Doctor of Ministry Pastoral Leadership in Spiritual Formation

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1 Doctor of Ministry Pastoral Leadership in Spiritual Formation Communities of faith are hungering for deeper and broader connections to God, and they need pastoral leaders who can model and foster these connections through the rich resources of the Christian spiritual traditions. For these reasons, PTS offers this new specialization in Pastoral Leadership in Spiritual Formation. In this specialization, we understand spiritual formation as the intentional activity of attending, discerning, and responding to the initiative of God in ways accountable to Christian communities, scriptures, and traditions. Students will retrieve, re-imagine, and critically re-appropriate Christian spiritual traditions and practices as resources for leading various communities, including congregations, that participate in the praxis of God in the world. The curriculum is designed for pastoral leaders who want to integrate critical reflection with spiritual practice through a holistic lens, honoring the rich complexity of human ways of knowing and relating to the divine. Students will participate in an ongoing conversation among experience, Christian spiritual traditions and diverse cultures which leads to reflective action. Although we do not offer training in spiritual direction, we will design learning experiences in cooperation with students so that they can meet their professional goals. Overview of Course Schedule The 32 semester hours of the DMin program in Pastoral Leadership in Spiritual Formation are distributed in 3 phases: Foundation Phase: 9 hours in Foundation Courses: 3 hrs Pastoral Leadership in Context 3 hrs The Biblical Message and the Praxis of God 3 hrs Constructive Theology of Ministry Specialization Phase: 16 hours in Specialization Seminars: 4 hrs Foundations for Spiritual Knowing and Acting 4 hrs Engaged Christian Leadership of Spiritual Practices 4 hrs Spiritual Leadership in Christian Ministry Contexts 4 hrs Elective Related to Project Project Phase: 7 hours in Proposal and Project Courses:.5 hr Project Development Seminar I 2.5 hrs Project Development Seminar II 2 hrs Project Proposal Course 2 hrs Project Course Most courses will be taught in January and June for two-week periods called DMin Fortnights. These fortnights will begin on Tuesday of the first week and continue through Wednesday or Thursday of the second week (depending upon the required contact hours of each course). On Friday of the second week the Project Development Seminar II will meet (see below). During DMin Fortnights students and faculty will gather for morning worship at 9:00 a.m. Classes will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with an hour and a half for lunch and appropriate breaks. Although the first DMin Fortnight for this specialization was June 22-July 3, 2009 at the PTS campus in Tulsa, applicants are still being accepted through March 15, 2010, allowing students to start in either January 2010 or June An adjusted schedule for students entering the program during this year can be found on the last page of this information packet.

2 2 The upcoming dates for DMin Fortnights are: January 4-15, 2010 June 21-July 2, 2010 January 3-13, 2011 June 20-July 1, 2011 Tuition and Financial Aid The tuition rate for all PTS students is $ per semester hour; all DMin students receive seminary tuition assistance of 34% which decreases their tuition to $ per semester hour. Service fees for DMin students are $ per semester. For students who complete the degree in 4 years (3 semesters per year) the approximate costs would include: Tuition for 32 hours (at $300 per hour) $10,400 1 Student fees for 12 semesters 1,200 Matriculation and graduation fees 150 TOTAL $11,750 Application Information Applications are available in the PTS Admissions Office or at the PTS Website. PLEASE NOTE: The final deadline for application to this specialization is March 15, Applicants may also submit materials by October 15, 2009 and, if admitted, begin coursework in the January 2010 Fortnight. 1 This figure does not include fees for continuation of Project Proposal and Project Courses or tuition increases that may be made in subsequent years.

3 3 Foundation Phase Courses 1. Pastoral Leadership in Context June 22-July 3, Instructor: Dr. Nancy C. Pittman, Associate Professor of the Practice of Ministry and DMin Director This course invites students to engage and critique leadership concepts and theories drawn from both Christian traditions and a variety of current disciplines and arenas. Students will also be given opportunities to reflect upon leadership issues within the context of their ministerial settings and in conversation with the material studied in class. Lectures, large and small group discussions of readings, and case studies are among the methods that will be used to achieve the outcomes of the course. 2. The Biblical Message and the Praxis of God January 4-15, 2010 Instructor: Dennis Smith, LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament Studies This course will explore Biblical paradigms that define a theological approach to the practice of ministry. The Biblical themes chosen for emphasis in the course may vary from year to year based on the interests and preferences of the professor. 3. Constructive Theology of Ministry June 20-July 1, 2011 Instructor: Joseph Bessler, Robert Travis Peake Associate Professor of Theology The foundational course in theology, required of all DMin students, is designed to clarify and deepen students theological perspectives as they begin their studies. The course prepares students for the final project by requiring students to situate the vital tasks, practices, and prayerlife of ministry within an explicit theological framework. Readings, in-class work, and assignments will encourage competence in understanding contemporary theological methods and skill in articulating a vision of the Christian faith for our time and context. Issues receiving special attention will include: the process of contextual description, clarity of one s own theological method, awareness of denominational perspective, and attention to the ethical implications of theology for the engagement of society and other religious traditions. 1 Students who have missed the 2009 opportunity to take this course will take it later in their program. The dates for all individual courses in this document are the DMin fortnight dates in which the courses will be taught. The actual days within the fortnight in which these courses will be taught will be announced later. Students should reserve the entire two-week period (excepting the weekends) for DMin work. Specific courses offered during these periods are subject to change.

4 4 Specialization Phase Courses: Pastoral Leadership in Spiritual Formation 1. Foundations for Spiritual Knowing and Acting January 3-13, 2011 Instructor: TBA A critical examination of Christian epistemology and spiritual theology as a foundation for the historical, contemporary, and emerging practices by which humanity attends to the Spirit through the presence and action of God. The course examines Christian spiritual exercises within the broader frame of spiritual theology and cognate disciplines. Students will develop and commit to a personal rule of life that will serve as a norm and guide for their spiritual practice during the Specialization and Project phases of the DMin program. 2. Engaged Christian Leadership of Spiritual Practices June 20-July 1, 2011 Instructor: Sandra Costen Kunz, Assistant Professor of Educational Ministries A critical examination of the development of Christian spiritual practices out of Jewish and other non-christian traditions. Students will study a global breadth of Christian and non-christian spiritual practices, including discernment, and the adaptation of non-christian spiritual practices for use in Christian ministry. Students will construct a cultural-theological analysis of the spiritual and other communal practices in a context where they offer leadership. Each student will lead a PLSF peer group in contemplative practices appropriate for this ministry context. 3. Spiritual Leadership in Christian Ministry Contexts January 2-13, 2012 Instructor: Marilyn (Mady) Fraser, Chaplain Emerita of PTS A critical examination and development of styles and modes of leadership for communal response to and participation in the praxis of God in the world. Building on the previous classes, students will identify a theme recurring in previous specialization coursework relevant to their D. Min. projects. In light of the ministry context analysis from Engaged Christian Leadership of Spiritual Practices, students will create a plan for guiding their ministry community through specific spiritual practices. 4. Elective Course Each student, in consultation with the DMin director and the coordinator of the Spiritual Formation track, will select or design one course that relates to her or his proposed project. This course may be chosen from among M.Div. course offerings at PTS (with additional academic work assigned) or other approved DMin courses. It may also consist of an independent course with an appropriate faculty member. 5. Non-Credit Coursework In addition to the courses listed here, students will be required to participate throughout the Specialization phase in an ongoing rule of life which they write for themselves in the first course. They will also be required to select and engage in a continuing relationship with a spiritual director/friend/companion. The fulfillment of these requirements will be transcripted as a series of non-credit, non-tuition courses. The fulfillment of the requirements will be monitored through self-reporting procedures.

5 5 Project Phase Courses In the Project phase, which includes 7 hours of the total program, DMin students begin working directly with a faculty adviser and reader on an original project that makes a contribution to the study and practice of ministry within their chosen specialization. These persons will be selected in consultation with each student and in light of her or his particular direction of the proposal. All project advisers and readers are Phillips Theological Seminary faculty members. The Project phase courses include: 1. Project Development Seminar I January 14, 2010 Instructor: Dr. Nancy C. Pittman This course will serve as an introduction to the art and craft of developing a DMin project, methods for research in ministry, and the process of writing a project. Students will participate in this course after completing the 2 nd Foundation Course. 2. Project Development Seminar II July 2, 2010 Instructor: Dr. Nancy C. Pittman This course will meet, on an ongoing basis, on the 2 nd Friday of every DMin Fortnight from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This course will be required for all students in the Specialization and Project Phases. Students must participate in a minimum of 5 sessions. The goal of the Project Development Seminar II is to facilitate peer learning as a tool for achieving clarity about students research and project interests. Regardless of their year or track in the program, students will meet in seminar format with the DMin director and one other faculty member to present versions of their proposal to one another, to participate in discussion of the proposals of other students, and to report progress toward completion of the project. Students will also be given opportunity to present materials related to their research interests, ministry settings, and Specialization Track concerns. These materials may take various forms, i.e., case studies, book reviews, sermons, exegetical papers, verbatims, etc. 3. Project Proposal Course This course will be arranged between student and adviser. A faculty reader will also be consulted as progress is made on the proposal. When a proposal has been accepted by adviser, reader, and DMin director, the student will be granted candidacy for the DMin degree. 4. Project Course Students enroll in this course after passing the Project Proposal Course which is also arranged between student and adviser. Again, the reader and DMin director will be consulted as needed.

6 6 Typical Schedule of Classes for DMin Students In Pastoral Leadership in Spiritual Formation (entering after June 2009) First Year: January Fortnight 2010 The Biblical Message and the Praxis of God (3 hrs) Project Development Seminar I (2 nd Thursday;.5 hr.) Second Year: June Fortnight 2010 Constructive Theology of Ministry (3 hrs) January Fortnight 2011 Foundations for Spiritual Knowing and Action (4 hrs) Project Development Seminar II #1 (2 nd Friday,.5 hr.) Third Year: June Fortnight 2011 Fall Semester nd specialization course (4 hrs) Project Development Seminar II #2 (2 nd Friday,.5 hr.) Spiritual Formation Elective (4 hrs; arranged) January Fortnight rd specialization course (4 hrs) Project Development Seminar II #3 (2 nd Friday,.5 hr) Spring Semester 2012 Project Proposal Course (2 hrs; arranged) Fourth Year: June Fortnight 2012 Fall Semester 2012 Pastoral Leadership in Context (3 hrs) Project Development Seminar II #4 (2 nd Friday,.5 hr) Project Course (2 hrs; arranged) January Fortnight 2013 Project Development Seminar II #5 (2 nd Friday,.5 hr) Spring Semester 2013 Project Course (continued; arranged) Oral Presentation May Graduation!!!