Core Seminars

Core courses are offered during the regular semester and are offered one day per month, 9am – 5pm from September – December during the Fall and February – May during the Spring. The following describes each of the three (3) required core seminars:

1. DMN 401 Core Seminar I: Re-visioning Ministry - This seminar is designed to enable students to examine their understanding and practice of ministry in light of the cultural conditions, where they minister. The seminar requires readings from the Bible, the life and thought of the church throughout its history, biographies and autobiographies, trends in theological articulation, and works on various practices of ministry. An important element of this seminar is reflection on the student’s own theological orientation to ministry and analysis of their individual settings of ministry. The seminar leads each student to write a Re-visioning Ministry paper of approximately 20-25 pages that will define the student’s understanding of ministry. The quality of that paper will be a significant indication of the student’s ability and readiness to proceed with the other requirements of the DMin Program.
2. DMN 402 Core Seminar II: Personal Transformation - In this seminar, students will be expected to identify and understand the implicit and explicit personal patterns developed over their journeys thus far. It is these patterns that frame self-perceptions and interpersonal relationships. In the process of becoming more fully aware of the factors that have formed their sense of identity, students will be better equipped to expand and enhance their capacity to provide effective pastoral care to God’s people. In the naming of developmental influences and themes students will be better able to make transformative shifts in their perceptions and self-expectations. This seminar is designed to create a space for self-discovery as students explore the personal impact of negotiating the wide range of stresses and demands inherent in ministry.
3. DMN 403 Core Seminar III: Project Colloquium - This course is a consultative process designed to facilitate the formative stage of the professional doctoral project. Specifically, it assists each candidate in selecting an aspect of ministry for the project, in developing a topic, and in developing a prospectus for a project that meets the requirements of the program. Because the program requires the integration of the academic and practical components of ministry, the colloquium involves the engagement of two leaders: a member of the full-time faculty, and a qualified practitioner in ministry; the latter to be appointed by the Director, with the approval of the Academic Dean.