As student and supervisor grapple for words to express deep meanings, a new level of relationship will be reached. These encounters will invite the participants to return to supervision again and again. Ministry attracts men and women who enjoy their individualism. Yet field education rests on the supervisory relationship. The difference between a good and a poor site is in the frequency, quality, and intensity of supervision.
Good supervision rescues even a poor field education experience.
A good site can be spoiled by a supervisor who fails to deliver promised time and attention to the ministry of supervision, or by a student who resists helpful critique because of the mistaken belief that the Lord's work should be beyond review. Supervision intends to integrate the curriculum of the Seminary with the practices of the parish. Every supervisory session needs to raise theological concerns that arise from acts of ministry. It is not enough to critique the content of the pastoral prayer. The discussion should also reflect on the role of pastor as priest and the appropriateness of the prayer's content to the act of worship itself.