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DISCIPLES SEMINARY FOUNDATION - Supporting the formation of emerging theological leaders
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DSF’s New Certificate “Pastoral Leadership in a Divided World”
The DSF Certificate Task Force held their first meeting on April 29, 2024. We immediately discovered that it was a monumental task we had set for ourselves – creating a multi-lingual, multi-cultural certificate in pastoral leadership that would reflect the values of DSF and engage the realities of the world we see around us, a certificate affordable for students and also financially solvent for DSF.
I would describe our beginnings over a year ago as hesitant, somewhat tentative. We had researched all current ministry certificates offered by Disciples and Disciples-related seminaries and the six DOC regions formally related to DSF. We became clear that our certificate would not be patterned closely to them. Rather, DSF values and world realities were calling us to create something new that filled the existing needs of the partners we serve. In the end, a focus on Korean-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and English-speaking DOC congregations was named.
When a fledgling curricular outline was completed, Christy Newton sent it out to approximately 20 Disciples leaders from Obra Hispana, Convenciones in our partner Regions, NAPAD, National Convocation, and other Regional and General Ministries. We were elated to hear back from most all of them! In great detail, those contacted expressed great enthusiasm for the project and also suggested changes in language, content, and form of the course of study. We paid close attention, incorporating their suggestions into our work.
From there, the curriculum has found purchase, descriptions of the 10 courses have expanded, and potential faculty and program mentors are being gathered. Excitement builds. Who might consider being a student? A lay person who wants to contribute more to the local congregation or is in a process of vocational discernment, a person seeking commissioning in a DOC Region, or a pastor who needs CEU’s. We hope that students who are entering theological education for the first time will have their interests and imaginations piqued and consider seminary education. Many churches in DSF Regions are facing a crisis in that pastors are soon to retire, and there is no one preparing to replace them.
We will hold a pilot course in October 2025 and begin the one-year Certificate in January 2026. We are hopeful that congregations and regions will identify young adults with leadership potential and help support them through the Certificate process, giving them opportunities to share what they are learning. It will be online, asynchronous for three weeks, with group conversation on the fourth week.
Rev. Dr. Mary Donovan Turner
Carl Patton Professor of Preaching and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Emerita
Pacific School of Religion
DRAFT Program Curriculum
I. Faith, Identity, Community, and Calling (Aligned with Template for Ten Personal Qualifications)
In this introductory course, we will explore why you have enrolled in this program. What brings you here at this point in time? This course will provide a time of vocational discernment and exploration of discipleship and values. How do you understand faith? What does it mean to feel called to ministry? Does your calling feel more individual or communal, and what might be the difference? What questions and concerns do you bring with you?
II. Leadership Development: Expressing an Inclusive, Anti-Oppressive Vision for the Church and How to Make it Happen (Aligned with Competency Areas 4, 6, 9)
What makes a good leader? We will explore the biases and oppressive structures that severely inhibit open, inclusive, collaborative leadership and what it looks like to embody liberative leadership in the church that counters oppression in its many guises. Possible topics include racism, homophobia, white supremacist structures, immigration, violence, poverty, sexism, disability awareness. What are effective ways congregations can partner with faith-based community organizations to make a difference locally and globally?
III. Theologically-Informed Pastoral Leadership (Aligned with Competency Area 14)
How do we talk about God? How have understandings of God developed over time, and how do they influence and guide the ways we lead in churches? Many diverse perspectives will be introduced and explored, including feminist, ecological, womanist, postcolonial, minjung, and other varieties of liberation theologies. Emphasis will be placed on helping students articulate their own theological understandings and how to put them into practice.
IV. Biblically-Informed Pastoral Leadership: Old Testament (Aligned with Competency Area 1)
In this introduction to the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible, we will explore what is in it (Torah, Prophets, Writings), and what is not. Focusing on Old Testament “big words,” such as Salvation, Redemption, Justice, Righteousness, etc. will help us learn ways to apply biblical teachings in practice. What are the prophetic invitations of the Old Testament? Students will develop skills to interpret biblical texts in dialogue between ancient contexts and the contexts in which they serve. This may include using the Bible for spiritual formation, preaching, or other community needs.
V. Biblically-Informed Pastoral Leadership: New Testament (Aligned with Competency Area 1)
In this introduction to the New Testament, we will explore what is in it (Gospels and Letters), and what is not. A close look at the canonical and non-canonical gospels and careful consideration of the Jesus in the Synoptics and in John, who crosses human-made boundaries with compassion and inclusion, will guide us in applying biblical teachings in practice. What is the good news? Students will develop skills to interpret biblical texts in dialogue between ancient contexts and the contexts in which they serve. This may include using the Bible for spiritual formation, preaching, or other community needs.
VI. God and the History of God’s People (Aligned with Competency Area 15)
This introduction to church history gives us a view of where we have been and sheds light on directions we may be going. This will be a deeply contextualized look at the historical growth of the Church in the Americas (South, Central and North), in Korea, and the throughout the development of the United States. We will focus on the ways missionary movements, Manifest Destiny, migration, and colonization have influenced (and continue to influence?) the development of the Church. How does this history influence Christian education today?
VII. The Birth and Growth of the Disciples of Christ Movement – in the United States and Globally
(Aligned with Competency Areas 5, 15)
This course surveys the history, polity, theological beliefs, and ethos of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), from its historical beginnings to its contemporary manifestations, including the ministries of NAPAD, Obra Hispana, and National Convocation. Paying particular attention to the cultural context in which it emerged, we will examine the church’s roots. And focusing on the ongoing relationship between church and culture, we will examine how the church continues to develop and respond to social, ethical, and theological needs today.
VIII. The Church at Work: Mission, Stewardship, and Hospitality (Aligned with Competency Areas 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 13)
How do we live out the mission of the church? What issues do we take a stand on and how do they define our ministries? How do we manage conflict? How do we manage money and resources? This course will explore the church’s work of hospitality and inclusion, stewardship and generosity, and how to lead with integrity and innovation. It will also address how we can maintain the church’s mission when there are disagreements and diversities of opinions.
IX. The Church at Work: Worship, Preaching, and Pastoral Care (Aligned with Competency Areas 3, 10, 11, 16)
How do we share the good news within our communities? This course will address ways we give voice to the gospel within our churches and wider communities, focusing on preaching and worship in local contexts (rural, urban, etc.), teaching, and providing care to individuals and families. Special attention will be given to storytelling, planning worship, and liturgical occasions (such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals) in cultural perspective.
X. The Pastoral Leader: Spirituality, Ethics, and Justice (Aligned with Competency Area 7, 12)
How do pastoral leaders spiritually sustain themselves and their congregations/ organizations to create the kinds of change they want to see in their communities? How do we maintain a passion for justice? This course will introduce spiritual practices that can both ground us and propel us. What direction will your ministry take from here? What values do you want to embody and carry forward? What values do you want to see your congregations/ organizations embody and carry forward? And how will you take care of yourself in the process?