It was once seen as the best way to prepare people for ministry, but is now frequently acknowledged to be almost irrelevant to that aim. University theology today is just not intended for that purpose. A senior academic theologian in a university department recently told me that if people wanted training for ministry they should look for it outside the universities, in institutions that aim to provide just that. This is a big change, and churches have not always caught up with the situation. For instance, some Anglican proposals for improving the training of ministers recently urged that there should be more academic theology insisted on for ordinands.