Multivocational Ministry Book Project

Back in November, 2022 I set out on a journey to research and write a book on multivocational ministry. This was my rough Table of Contents (without strike-throughs):

Chapter 1
Biblical accounts of multi-vocational ministry
Chapter 2
History of multi-vocational pastoral ministry
Chapter 3
The multi-vocational life: the types of pastors needed
Chapter 4
The multi-vocational church: preparing your congregation
Chapter 5
The multi-vocational denomination
Chapter 6
The multi-vocational seminary

Now, my first two chapters have become my whole project. After only a few months diving into the history of the pastoral vocation, I was excited to wake up early to read and write. I started with a book from my historian colleague, Alan Guenther, called God's Ambassadors: A History of the Christian Clergy in America, and worked my way backwards. In December of last year I arrived in the New Testament. I have unearthed fascinating findings that have lead me to question my previous assumptions about pastoral work and the early church. My current research question, did the apostle Paul intend for congregational leaders to be paid full-time by their churches? is being met with a tentative, not likely. But, I have more research to do. I'm not sure how far outside the first few centuries I will get but the biblical and contextual research I've already found are likely going to comprise my first two chapters.

 

My original ideas (chapters 3-6) could likely become part of a series of books on multivocational ministry. I am fairly confident that the biblical and historical story I've started to write, the evolution of the pastoral vocation from tentmaking to full-time profession, could easily be assembled into one book.

 

A few weeks ago I started listening to The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors by Laura Portwood-Stacer on Spotify. It is an excellent book and I am looking forward to implementing Portwood-Stacer's wisdom as I assemble my portfolio then reach out to presses to find someone to publish my work. I am hoping to start posting here more regularly about my progress toward the goal of finding a press to publish my work. Portwood-Stacer has an eighteen step process culminating in submitting a proposal to an academic publisher. This week I am working on Step 2: Research and Evaluate Target Presses. I have already signed up for press catalogues so I can get a good sense of my book's potential fit at each. Stay tuned and feel free to reach out and let me know if you find this helpful.

 

My Published Book - Glassroom Learning

Pickwick Publications just released my first book. Glassroom Learning: Virtual Culture and Online Pastoral Education is my reworked PhD dissertation in which I invite theological educators to consider the effects of technology on human formation when educating using Web-based systems.

Here's a fuller description:

Christian higher education institutions across North America are experimenting with radical shifts in educational content and delivery. Cyber education is becoming a common supplement or replacement for embodied learning, especially since the global coronavirus pandemic. Most theological educators have embraced the shift online, finding ways to leverage technology to enhance teaching; very few consider how technology itself impacts theological students, particularly those being educated for pastoral ministry. What effect do shifts toward online courses have on those enrolled in programs of pastoral formation? Are future ordinands being adequately trained? When developed well, Web-based learning can strengthen intellectual virtues. However, it can also inhibit character virtue formation and self-differentiation. Internet usage has been shown to negatively affect social well-being, resulting in higher rates of anxiety, depression, and isolation in students; furthermore, it alters behavior, making learners more distracted, less empathetic, and less able to concentrate and contemplate. Theological schools should, therefore, articulate clearer standards for student formation and strengthen aspects of embodied learning to prepare clergy for ministry in an increasingly complex church and world.

If you want a copy there are a couple of good options: 

Order directly through the publisher before October 1, 2023. (Tip: you can get 40% off by using the coupon code "Glassroom"). Here's a link: https://wipfandstock.com/9781666758498/glassroom-learning/

You can also get a copy through Amazon.ca or wherever you purchase you books.

 

Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction

 

I am scheduled to teach an in-person, graduate course on chaplaincy and spiritual care this fall. As part of my preparations I read a recently released book edited by Wendy Cadge and Shelly Rambo, Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction. It was such a good read I adopted it as a course textbook and wrote a review that was just published in the June 2023 edition of Religious Studies Review.

The editors divide the book into three sections based on the types of competencies required of chaplains: meaning-making, interpersonal, and institutional. Cadge and Rambo argue that today's spiritual care practitioners not only need to be equipped to assist people with traditional spiritual practices but also to come alongside others as reflective listeners navigating issues of suicidal ideation, trauma, and moral injury. The book's final section addresses the complexities of working within institutions as an organizational change agent. It's a thoughtful and somewhat provocative look at institutional power and the role a chaplain can play to bring balance and health.

If you want to read the full review it's available here. If you're interested in reading more about the upcoming class I'll be teaching, you can find additional information here.

Briercrest Seminary Discounted Tuition Offer

Here's something you might be interested in:

Briercrest Seminary is excited to announce specialized courses for everyone, and discounted tuition (or free coaching!) for those who have never taken a Briercrest College or Seminary course before.
 
Our goal is simple: we want to expand the reach of Briercrest Seminary, making it easy and affordable for pastors and laypeople to access courses taught by scholars with international reputations (such as New Testament professor Dr. Doug Moo), ministry practitioners (such as Forge Canada’s Dr. Cam Roxburgh), as well as our own gifted and extraordinary faculty. We also want to highlight classes that address current issues, such as Left to our Own (De)vices: Theology and Technology, Men and Women Leading Together, and Approaches to Supporting Clergy Well-being.
 
As with almost all our Seminary classes, these “special promotion” courses are weeklong intensives. Five of the ten are offered online and accessible across Canada, while the other five are offered in-person at our seminary in Caronport, SK.
 
You can view more information and register here. If you know someone in your network or church that might be interested, please let them know.

Briercrest Seminary Team and the Talented Brian Westnedge

Our Seminary Team met this afternoon for some team building. Our director of online education, Brian Westnedge, kicked things off with a 90's throwback tune:

I love my job. And, in case you're wondering, Brian has all four verses memorized.

 

EFC's Significant Church Report and Seminary Education

I was perusing the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's 2023 Significant Church Small Church Research Study the other day. The section entitled, "Quality of formal theological education." caught my attention. The authors conclude:

Clearly the small church pastors we interviewed and surveyed felt their ministry preparation was inadequate, especially their formal theological education. Theological institutions tend to prepare pastors to be specialists, concentrating on specific areas of ministry (i.e., preaching, youth, evangelism, etc.) which, in reality, is preparing pastors for specialized roles in large church ministry. Too often pastors told us they were learning by trial and error, a situation considered unacceptable in other professions such as medicine or law. Bible colleges and seminaries need to develop small church ministry tracks that include training for the competencies small church pastors need. If Bible colleges and seminaries cannot or will not teach these, then other means of ministry preparation need to be developed by denominations and other ministries that support small churches and small church pastors (p. 91).

These findings confirm other things I've read about pastors feeling ill-prepared for ministry upon graduation. I've written about competency-based theological education (CBTE) in my dissertation and I think it has some merit, although I'm not convinced it is the right path forward for small church preparation. 

I just finished re-reading a convocation address delivered on September 16, 2003 in Miller Chapel by former Princeton Theological Seminary president, Thomas W. Gillespie. The title of the speech is "Why A Theological Education?" His address provides, I think, an excellent perspective for those of us hoping to do a better job of preparing clergy for ministry, especially in small churches. Near the conclusion he states,

The problem for the theological seminary is that sciences can be taught and learned, but arts can only be exemplified and emulated. As Michael Polanyi explains: "An art which cannot be specified in detail cannot be transmitted by prescription, since no prescription for it exists. It can be passed on only by example from master to apprentice" (Polanyi, Personal Knowledge, 53).

Gillespie then recounts a personal story from his past about meeting with ministerial colleagues wherein one person surprised him asserting, "we learn ministry from the significant pastors we have known, not from theological seminaries." Gillespie was taken aback since his seminary experience had been so positive. The following week he continued thinking about his colleague's statement, reflecting again and again on where and how he learned how to practice the art of ministry. He concludes, "to my surprise, I traced every single activity back to the pastors who had influenced my life."

I am beginning to wonder how I can take this knowledge and use my position as a Seminary dean to make a meaningful shift in how we think about education that will make a difference in the lives of Canadian pastors and churches. The classroom may be important, but opportunities to observe seasoned practitioners, learning with and from them in ministry contexts, are also desperately needed. I covet your thoughts, ideas, and prayers.

 

Free Online Counselling for Multivocational Ministers and Families

Here's a great opportunity:

The Canadian Thriving Multivocational Ministry project (CTMM) offers free online counselling to people who are multivocational and work in ministry, and to their immediate family members. The CTMM is a funded 5-year project that is a partnership between Briercrest College and Seminary and New Leaf Network to support multivocational leaders by providing a variety of supports. If you are interested in learning more about the free counselling available for yourself or your immediate family, please email CTMMCounselling@briercrest.ca.