DESCRIPTION:

This course focuses on the person of the pastor as a central organizing concept. We are created by God in our particularity as well as our common humanity, and the course will emphasize the importance of understanding both, and the implications of those understandings for ministry--for how one does ministry, for living as a pastor, for serving in a specific church and denominational context. The second focus of the course is on the theological implications of these understandings, as applied to the practice of ministry. Students will be asked to participate in the process of theological reflection around each of the topics of the course.

The course is designed to encourage an integration of the personal, experiential, theological, and spiritual for the practice of ministry.

The class will meet weekly for three hours. Class will be a combination of lecture/discussion and individual and small group exercises.

Hansen, David P. The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers. 1994.

Oswald, Roy. Clergy Self-Care: Finding a Balance for Effective Ministry. Alban Institute, 1991.

Rutter, Peter. Sex in the Forbidden Zone. Fawcett, 1991.

Westerhoff, John. Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Teaching and Preaching. 1994.

Collected Readings (available in bookstore).

Friedman, Edwin. Generation to Generation. Guilford Press, 1985.

Hart, Archibald. Coping With Depression in Ministry and Other Helping Professions. Word Books, 1984.

Petersen, Eugene. Under the Unpredictable Plant.

Attendance and participation are required; two papers which apply course topics with their theological implications to a specific ministry issue; occasional in-class projects.

At least one year of ministry-related experience; at least one year of seminary. Highly recommended for senior year students.

Meets M. Div. core requirement in Pastoral Ministry and Theology (MIN 6).

None.