Abstract
This article is about an idea: the need to increase the number of theologically trained black clergy in the United States. It is also inextricably an autobiographical statement simply because, in pursuit of the idea, I have been drawn to the center of much of the contemporary ferment in theological education concerning the preparation of blacks for Christian ministry. The Fund for Theological Education, Inc., which I serve, has been and continues to be a very prestigious platform for a freelance critic, consultant, innovator and prodder in theological education and church circles. Thus the idea, the person and platform merge, and it is the story of a dozen hard years that I wish to record.