The Case of the Theological Education and Missional Formation of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a glimpse of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches’ (CPBC) theological education and missional formation specifically through the Central Philippine University College of Theology (CPU CT). In her beginnings and how the CPU CT treaded the path of the pandemic, I have given specific attention to the use of Hiligaynon and woman lenses. Both the indigenous Hiligaynon and woman perspectives have often been left out in reading history and in interpreting the present. The use of both indigenous Hiligaynon and woman perspectives shows a history that is affirming of the devalued indigenous Hiligaynon and woman perspectives because of hegemonic colonial and patriarchal thinking. A step forward or sideward for the CPU CT could be taking a more affirming and empowering take toward embracing the Hiligaynon culture, language and spirituality as well as intentionally recognizing the space and being of women in doing theology and mission.

The Story of the Hiligaynon ¹ Baptists

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBC) traces her conception back to 1898 where Braulio Manikan, a scholar from Capiz (now Aklan) who was then studying in Spain decided to be baptized and be converted to the Baptist tenets. After his baptism, Manikan along with Eric Lund, a Swedish Baptist missionary translated the Bible into Manikan's language, Hiligaynon. In 1900, Manikan and Lund traveled to the Philippines to establish a “mission station” with the support of the American Baptist Missionary Union. Lund, with the influence and wisdom of Manikan agreed to set up the mission area in Jaro, Iloilo (Bunda 1999; Diesto 2014; Esquejo 2022; Jalando-on 2003).

Moreover, the embrace of the peoples of Western Visayas (islands of Panay and Negros) of the Baptist tenets was brought about by the longing of the people for liberation from the Spanish colonization and the revolutionary atmosphere of the time. One of the evident reasons was the disgust of the peoples of the islands, especially that of the peasants, for the corruption of priests in the Roman Catholic church. This sentiment was also one of the reasons why Manikan decided to not pursue his seminary training to become a catholic priest (Bunda 1999: 69).

Esquejo, however, disagrees and challenges to not just accept the American missionaries’ perspective and read the actions of the people through the lens of the people of the land. He provides an alternative lens in this interpretation saying,

sa pamamagitan ng pagtatampok sa karanasan at kultura ng mga taga-loob, mapapalitaw na nakaangkla ang pagkilos ng mga katutubo sa kanilang sariling interes na may kinalaman sa praktikal na seguridad at pagtupad sa isang matandang habilin mula kay Padre Juan. ² (Esquejo 2019: 269)

The flooding of the Pulahanes, ³ an anti-Spanish revolutionary group in the heart of the mountains of Panay, into the Baptist mission was not simply because of their disgust to the oppressive Roman Catholic church but also because of the prophecy of Padre Juan. He is a Filipino priest who was sent to Panay in 1850 as a missionary who was preaching to the peasants and those residing in the far-flung areas, in the mountains of the island. To the Spanish friars, he was perceived to be violent and crazy, but he was revered by the peasants and the people of the mountains as he has traveled far just to reach out to them. They felt honored by his presence, since it should have been a hassle for the friars to travel for days and trek the dangerous and steep mountain paths which seems that nobody has done this before him. The people granted him great respect because of his good relationship to them, his teaching and his ability to heal the sick. He also prophesied that there will be teachers who will reach out to them, bring them the Bible and teach them a truth that is different to what the Spanish friars has taught them. Therefore, they must listen and heed to the teaching of these teachers. Because of his growing number of followers in Capiz, Antique and Iloilo, he was seen as a threat by the friars. In 1870, he was captured, brought to Manila and never heard of again. In his disappearance, the people remained steadfast to his memory and his words. The Pulahanes were convinced that the arrival of the Baptist missionaries in 1900 was the fulfillment of Padre Juans’ prophecy (Esquejo 2019: 272–273).

The Pulahanes were living deep in the mountains of Panay. The Spanish colonizers as well as the Roman Catholic church did not really invest money and time to penetrate the area and indoctrinate them. So, the Pulahanes did not fully embrace the teachings of the Catholic church and were able to keep their ways of life and their spirituality (Esquejo 2019: 270). But they were not ignorant of and passive to the Spanish occupation and oppression, in fact, they were one of the strongest resistance groups in the archipelago, especially during the 1896 revolution. Though they together with the revolutionary movement in the island won against the colonial Spanish rule and were able to establish the “Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Visayas” in Sta. Barbara Iloilo in 17 November 1898, with the arrival of the US Americans they never really enjoyed freedom. Esquejo (2019: 278) poses that the intervention of the Tagalog revolutionary army contributed to their loss in the Philippine-American war. Instead of a liberative intervention, theirs was even more of an occupation. This treachery from their Tagalog comrades in the revolutionary movement has pushed the Pulahanes to take the side of the Baptist mission. With this, they were not just seen as heretics by the Roman Catholics but also as traitors by the revolutionary movement. Those who have chosen to leave the Catholic church and embrace the Baptist tenets have received threats and harassments from both the Roman Catholic church and the revolutionary movement. One gruesome example was the murder of Placido Mata in September 1900, who was assisting Lund in the translation of the Scriptures to Hiligaynon (Bunda 1999; Esquejo 2019). Having received the assurance of protection from the colonial American government through the Baptist mission, thousands of their peoples came to be baptized and to embrace the Baptist tenets (Bunda 1999: 51). The Pulahanes sent more than 13,000 persons to the Baptist mission on February 1901 (in Esquejo 2019: 267 footnote).

The Baptist church in the Philippines was able to spread her roots in the Panay soil and extend to the neighboring islands because of the overwhelming support of the Pulahanes. Their “conversion” to the Baptist tenets was because they had a spiritual enlightenment, which was a continuation and affirmation of their indigenous spirituality. They did not convert and let go of their old faith, rather, they firmly held on to their duna nga pagtoo, their indigenous faith, one that is connected to their land, their language and their spirituality.

This indigenous perspective of the CPBC history, however, was not given attention and therefore not valued in the theological education and missional formation at least at the Central Philippine University College of Theology (CPU CT). It is undeniably a result of the epistemic violence brought about by colonialism where the indigenous ways of knowing and ways of being were devalued and named as wrong, backwards, uncivilized and irrational. Hence, I think, this is one of the lenses that is needed to be acknowledged and used in the formation of Baptist pastors and theologians—one that is liberating and empowering the Bisaya ⁴ identities.

The Beginnings of the CPBC Theological Education and Missional Formation

In the formative years of the Baptist mission, Baptist missionaries relied mostly on the local people in their works of Bible and tracts translation and dissemination, learning the language, access to communities, as well as preparing the communities before their entry. Education work was seen as an essential need in evangelization. In August 1901, a school for boys was opened in Bacolod where they were taught subjects of general information, hymns, prayers and English Bible. Meanwhile, it was in 1904 that Anna V. Johnson began training some Filipina women and instructed them in the fundamental principles of the Gospel. Her initiative became the women's Bible Missionary Training School in Iloilo which was later named as Baptist Missionary Training School (BMTS). A year after, on June 1, 1905, a school for men was opened called the Jaro Industrial School which has eventually offered formal theological education for Hiligaynon men. Bunda notes that women enlisted in BMTS took on the challenge of going to villages and do house to house visitation and personal work. (see Bunda 1999: 109)

These theological institutions went through several changes. In 1912, the Bible school for men was closed, and was then remodeled as a Special Bible Course in 1922 that became the College of Theology in 1927. However, the BMTS has been much more consistent than the Bible school for men. They even had more students attending!

The BMTS was born through the determination of the peasant Hiligaynon women to become effective in sharing the gospel. They approached Anna Johnson, a Swedish Baptist missionary for women's education to organize a Bible study program. There were at first 50 women from 17 different towns and barrios who presented themselves to be willing to go through the missional formation (Beaver 1988: 100) and the number of women who enlisted to be trained in the BMTS grew. They would gather at the house of Anna Johnson and were sent by pairs into the villages to do house-to-house visitation and would return home after several days and sometimes a week. By 1911, all districts of Panay and Negros Islands had been visited by the women in their evangelistic work. The American Baptist Foreign Mission Society report in 1916 presents that the training of these women, 60 at the time, includes 6 months of wrestling with problems of theology, exegesis, church history, etc. in preparation for the hard, vigorous work (Beaver 1988: 199). Though many of them were still in their teens, they were commended by the Baptist missionaries saying that “they often put to shame the preachers and lay workers of the opposite sex by their activities and zeal and by the results of their work.” In 1919, 68 women—Bible women, kindergartners, school teachers and wives, helped in the mission fields and did a splendid service (Bunda 1999: 126f).

Seeing the great potential of the women and impressed by their zealousness, the missionaries requested to send in women missionaries. Briggs requested such in his letter to his Board saying,

The Filipino women are full of promise, and need to be organized and trained for active work. No other mission field has a more promising lot of Bible women and women evangelists than are to be found here. And the policy of the board so far in sending single missionaries here makes the sending of lady missionaries more urgent, inasmuch as there is no force of Missionary wives here to do this needed work. This policy of the committee in sending so many single men here, or in sending men here leaving their wives behind, is very unwise and the work is suffering from it. (Bunda 1999: 129)

In 1920 when Dorothy Dowell succeeded Anna V. Johnson as Director of the BMTS, the academic level was raised from intermediate to college level. By 1921 and 1922, the BMTS was “crowded to the corners with students” but there is very little evidence that the Bible School for men was making much progress (Beaver 1988: 106). In 1938, the BMTS was merged with the College of Theology at Central Philippine College, however, BMTS left an entity known as the Women's Division of the School of Theology.

After the second world war, the April 1950 class had four girls and one boy in the graduating class making them the first group of graduates since 1947. It was also during this time since the pre-war period that the Panayan Bible was used for their studies. In 1960, one of the problems was highlighted in the report on theological education:

The Convention needs all the graduates and more, but the difficulty lies in raising the money to support them and their families. This is truer of the men than the women graduates, for obvious reasons. […] In November, an alumni association of the College of Theology was formed. It is composed of men and women, taking the place of the original one composed only of women. This may be the first step toward the solution of several problems: recruitment, support of the school, and higher standard of salary and service. There is a need in the College (of Theology) for more Filipino staff and larger percentage of men. (Beaver 1988: 113 emphasis mine)

These words seem to imply that there is a problem with the presence of majority of women in the College of Theology, and that it is seen as weakness. Through BMTS, the theological education and missional formation have already been established with its own structures and cultures. This merge has brought change that needed to compromise in order for the merge to be successful, and more of this compromise came from the side of the women.

In Beaver's chapter on “The Task of Theological Education” (1988: 100), it was as early as 1902 and 1903 that the American missionaries felt the need for training Filipinos in the disciplines of Bible training in a school for preachers. At the same time, some Filipinos had already begun coming to the American missionaries offering their services to the mission. Yet no school of prophets took form until Jaro Industrial School was founded in 1905. It was, however, at first designed exclusively for men. Munger writes in his report in 1906 that after he took charge of the Bible School, there were also some Bible women who attended, but were not enrolled as regular students. The establishment of a permanent Bible School, Jaro Industrial School was reported in 1906, while the establishment of the BMTS in 1905 was reported only in 1908. This delay of recognizing of the women's work implies that it is of lesser relevance to that of the male missionaries’ work. At the same time, the work and theological education and missional formation of the BMTS seem to be of lesser quality and lesser authority than that of the education for men. Beaver did not even count BMTS as a school of prophets. But seeing the presence and work of the women in the formative years of the Baptist mission, the women played a crucial role in reaching out to communities and barrios despite the realities of threats and harassment from the Roman Catholic church and the revolutionary movement. I say that it was the “nut-brown maidens in their cheap patadyongs, their colorful kerchiefs confining their jet-black hair, [carrying] their tracts and Bibles carefully wrapped in white cotton handkerchiefs” ⁵ who at their arrival, first gathered and taught the children literacy through the Bible, that has enabled the gospel and her messenger to reach even the mountains of Panay without being killed.

My Personal Experience of CPBC's Theological Education and Missional Formation

Being a Baptist and having completed my basic education, undergraduate and Master of Divinity program in universities founded by the American Baptist missions—Filamer Christian University in Capiz, and Central Philippine University in Iloilo—I can say that I am a product of the American Baptist mission. These two perspectives, indigenous and woman's, were neither acknowledged nor highlighted during my theological education at the College of Theology at least in my experience.

If we begin counting the years of theological education and missional formation from the establishment of the BMTS, CPU CT would now be 119 years. 119 years and the CPBC theological education and missional formation has and is still wrestling with problems of theology, exegesis, church history, etc. in preparation for the hard, vigorous work. But instead of 6 months, it has now become 5 years. Instead of the women attaining theological education and being called Bible women afterwards, they are now pastors and can be ordained. In terms of teaching force, 33% of the faculty are women and most of them work in the Department of Religion and Ethics. And this minority of women in the teaching force does not seem to pose a problem. The Department of Religion and Ethics resides at the Anna V. Johnson Memorial Hall which has sheltered generations of women studying theology. Sadly, women theology students’ dormitory was closed in 2016 because of the lack of funds for renovation.

The education and formation in CPU CT have a communal learning setting where the students live, learn, eat and play together in the university grounds with students of other disciplines. Meanwhile, some of the professors and lecturers also live on the university grounds which also make them accessible to the students for support. This setup has been very helpful for students since the Hiligaynons have community-oriented values. For the students coming from their own families, barrios and congregations which are closely knit, a close learning community in the seminary provides them support and greater chances of adjusting and succeeding in their studies.

Changes that COVID-19 Pandemic has Brought About

The Philippines, though separated by bodies of water, was also hard hit by the pandemic and the spread of the virus has also been fast. Since the Philippines was not economically strong, we did not have efficient mass testing machinery, adequate medical supply or medical professionals since most of the top nurses prefer working abroad to earn better for their families. The lockdowns that were imposed by the government have vividly shown the huge disparity between the poor and the rich. The poor did not have access to “work-at-home” options, clean water for regular washing of hands, hand sanitizers and regular change of face masks and face shields. More than that, the Duterte government has militarized pandemic response. The long lockdowns and community quarantines led to economic and livelihood crises.

The pandemic has sharpened privilege and injustice that cuts across the society. This has also been visible in CPU CT. In my personal conversations with a Master of Divinity student and a faculty member in charge of the spiritual formation and field work, they have narrated their experiences and the challenges that they as a learning community faced.

The main challenge in the pandemic was the mental health issues that are caused by isolation and social distancing. Since the learning mode of the CPU CT is very communal where students and teachers share and engage with one another in almost every aspect of their university life, losing the physical connection between the students, faculty and staff took a toll on every member of the CPU CT community. With online classes, the students did not have the same opportunity as before to sit on the grounds of the university and simply discuss and process what has taken place in their classroom discussions. The continued reflection and critical thinking outside the formal structures of the classroom is an important aspect in the learning process. This might even be more productive because of its informal setting, meaning the students are freer to express their thoughts. In the case of the international students of the CPU CT, some chose not to fly back to their home countries due to financial issues. Some continued to live in the dormitories without their peers during the lockdown. With this, it was very helpful that some faculty members residing in the university grounds somehow adopted them to their families.

Another very obvious challenge was the poor internet service in the country. During lockdown where everybody stayed at home, everybody was forced to turn to online work and online classes. This has greatly affected the quality of discussions during classes in CPU CT. Moreover, the instant shift to use of online platforms and online classrooms was not just stressful for the teachers but also for the students. Being a tropical country, the Philippines get a lot of rain and typhoons and these disturb internet connection. Even with rain, one may get disconnected or even not get connected at all. Some students who live far from the cities, needed to climb trees or roofs just to get good satellite connection to be able to join their classes, access materials needed or submit their work.

Also, the students enrolled at the CPU CT are not all coming from middle-class families. Most of them come from small and far-flung barrios whose families live through farming or side jobs. One faculty member says that 90% of the students had to use their smartphones to join the online classes as they do not own or have access to laptops and computers. To make things worse, they have to work and write their requirements on their smartphones, which is not a very comfortable thing to do. With this added financial burden, some just decided to stop their studies altogether and look for jobs to help their families financially.

Another challenge that arose was the limited opportunities of field and practical exposure. As was part of the tradition of the CPU CT, students are sent to local congregations for exposure to pastoral work as well as practical training. They can be assigned to local churches within the island of Panay. The local churches receiving the students have the responsibility of providing them with food during their stay as well as travel and financial support as the church is able. This financial support out of the gratitude of the local church to the students, could be as small as 8–10 euros per week, could help a lot in the student's university life. But this support was also gone during the pandemic. On this matter, CPU CT asked the local churches nearest to where the students live to receive them and provide them the opportunity for practical exposure and training. Yet, this was also a difficulty since the local churches were also not able to meet during lockdowns and most of them also did not have the capacity to do online worship services.

Nonetheless, the pandemic has some positive effects in the areas of connection, access, finances and resiliency.

One advantage that a student pointed out was the gift of time, especially time to ligid. ⁶ This implies that, since movement is restricted, there is more time to think and reflect. The downside, however, she added, is that you think alone, as referred above. A faculty who is also serving as a pastor in a local church in Pavia, Iloilo said that he became more present and visible to his neighbors and the church members. The pandemic has made people to care more for their neighbors, whether they have food or are in need of medicine or of any assistance. During the pandemic, when they were still in full online classes, the CPU CT seeing the need, especially of the poor students that they and their families were struggling financially, has provided financial subsidies which the students could use to buy credit for their internet connections.

Another good thing that came out of the terrible pandemic was the action from the government to fix and improve infrastructures to provide better internet connection to the population. This development, however, was somehow still limited to the cities and towns near the cities, meanwhile the small barrios in the mountain areas still have the same issue of poor internet connection. But to those who had better access, they were able to enjoy the broad and now open online sources. MDiv students who were also working as pastors were able to save time, energy and money from traveling to the university during classes.

Way Forward (or Sideward)

Seeing the changes and development in the course of history for the CPU CT, both the student and faculty members that I have had conversations with, being products of the theological institution, were grateful for the education and formation that they have received. Being still part of the system today, both shared the need for a curriculum that is relevant to the realities of the society and situation of the people in the local churches as well as in the communities, and one that is dynamic, critical, affirming and empowering.

Both are hoping for a theological education and missional formation that speaks of and to the realities on the ground, opening up spaces to affirm and articulate the cultures, perspectives and spiritualities of the lands and her peoples.

In my engagement with the texts and people that told their stories regarding the theological education and missional formation of the CPU CT, I have made the following reflections.

The wisdom of ligid: an articulation of a Hiligaynon theology of being

As mentioned above, ligid was seen as one of the favorable effects that were brought in by the pandemic. Ligid is a Hiligaynon word that literally means to roll around, but there is an idea of being behind this intention. In this concept, I remember in my childhood, growing up in the farm in the Philippines where it is always hot, I would observe pigs, carabaos and dogs intentionally rolling their bodies around a puddle and cover their bodies with mud to cool themselves down. Sometimes they would even just lie on the puddle and you can see relief in their faces. They then would not move from that spot. This trait has been interpreted as demeaning especially by the Spanish conquistadores after seeing the local people taking an afternoon nap. Tamad or lazy has been one of the demeaning traits that have been regarded to the peoples of the islands by the Spanish conquistadores. Jose Rizal wrote in his essay “The Indolence of the Filipino,” a refute against such claim taking into account the hot climate of the country and situation of the colonized peoples who work under force and compulsion. ⁷ Following the lines of subversion, ligid could be seen as an objection against the culture of hustle and bustle imposed by the values of capitalism. More than ligid as being brought about by the hot climate or by a sense of subversion, ligid is also a spiritual moment. Ligid as a spiritual moment is a moment of introspection, of looking within and reflecting. It is a chance to be present with oneself, listen to the wind, feel the earth and connect to one’s ancestors and God. At the same time, it is also an act of remembering and revaluing the cultures and values that make up the identities of a people long diminished by hegemonial colonial thinking.

This is an example of using an alternative lens in articulating the Hiligaynon ways of doing and ways of being. The Hiligaynon culture, language and spirituality need to be amplified to inspire the younger generation, the future leaders of the church and communities, that they may find pride in their identities and provide safe space for broader attempts of articulation. Both the student and faculty member also shared the same sentiment: there is a need for a continuing labor to articulate Hiligaynon theologies, theologies that are liberative to the Hiligaynon identities, Panaynon landscape and spirituality.

Need for a Conscious and Intentional Recognition of the Space and Being of Women

Another perspective that has been downgraded and diminished in the process of doing theology other than the indigenous Hiligaynon perspective is the perspective of the women. Liza Lamis (1999: 54) found that the ministerial formation of CPBC which includes seminary and Bible school trainings, and continuing theological education programs, especially through CPBC's ministerial body, does not have a perspective on women.

In the stories of the conception, labor and birth of the theological education and missional formation in CPBC, women, both women Baptist missionaries and Hiligaynon women, played vital and leading roles. Their contributions may have been unrecognized by the men Baptist missionaries but they were enduring and sincere in their mission work. Though their training in the BMTS was not recognized as formal theological education that has kept them from receiving the title and honor as pastors, they still went their way and continued to preach and teach the gospel to communities as far as their feet can take them. They would enter communities, teach literacy to the children through the Bible and organize the adults in Bible studies and worship services. When the community is ready, the male pastor will come in. At first glance, one could say that this is unjust that the women, after their hard work of organizing the community, were simply swept aside for the men to step in. But on the other side, the women played an important role, they were there, present in the conception, gestation, labor, until delivery of a community with a newly found hope in their faith. The men then needed to do their job of nurturing, that the newly born community of faith may grow. This for me is what women empowerment look like, women doing their role, whatever they can give and be for the community and receive support from their partners in the ministry, the men. Women recognized as capable and vital partners in the work, not sexualized, objectified, discriminated but women recognized as they are and as bearers of the image of God. More so, this recognition also needs to give space to the different identities of the women, even within the Hiligaynon-speaking communities.

Conclusion

In this paper, I have provided a glimpse of the theological education and missional formation in the CPBC. First, I have highlighted alternative readings of the history of the theological education and missional formation in the CPBC, specifically the CPU CT—Hiligaynon and woman reading. This reading of the history affirms and highlights the indigenous Hiligaynon and women's historical agency, as both are most often taken for granted and seen as passive, silent and dumb in the hegemonial historiographies. A liberative approach in the reading of history which is affirming and empowering is important in articulating and reshaping our identities.

In a discussion with a student and faculty member of the CPU CT, challenges and positive effects of the pandemic were identified which were the bases of my reflections on a theological education and missional formation that is emancipating for the Hiligayon Baptists and women. This pandemic has left behind pain, death, depression and sharpened inequalities, but it has also opened up opportunities to reflect as human beings and how we are interconnected and interdependent not just with our fellow human beings but also with the whole created beings, the whole cosmos.