MIN 501. Introduction to Chaplaincy and Institutional Ministries. (2 Credits)
In a pluralistic culture that esteems individuality and spirituality, the profession of chaplaincy is rapidly expanding. This course assists participants to explore a wide range of chaplaincy possibilities – from the established military option to institutional roles (hospital, hospice and prison) to corporate, law enforcement, National Park, and university. This is an opportunity to consider one’s calling as a Gospel representative – endorsed by a faith community – to minister spirituality in professional public service.
MIN 511. Clinical Pastoral Education Practicum. (3 Credits)
Clinical Pastoral Education Practicum, i.e., CPE practicum, is a practice-based learning experience that brings students into supervised encounters with persons in clinical settings. It provides an in-depth pastoral experience with individual and group supervision by chaplains for the Associate’s certification in CPE.
MIN 512. Defending Jesus: 10 day Intensive in Israel. (4 Credits)
This course invites students into a detailed study of the life of Jesus as a key to defending and commending the Christian faith to a skeptical world. More than a study of the ‘historical Jesus’, the unit critically examines the life, teaching, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus as a comprehensive answer both to contemporary criticisms of Christianity and to the contemporary longings of a secular world. The bulk of the course is experienced onsite in Israel over 10 days, where students will be able to combine historical and archaeological rigor with the theological and cultural imagination necessary for commending Jesus Christ today.
MIN 547. Preaching. (2 Credits)
This course lays the biblical and theological foundations for preaching and develops preaching skills with an emphasis on faithfulness, contextualization and mission, clarity and structural soundness, and spiritual power. The theological, conceptual, and practical role of media, drama, the arts, metaphor, and symbol will also be explored.
MIN 547L. Preaching Lab. (0 Credits)
Promotes personal and professional growth through weekly professor and student interaction on topics related to Preaching. Graded pass/fail. Concurrent registration with MIN 547.
MIN 558. Personal Leadership and Development in Ministry. (4 Credits)
Explores dimensions of personal leadership development and competencies. Overviews Biblical foundations and spiritual disciplines for effective and God centered leadership. Uses various personality, temperament and assessment tools and examines developmental perspectives on leadership over the lifespan. Can be substituted with EVAN 558.
MIN 559. Organizational and Change Leadership. (4 Credits)
Explores the processes, stages, and leadership capacities and skills for leading change in organizations. Examines biblical and theological perspectives on leadership, organizations and change. Introduces principles of social entrepreneurship. Equips students for leading churches and organizations toward becoming missional and evangelistic. Cross-listed with EVAN 559.
MIN 559L. Organizational and Change Leadership Lab. (0 Credits)
Promotes personal and professional growth through weekly professor and students interaction on topics related to Organizational and Change Leadership. Graded pass/fail. Cross-listed with EVAN 559L.
MIN 561. Congregational Leadership: Worship, Discipleship, and Care. (4 Credits)
In various ways, congregational culture affects the shaping of the identity, mission and formation of all local churches. In this course, we will seek to define, exegete, and evaluate congregational culture in order to identify helpful leadership approaches for worship, discipleship, and pastoral care that can support congregational formation and mission.
MIN 561L. Congregational Leadership: Worship, Discipleship, and Care Lab. (0 Credits)
Promotes personal and professional growth through weekly professor and student interaction on topics related to Congregational Leadership. Graded pass/fail. Concurrent registration with MIN 561.
MIN 692. Comprehensive Exam. (0 Credits)
Prerequisite: submission of Candidacy form. Fee $75. Graded pass/fail.
MIN 701. Spiritual Direction and Care for the Soul. (4 Credits)
This laboratory course in spiritual formation explores the relational, spiritual and missional practices of the Christian spiritual life (e.g., corporate worship, spiritual friendship, spiritual direction, small group accountability, hospitality, evangelism, compassion, social justice, creation-care). Students will study, practice, and theologically reflect on these practices.
MIN 702. Public Christianity for a Post-Christian World. (4 Credits)
This course examines the context and content of Christian mission in the “pre-Christian world,” from Jewish missionaries of the Second Temple period to the birth of Christendom following the reign of Emperor Constantine, in order learn lessons for the contemporary task of making Christ public amidst the multiple challenges of our emerging post-Christian world.
MIN 703. Personal and Ministerial Formation 1 – The Importance of Soul Care. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 704. Personal and Ministerial Formation 2 – The Heart of Christian Spirituality. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Prerequisite: MIN 703. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 705. Personal and Ministerial Formation 3 – Self-Awareness and the True Self. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Prerequisite: MIN 704. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 706. Personal and Ministerial Formation 4 – The Spiritual Journey. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Prerequisite: MIN 705. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 707. Personal and Ministerial Formation 5 – Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Prerequisite: MIN 706. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 708. Personal and Ministerial Formation 6 – Suffering and Spiritual Formation. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Prerequisite: MIN 707. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 709. Personal and Ministerial Formation 7 – Rule of Life. (0 Credits)
This course will give students who are ministry leaders the space and resources to receive soul care and cultivate their own spiritual formation for a deeply-connected life with God. In so doing, students will reorient their ways of being and leading in order to sustain and enliven their work in ministry. Prerequisite: MIN 708. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 711. Formation and Soul Care. (4 Credits)
This course centers on individual spiritual formation and soul care in ministry, focusing in-depth on personal spiritual growth and how to assist others in the process. Students will engage with ministry models of spiritual formation and discipleship, examine historic Christian spiritual practices, evaluate the types of leadership and relationships which cultivate personal spiritual formation, and look at practices of spiritual direction which will be understood primarily as companioning Christians and helping them adopt patterns of Christian spiritual practices. Special topics in spiritual formation related to contemporary society and varying ministry contexts and cultures will also be considered.
MIN 712. Defending Jesus: 10 day Intensive in Israel. (4 Credits)
This course invites students into a detailed study of the life of Jesus as a key to defending and commending the Christian faith to a skeptical world. More than a study of the ‘historical Jesus’, the unit critically examines the life, teaching, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus as a comprehensive answer both to contemporary criticisms of Christianity and to the contemporary longings of a secular world. The bulk of the course is experienced onsite in Israel over 10 days, where students will be able to combine historical and archaeological rigor with the theological and cultural imagination necessary for commending Jesus Christ today.
MIN 811. Contemporary Issues in the Church. (4 Credits)
This course trains the student to exegete the broad culture and to respond to prevailing cultural trends that impact the church. Issues such as race, gender, and global stewardship are common contemporary issues that the church faces. Deeper trends such as individualism, collectivism, and widening cultural and political divides are also issues to be explored. A successful student will be able to understand, strategize, teach, and lead in our cultural milieu, both inside and outside of the church.
MIN 812. Gender, Sexuality, and Spirituality. (4 Credits)
Spirituality, and its manifestation in the spiritual formation of individuals and communities, is most basically about relatedness to Christ and growth toward Christlikeness. Human sexuality has become one of the most, if not the most, divisive construct in the Evangelical Church. The terms sex, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender identity, LGBTQ+, and many more often evoke polarizing postures among Christians as we seek to understand their meaning and the implications of their meaning for people’s lives, our theologies, and our ministry practices. Culture wars intensify these postures within the church and between the church and society.
MIN 813. Advanced Preaching and Teaching. (4 Credits)
This course is an advanced study in the process of moving from the exegeted text to the message with a focus on creating expository sermons that effectively bridge to contemporary audiences. Building on foundational skills, this course will help students grow in their ability to organize exegetically sound sermons, to communicate clearly, and to engage diverse audiences.
MIN 821. Theology and History of Spiritual Formation. (4 Credits)
This course traces some of the dominant themes of Christian spiritual formation. Through biblical, theological, and historical study we will examine how various individuals and movements have experienced and sought to nurture their relationship with the Triune God.
MIN 822. Strategies for Spiritual Formation in Community. (4 Credits)
The course intends to cast a comprehensive vision for corporate spiritual formation for the local church and other spiritual communities, a vision which takes seriously the soul, the mission of the church, and depth of care for people. This course will additionally look at the issues of suffering in spiritual formation and the care of troubled and difficult people in organizations and congregations.
MIN 832. Women, the Bible, and the Church. (4 Credits)
This course explores the biblical, theological, historical, and cultural perspectives of the role of women in the Church. It will examine the socio-cultural context of the bible. It will also consider how the biblical texts concerning women have been interpreted and defined the place of women in the Church and society at large. This course will examine the understanding and application of the Christian notion of womanhood, women in Christian leadership, and the impact of feminism and feminist scholarship on biblical interpretation and ministry.
MIN 851. Research Methods. (2 Credits)
This course is necessary for successfully conducting the research/project in the D.Min. program. The student moves from defining the problem to identifying research question(s) to creating a qualitative research methodology suitable for the particular research/project that the student intends to undertake. Prerequisite: Requires Program Director approval.
MIN 894. Special Topics in Ministry. (2 to 4 Credits)
In-depth study of selected topics growing out of special concerns of professors and students.
MIN 895. Guided Research or Study. (4 Credits)
A subject or topic of interest to a DMin student is studied or researched by the student under the guidance of a faculty member or subject matter expert who is approved by the DMin Program Director.
MIN 899. Doctoral Project Continuation - Full Time. (0 Credits)
Student continues to work on MIN 992 Doctoral Project on a full time basis during the semester. This course is for Pass/Fail and is not graded. Prerequisite: MIN 992. Additional course fee required: $50.
MIN 992. Doctoral Project. (6 Credits)
The doctoral project is the capstone of the D.Min. program. It is an opportunity for students to connect knowledge gained from their coursework with the concrete realities of their ministries: (1) identifying a challenge they face in ministry and situating that challenge in their context, (2) reflecting theologically on that challenge, (3) and designing a new ministry initiative to address that challenge which must then be implemented and assessed. Prerequisite: MIN 851.