Bethany Theological Seminary has received a $20,000 grant from the
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion for
assessment and refinement of its Ministry Formation program. Entitled
“Exploring Incarnational Ministry Formation through Contextual
Pedagogy,” the project will help Bethany develop the best educational
strategies to encourage personal, professional, and spiritual growth in
both current and future ministerial leadership. The project’s time frame
extends from the fall of 2012 to the spring of 2014.
For Bethany students earning a master of divinity degree, Ministry
Formation is at the center of their course of study, incorporating
traditional classes, spiritual formation groups, field placements, and
group reflection and collaboration. As enrollment of distance-learning
students has continued to grow since the establishment of the
Connections program in 2003, alternate course formats have been
incorporated, combining online sessions with onsite classes and
discussion.
Grant writer Tara Hornbacker, professor of Ministry Formation, says,
“We are constantly improving the ways in which we lead the Ministry
Formation process at Bethany. Ministry Formation is the most natural
place to expand learning beyond the classroom because our area is the
place where classroom and context integrate in the most intentional
manner.”
One question to be addressed by the project is how the online versus
the onsite pedagogical approaches used in Ministry Formation are
preparing students for ministry in the 21st century. Hornbacker notes
that Bethany’s experience in online education puts the seminary in a
good position to examine how the context of Ministry Formation
preparation impacts the practice of ministry, specifically in
contemporary settings.
A second question is how to define and shape Ministry Formation in
light of the seminary’s current mission statement: “To equip spiritual
and intellectual leaders with an Incarnational education for
ministering, proclaiming, and living out God's shalom and Christ's
peace.” As the grant proposal asks, “What signifies a well-formed
ministering person embodying shalom-centered leadership?”
A primary objective in addressing these questions will be to ask
those in leadership at current and prospective student placement sites
to describe the qualities desired in those who minister. “This grant
allows us to travel, observe, and ask questions of a variety of ministry
settings so that the settings themselves have influence on the
pedagogical strategies and shape of Ministry Formation for theological
education,” explains Hornbacker.
The data gathered from site visits will be used to develop models for
effective ministry in today’s contexts. It may also inform the work
toward the additional project goals: crafting a definition of Ministry
Formation that reflects the language of Bethany’s current mission
statement and determining the best methods for teaching Ministry
Formation in the distance-learning setting.
Led by Hornbacker, the project team includes Dan Poole, coordinator
for Ministry Formation; Amy Ritchie, director of student development;
and Enten Eller, director of electronic communication. According to
Poole, the team has begun by examining how its work could set a new
course for the program, specifically the distance-learning component; by
addressing the logistics for collecting data from ministry sites; and
by strengthening the team’s own working relationships. “We’ve given
deeper expression to our hopes for how this process will benefit not
only the Ministry Formation program but the seminary as a whole.” The
next steps will be to invite participation from selected sites and to
arrange for visits.
Ultimately the team will present methods and conclusions to the
Association of Theological Field Educators. “Bethany has been in the
forefront of Ministry Formation in an online format, and other
theological field educators look to our experience to guide their
process. They are interested in how we involve the teaching settings in
Ministry Formation as a context for learning and the appropriate use of
technology to reflect upon the practice of ministry and spiritual
formation for leadership,” says Hornbacker.
The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
is located on the Wabash College campus in Crawfordsville, Ind. It
offers a variety of programs and resources for teachers of theology and
religion in higher education, all of which are funded by Lilly Endowment
Inc.
-- Jenny Williams is director of communications and alumni/ae relations for Bethany Seminary.
Source:8/9/2012 Newsline
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