I. COURSE DESCRIPTION: A course designed to develop understanding of the Christian Ministry, the Calling to Church-Related Vocations, and practical skills in ministry by means of class discussion and internship experience under competent supervision. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing. Success in this course will require problem solving skills, relational techniques, basic theological understanding, and communication abilities.

II. TEXTBOOKS: Hendrix, Finding Your Place in Ministry; Sisk, Surviving Ministry; and Gushee and Jackson, Preparing for Christian Ministry.

III. COURSE OUTLINE:

          Part One: Know Thyself: Using Personality and Spiritual Gifts in the Ministry
          Part Two: Know Thy Task: Designing and Doing a Ministry-Growth Project
          Part Three: Know Thy Priorities: Putting First Things First

IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT:

1. The Student will attend a weekly one hour discussion session with the Faculty Supervisor and other students.

2. In consultation with the Faculty Supervisor, the Student will select and enlist the aid of a qualified and willing Field Supervisor to serve as his/her Mentor for the semester, aiding the Student in the design, instruction, guidance, accomplishment, and evaluation of a Ministry-Growth Project which will be a genuine growing experience for the Student in a real ministry setting. This project will be approved by the Student, Faculty Supervisor, and Field Supervisor.

3. The Student will attend a weekly one hour discussion with the Field Supervisor at a time of their choosing.

4. The Student will attend all regularly scheduled church services with the Field Supervisor's church (unless student has commitments at his/her own church which conflict. In such cases, Student, Field Supervisor, and Faculty Supervisor will work out a mutually satisfactory compromise).

5. The Student will write a  two-page statement of his/her understanding of God's call to the Ministry in his/her own life. This statement will be turned in to the Faculty Supervisor and will be discussed with the other students in the second weekly meeting.

6. The Student and another person who knows him/her very well (spouse, parent, minister, etc.) will complete the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis test for evaluation and discussion with the Faculty Supervisor. This test will be turned in at the second class session, evaluated and charted by the Faculty Supervisor, and discussed at the third class session.

7. The Student, in consultation with the Field Supervisor and Faculty Supervisor, will draw up a Learning Contract for the semester. This Contract will address the Student's Needs for Growth Experience in Ministry; the Learning Goals which apply toward those Needs and which are to be sought this semester; and the Ministry Activities to be accomplished toward meeting those Goals. This Contract will be signed by, and copies will be used by, all three to evaluate the learning accomplished during the semester.

8. The Student will turn in three book reports:

          A. A half-page response to each chapter (except Chpt 10) of Finding Your Place in Ministry. These responses will be the Student's comment on the chapter, to include what the Student has learned and can apply to his/her life and ministry.

          B. A five page digest of Surviving Ministry which will include a precis or summary paraphrase of the contents of the book and what the Student has learned and can apply to his/her life and ministry.

          C. A personal reaction to Preparing for Christian Ministry. The Student will read the entire book, then report on two chapters which were exceptionally meaningful for him/her, telling why these were chosen, and what the Student has learned and can apply to his/her life and ministry.

GRADING: Students will be graded on their overall learning and substantial accomplishment of all requirements. There will be no tests for this course. The course grade will be the average of the three book reviews, the Field Supervisor's evaluation, and the Faculty Supervisor's evaluation.

V. CLASS OBJECTIVES:The purpose of this study is to help the student develop and grow in the Christian Ministry. As a result of this experience, the Student will:

1. Better understand his/her relationship to the call of God to Vocational Ministry

2. Become aware of personal attributes and spiritual gifts he/she possesses that can influence ministry position and performance

3. Be challenged to develop healthy attitudes toward the ministry

4. Give practical expression to the theoretical knowledge gained in previous religious training

5. Receive supervision in the observation and participation in ministry by a local minister and a Religion faculty member

6. Become more acquainted with the framework and procedures for working effectively within the denomination

7. Participate in a learning climate that is challenging and supportive as the affective aspect of ministry is confronted

8. Become better acquainted with his/her own readiness for ministry

9. Be able to think through situations critically and theologically to discover desirable options for ministry.

VI. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS: The Instructor will provide TJTA test materials, sample Learning Contracts as examples, a letter and explanation of the Field Supervisor's role, Student and Field Supervisor's evaluation forms, and other photocopied materials as appropriate to group discussions.

VII. CLASS PROCEDURE: The major class activities will be guided discussion between the students and the instructor, the students and their Field Supervisors, outside reading, reporting on, and discussion of the assigned books, and completion of the Ministry-Growth project. The class meets one hour each week for eleven weeks, with another hour each week with the Field Supervisor, and "whatever it takes" for the project (these will vary with the type of project and the student).

VIII. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bingham, Robert E., and Loessner, Ernest; Serving with the Saints; Nashville, TN; Broadman Press; n.d.

Brister, C.W.; Pastoral Care in the Church, 3d ed, rev. & exp., San Francisco, CA; HarperCollins Publishers; 1992.

Foster, Richard J.; Celebration of Discipline, rev. ed.; San Francisco, CA; HarperCollins Publishers; 1988.

Grubbs, Bruce; The First Two Years: a Pastor's Guide to Getting Started in a Church; Nashville, TN; Convention Press; 1979.

Hendrix, John; Finding Your Place in Ministry; Nashville, TN; Convention Press; 1988.

Keirsey, David, and Bates, Marilyn; Please Understand Me; Del Mar, CA; Prometheus Nemesis Book Company; 1984.

LaHaye, Tim; Spirit-Controlled Temperament, Wheaton, IL; Tyndale House Publishers, 1967.

LaHaye, Tim; Transformed Temperaments, Wheaton, IL; Tyndale House Publishers, 1971.

Mosley, Ernest E; Priorities in Ministry; Nashville, TN; Convention Press; 1978.

McCarty, Doran; The Supervision of Ministry Students; Atlanta, GA; The Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; 1978.

Taylor, Robert M., and Morrison, Lucile P.; Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis Manual; Los Angeles, CA; Psychological Publications, Inc.; 1977.

Young, Doyle L.; New Life for Your Church; Grand  Rapids, MI; Baker Book House; 1989.

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IX. CLASS ASSIGNMENTS: Students are expected to have accomplished the required activities prior to the dates assigned for discussion and to be prepared to discuss the assigned material.
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NOV 13  Introduction, discuss nature of course, tentative selection of Field Supervisor, receive TJTA test materials

NOV 20-25:  CLASSES WILL NOT MEET; OFFICES CLOSED NOV 23-25--THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS

NOV 27  Return completed TJTA, Statement of Call, discuss Learning Contract, receive Keirsey Temperament Sorter, view Keirsey video

DEC  4  Discuss TJTA and Keirsey Sorter, God's Call and discerning God's will; bring draft of Learning Contract for discussion and review

DEC 11  Bring completed Learning Contract (three copies with signatures) and response to Finding Your Place in Ministry; discuss FYPIM

DEC 18 Discuss Sisk, Ch. 1 and Gushee, Ch. 4, 6, 7 and Holy Spirit handout; discuss Project progress

DEC 20-JAN 2:  CLASSES WILL NOT MEET; OFFICES CLOSED--CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS HOLIDAYS

JAN   8  Discuss Sisk, Ch. 2 and Gushee, Ch. 5; discuss Project progress

JAN 15 Discuss Sisk, Ch. 3; bring digest of Surviving Ministry; discuss Project progress

JAN 22  Discuss Sisk, Ch. 4; and Gushee, Chs. 11, 17 & 18; discuss Project progress

JAN 29  Discuss Sisk, Ch. 5 and Gushee, Ch. 13; discuss Project progress

FEB   5  Discuss Sisk, Ch. 6 and Gushee, Chs. 12 & 15; bring reaction to two chapters of Gushee; discuss Project progress

FEB 12  Bring Field Supervisor's Evaluation and Student Evaluation; Discuss Project Completion; Course and Instructor Evaluation

The University has adopted an absence policy that applies in all cases in all classes, as follows:

Please do not assume that you can miss almost 25% of the class meetings with no penalty at all. Very few students can be absent that much and still pass the course. Almost inevitably, students who miss class perform less well than they expect, and their grades are lower.

NOTE THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN EXCUSED ABSENCE FROM ANY CLASS. IF YOU ARE NOT IN CLASS, YOU ARE ABSENT. If you are obviously ill, especially if your illness may be contagious, please stay home until you have recovered. Anyone who is ill 25% of the time probably needs to drop the course and rest to get well. If your situation is special, discuss it with the instructor. He will make every effort to be reasonable and helpful.

The philosophy behind this policy is twofold: we believe that attendance in class indicates that you are serious about getting a quality education and that such attendance greatly increases your chances to succeed. On the other hand, tuition covers only about one-third of the cost of delivering a course to you. Since we have to find the other two-thirds from the gifts and offerings of the Baptist people of Texas and friends of the university, we have twice the investment in you that you have in us. We want to see you succeed!

So there will be no doubt, 3 weeks of a course lasting 11 weeks is more than 25%, and attendance in a class means being present from the time it is called to order until it is dismissed by the instructor. Being tardy means arriving after the class has been called to order. Leaving at break time means being absent for half the class. Two such half-absences equals one week of absence.
 
 

This is a University. It will be harder and require more commitment of time and effort from you than high school, technical school, or most community colleges. We are a Christian University. That doesn’t mean we require less; it means we expect more. The average university course expects you to put in two hours of outside work—homework, study, research, writing projects, etc.—for every hour of class time. A class that meets four hours a week thus will require about eight additional hours of preparation time—a total of twelve hours a week! If you cannot give this much time, you probably won’t do well in the course.

We will do everything academically and ethically permissible to help you reach the standards of excellence we set, but the ultimate responsibility is yours. We cannot, must not, lower the standards for someone’s "special circumstances." That would reduce the value of a university education for everyone.

Decide up front that you are here to get an education, not just a diploma, and that you will do whatever it takes to succeed.

Come to class prepared to learn and participate. Have your assigned readings, papers, etc. done before class begins. Listen, read, and take notes. A short pencil will beat a long memory every time! Focus your thoughts, not just on the facts, but on what the fact mean. Grasp the "Big Picture," and the facts will be more easily remembered. Learn and understand the concepts, not just memorize the facts. The details will change, or you can look them up.

Class attendance is expected, encouraged, and greatly desired. Students who miss class always have a more difficult time with the material and fare less well than they would otherwise (see Appendix Comments).

At any time you have a question, ASK IT. The only dumb question is the one you have but don’t ask. We are all ignorant about something. Being ignorant is no shame; staying ignorant is!

Like every other class, this is a course in communicating—orally and in writing. Your arguments need to be logical, make sense, and be clearly understandable. Most of us use language loosely in everyday life. Theology (and other subjects) uses language very precisely. Learn to speak (and thus to think) with precision. Make the dictionary one of your best friends.

The course content you learn in most courses will probably be obsolete by the time you graduate, if it is not already! The real value of a college education is in the discipline, dedication, and commitment you gain; in learning how to learn and keep on learning; in finding out how to find out what you need to know when you need to know it (we call that "research"); in learning how to read and listen critically and with understanding; and in practicing and perfecting your "people skills," cooperating and getting along with others. These are some of the skills people expect of a college graduate, and they will help you in whatever career or endeavor you choose to enter!