Students explore ways of teaching the Bible that are appropriate to the Bible itself, to various cultures, and to the ways in which people of different ages learn and develop. Required, Fall Theological, psychological and cultural understandings of the meanings and practices of care are related to the ministries of congregations. This course addresses selected topics in pastoral care, each of which becomes the focus for three or four weeks of the term. Possible topics include pastoral care among various age groups, community and personal issues, and health care. Students explore the theories and practices, theological and secular, of counseling cross-culturally.
Participants also prepare to offer care within the various cultures of a congregation.
Small groups of many kinds are a major fact of life in many churches. This course presents theological and other perspectives and skills relating to their purposes and roles. An interdisciplinary, interpersonal and cross-cultural exploration of the theologies and ethics of ministries relating to issues of human sexuality, this course invites students to examine fundamental issues affecting all persons and communities. This course is designed to help pastors deal with the dynamics of marital and family problems as they learn to identify and use appropriate, basic concepts in their approach and as they develop and improve basic pastoral skills. Students are invited to identify and understand the method which makes pastoral ministry a particular discipline and calling and to apply that method, using both theological and scriptural as well as cultural disciplines, to particular situations.