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  • 2019 Lancaster Theological Seminary DMin Symposium

    Monday, April 1, 2019

    Symposium presentations will be offered concurrently across four sessions. Attendees will have the option of attending one of three presentations during each session.

    Schedule of Events
    Time Event Location
     8:30 a.m.  Gathering and Snacks  Hafer Center
     9:00 a.m.  Morning Prayer  Hafer Center
     9:30-10:30 a.m.   Presentations - Session 1  
       Kathy Harvey Nelson  L206
       "Connectional Spirituality: Small Church Pastors and the Future of the Church"
       Garrett Bugg  L204
       "What Cannot Be Forgotten: Moral Injury and Pastoral Practice"
       Tracy Brown  Library Learning Commons
       "How Christian Practices are Used by Laypeople to Attract Others to the Christian Faith"
     10:45-11:45 a.m.  Presentations - Session 2
       Jonette Gay  L206
       "Faith Decisions: Order or Novelty"
       Holly Wildhack  L204
       "Dignity Therapy as a Pastoral Care Intervention: Exploring the Family Jewels"
       Dan Lundquist  Library Learning Commons
       "Bi-vocational Ministry: What Works from the Perspective of Bi-vocational Ministers and Their Congregants"
     12:00-12:45 p.m.  Lunch  Hafer Center
     1:00-2:00 p.m.  Presentations - Session 3
       Gene Gordon  L206
       "Addressing the Wounds of Racism Through the Lens of Moral Injury:
    A Qualitative Study Drawing on Black Liberation and Womanist Theology"
       David Popham  L204
       "Clergy Incarnate: Embodied Metaphors as Gateways to the Ideological Commitments of Ministers"
       Nick Bufano  Library Learning Commons
       "'Come Away By Yourself and Rest Awhile': Retreat as a Model of Self-Care for United Methodist Clergy"
     2:15-3:15 p.m.  Presentations - Session 4  
       Kate Morse  L206
       "From Anguish to Enrichment Redefining Three 18th and 19th Century Utopian Communities’ Response to Suffering: An Application for the 21st Century"
       Linwood Smith  L204
       "The Role of Clergy in Promoting Health and Wellness in the West-Mainline and Philadelphia Districts of the Philadelphia Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church"
       Gary Filson  Library Learning Commons
       "Gone Fishing: Marketing Faith to Millennials in the Postmodern Era"

    Sessions will also be available to attendees via Zoom.

    Presentation Details for Current DMin Students and Guests

    • Presenters are listed alphabetically below
    • Expand the presenter's section to find:
      • Link to join Zoom session and recording (when available)
      • Supporting documents provided by presenter (if applicable)
      • Online evaluation form (made available at the time of presentation)

    ◄Garrett BuggJonette Gay►

    Gary Filson

    • Gary Filson

      Gone Fishing: Marketing Faith to Millennials in the Postmodern Era

      Time: 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. on April 1, 2019

      Location: Library Building, Learning Commons

      Abstract

      This project: 1.) recommends the use of business language and practices in and for the Church. Whether or not the Church acknowledges it, the Church operates as a not for profit business, performing the functions of a theater (the worship service with music and programs), a school (with teachers, students and curriculum) and even a restaurant (family night potluck dinners and fundraising dinners). Yet the Church typically resists business practices. 2.) This project emphasizes the need to know what our product is and what message we need to use to reach Millennials. Assuming we agree Jesus is the “product”, we need to know how to proclaim to others why Jesus matters. And, we need to know the best way to message our product in this Postmodern Era. 3.) This project promotes developing a marketing strategy in and for the Church. Marketing strategies seek to understand the best way to attract the targeted group and develop programs to meet their needs whereas evangelism usually seeks to assimilate people into the membership of the existing programs of the Church. 4.) This project suggests a step by step plan to do Inreach, which is a deliberate process to prepare a congregation to do Outreach. Inreach is a necessary but often neglected step in preparing people to accept an adaptive change. People within the organization must be trained to see themselves as part of the sales team so that Outreach can be successful. 5.) This project suggests a step by step plan to do an Intentional Outreach Program. 6.) This project distinguishes the difference between preference and purpose driven programs, encouraging leaders to choose purpose driven programs. Not every successful program will work everywhere it is tried. Programs must have a purpose that appeals to the targeted group; programs must be tested (marketed). 

    ◄Garrett BuggJonette Gay►