich Oberland , where his father ran a carpenter's workshop. Spiritually he was shaped in the Federation of Evangelical Anabaptist Congregations. He completed an apprenticeship as a structural draftsman and, after working for several years in an architecture office, he studied theology at the European Mennonite Bible School in Bienenberg , which is now the Bienenberg training and conference center . There he was initially taken on as a guest teacher in 1980 and later appointed to full-time teaching. In 1981 he spent two years studying in North America, where he graduated from Mennonite Brethern Biblical Seminary (MBBS, now part of Fresno Pacific University) with the M.Div. completed.

From 1984 Ott was director of studies, from 1999 seminar director of the Bienenberg Bible School and until 2009 director of the entire work. He was involved in the development and expansion of various theological programs, the accreditation of the basic course (Bachelor program) by the "European Evangelical Accreditation Association" (today: today the "European Council for Theological Education") and the validation of the postgraduate course (Master's program) by the University of Wales. Until 2017 he was a lecturer in practical theology and missiology there. In 1994, during his sabbatical year at the Oxford Center for Mission Studies (OCMS) in Oxford, he began his doctorate on Mission Studies in Theological Education. A Critical Analysis of Mission Training in Evangelical Bible Colleges and Seminaries in German-Speaking Switzerland from 1960–1995 », which he completed in 1999 and there in 2000 with his dissertation Beyond Fragmentation: Integrating Mission and Theological Education for Ph.D. PhD. Here he was critical of the state of theological mission training at German-language evangelical seminars and Bible schools.

Since 2000, Ott has supervised the MA, MTh and PhD theses and dissertations at the University of Wales, Lampeter , Columbia International University and the University of South Africa . At the European School for Culture and Theology (ESCT) of the AWM gGmbH in Korntal he was a lecturer from 2005, between 2007 and 2018 Program Director of Doctoral Studies (PhD in International Theological Education and Doctor of Ministry), and from 2013 to 2018 its dean , where from 2007 he built a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) course with a focus on Leadership in International Theological Education as part of their study programs in cooperation with Columbia International University and is still professor and supervisor for doctoral candidates.

In Paraguay he was a visiting professor at the "Instituto Bíblico Asunción" (IBA) of the Mennonites in Asunción in 1997 and at the "Centro Evangélico Menonita de Teología Asunción" (CEMTA), which is affiliated with the Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay, in 2002 . From March to May 2006 he stayed again in Latin America to study in Paraguay and Peru , during which time he was again visiting professor at the theological faculty of the Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay in Asunción. He also conducted workshops on theological training in various institutions in Paraguay and Peru.

Ott has been Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa in the fields of Christian spirituality, church history and missiology since 2017 . He is also a lecturer in Introduction to Theology and Introduction to Missional Theology at the Institute for Community Building and World Mission , Zurich.

Memberships

Ott volunteered at the Federation of Evangelical Anabaptist Congregations (ETG): from 1974 to 1982 as a member of the youth commission, from 1984 to 2008 as a member of the education committee and between 2012 and 2017 as chairman of the board. From 1984 to 2009 he was a member of the board of the Mennonite Church in Switzerland and since 1986 a member of the Mennonite Historical Society of Switzerland. From 1997 to 2002 he was a member of the steering committee for the establishment of the Evangelical Institute for Social Ethics in Switzerland. Since 1987 he has been a member of the Working Group for Biblical Renewed Theology in Switzerland, from 1999 to 2007 on its board and from 2001 to 2007 deputy chairman. Since 2007 he has been a member of the Accreditation Council of the European Evangelical Accreditation Association (today: European Council for Theological Education (ECTE)), since 2013 a member of the steering committee of the Doctoral Initiative of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) and since 2017 a member of the board of the ICETE Academy. Between 2013 and 2016 he was a member of the board of the Study Center for Faith and Society at the University of Friborg (Switzerland) and has been a board member of the Society for Education and Research in Europe since 2018 .

His preaching and teaching services have taken him to local, national and international congregational associations, to Christian missions and aid organizations as well as worldwide networks of biblical and theological training centers.

Private

Ott is with his wife Margrit, geb. Basement married. The couple has four children and lives in Liestal , Switzerland. They are members of the Church in Spalen of the Evangelical Anabaptist Congregation Basel.

Publications (selection)

as a co-author
  • Fascination with the Holy Spirit. Challenges of charismatic piety , Neufeld Verlag, Schwarzenfeld 2005, ISBN 978-3-937896-13-7 .
Essays
  • The Anabaptists and their theology . In: Old and New Baptists: Common Past !? Common future ?! , Bienenberg study booklet 1/1993, pp. 42-56.
  • The KBA schools in the light of global changes in theological education . In: Wilhelm Faix (Ed.): Theological training at the beginning of the 21st century: Results of a survey at evangelical training centers. Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft 1998. ISBN 978-3-93282-901-7 .
  • Mission theology in evangelical theological training . In: Heinrich Löwen and Hans Kasdorf (eds.): Together on behalf of the Lord , Puls Verlag, Bornheim 1999, ISBN 978-3-93339806-2 , pp. 123-139.
  • Mission Oriented Theological education: Moving Beyond Traditional Models of Theological Education . In: Transformation 18/2, 2001, pp. 74-86.
  • Mission and Theological Education . In: Transformation 18/2, 2001, pp. 87-98.
  • Beyond Fragmentation: Integration, Mission and Theological Education . In: Transformation 19/2, 2002.
  • The Holy Spirit. Biblical-theological and practical congregational position on questions about the work of the Spirit of God . In: Bienenberg study booklet 2/1996.
  • Creative tension beyond polarization? . In: Mennonite Yearbook 1998.
  • Mission training in evangelical theological training . In: H. Loewen and H. Kasdorf: Together on behalf of the Lord (Festschrift John Klassen). Puls Verlag, Bornheim / Bonn 1999, pp. 123-139.
  • Theological training in the field of tension between theory and practice . In: Yearbook for Evangelical Theology 17/2003, pp. 149–196.
  • Living the truth: a convincing commitment in our pluralistic world . In: Heinrich Klassen and Johannes Reimer (eds.): Mission in the Sign of Peace (Edition afem, Mission Academics), Logos, Lage 2003, pp. 197–237.
  • Tradition and transformation. Initiatives for transformative theological training . In: Tobias Faix , Johannes Reimer, Volker Brecht (eds.): Changing the world. Basic questions of a theology of transformation , Francke, Marburg 2009, pp. 296–302.
  • 'Fit for purpose' - theological training that is fit for the future . In: Walter Dürr and Stefan Wenger (eds.): Theological training and spirituality , Aschendorff Verlag, Münster 2015, pp. 155–172.
Lexicon article
  • Article in Religion in Past and Present , 4th edition (RGG) 2002, Vol. 5 (L – M).
    • Mission training
    • Mission House Biblical School Wiedenest

literature

  • Lukas Amstutz and Hanspeter Jecker (eds.): Fit for the world !? Contributions to a peace church theology and community practice (Edition Bienenberg), commemorative publication for the 65th birthday of Bernhard Ott, Neufeld Verlag, Cuxhaven 2017, ISBN 978-3-86256-084-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Teachers at the TSB ( Memento from June 3, 2017 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ↑ Bernhard Ott says goodbye: The influential head of Anabaptist theology is retiring , jesus.ch, article from March 13, 2017.
  3. ↑ Bernd Brandl : Evangelical Mission Theology: Consequences for Theological Education ( Memento from June 3, 2017 in the web archive archive.today )
  4. ↑ Short CV: Bernhard Ott , awm-korntal.eu, accessed on August 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ Change of management at the academic branch of AWM in Korntal , idea.de, notification from July 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Foreword to the Theological Training Manual , R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 2007.
  7. ↑ Ott Bernhard: Lecturer at the IGW ( Memento from June 3, 2017 in the web archive archive.today )
  8. ↑ Bernhard Ott: Hear with your eyes and think with your feelings , livenet.de, accessed on August 3, 2018.
  9. ^ Bernhard Ott: Curriculum Vitae ( Memento from August 30, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ Preface to Fit for the World !? , P. 9f.
  11. ↑ Teachers at the TSB ( Memento from June 3, 2017 in the web archive archive.today )
  12. ^ Lectures by Bernhard Ott , accessed on August 3, 2018.
  13. ↑ Ott Bernhard: Member of the Evangelical Anabaptist Congregation Basel ( Memento from June 3, 2017 in the web archive archive.today ), p. 3
personal data
SURNAME Ott, Bernhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss, Protestant theologian and missiologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Rüti