Section

  • 2022 Lancaster Theological Seminary DMin Symposium

    Monday, April 4, 2022

    Symposium presentations will be conducted online using Zoom.

    Schedule of Events
    Time Presenter Topic
    9:45 a.m.   Devotions
    10:00-10:50 a.m.  Nora Driver Foust  "Competency-Based Assessment for Ministerial Authorization in the UCC: A Model for Implementation"
    11:00-11:50 a.m.  Wendell Yorkman  "Grappling with Grace: An Illumination of the Degree to Which Theory and Praxis Agree in the Matter of Grace in the African American Pentecostal Holiness Tradition"
    12:00-1:00 p.m.  Lunch Break  
    1:00‑1:50 p.m.  James L. Mills  "Coming Home: Inward Discovery for Outward Living after Long-Term Incarceration; Howard Thurman’s Notion of Community, Religious Experience, and the Inner-Life as Tools for Freedom and Wholeness after Incarceration"
    2:00‑2:50 p.m.  Richelle Foreman Gunter  "Are We There?: Journeys of Faith and the Role of Racialized Trauma in Individuals Who Identify as Religiously Unaffiliated"
    3:00 p.m.  Closing, followed by social time  
    All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4:00)

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    • Presentation Details for Current DMin Students and Guests

      • Presenters are listed below in schedule order
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        • Supporting documents provided by presenter (if applicable)
        • Online evaluation form (made available at the time of presentation)
        • Recorded presentation (available after the Symposium concludes)

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  • Competency-Based Assessment for Ministerial Authorization in the UCC: A Model for Implementation

    Time: 10:00-10:50 a.m.

    Abstract

    Knowledge is readily available today with Google and other search engines designed to answer any question. However, the integration of knowledge into understanding and competency is not as straightforward. To address the challenge of integration of knowledge and competency for ministerial authorization, this project follows Richard Osmer’s four tasks of practical theology and looks at the United Church of Christ’s (UCC) Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers alongside principles of competency-based assessment. The project presents a working model for UCC Committees on Ministry across the denomination for implementation of the new Manual on Ministry (MOM). The new MOM embraces a single form of authorized ministry and the use of the competency-based Marks with all ministerial candidates, seminarians, and those on alternative paths to authorization. Alongside a model for UCC Committees on Ministry, this project opens doors to further change in the UCC’s process and points to possible implementation of competency-based assessment programs in other denominations. 

    This project opens with a glossary and the state of the field in Chapter 1 leading to the research question on how the UCC might move to embrace the Marks and develop an implementation strategy for using them in a true competency-based approach. Chapter 2 includes a literature review. Chapter 3 offers a glimpse at how the education world uses competency-based assessment and offers five principles for how their use might be carried over into the assessment work of UCC Committees on Ministry. Chapter 4 presents the model for how one UCC Conference implemented this use and Chapter 5 draws conclusions and points readers forward to possible application of a competency-based assessment model in their own setting.

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  • Grappling with Grace: An Illumination of the Degree to Which Theory and Praxis Agree in the Matter of Grace in the African American Pentecostal Holiness Tradition

    Time: 11:00-11:50 a.m.

    Abstract

    There seems to be a gap between church doctrine and praxis as far as matters of grace is concerned. Because of the lack of clear, theologically coherent doctrine, church leaders and their members are left to decide for themselves how to practice grace. Through a process of examining doctrines, analyzing sermons, reviewing literature and conducting personal interviews with church leaders from African American Pentecostal Holiness Churches the researcher’s intent is to determine how closely aligned doctrine and praxis are. Since a large percentage of the church doctrines examined include no specific guidelines or directions as to matters of grace beyond being the power of God in bringing salvation (Eph. 2:8-9), the lack of understanding often causes un-graceful responses by leaders and members alike. It is hoped that this work will be read by Christian leaders as they gain insight as to how grace is to be understood and practiced. 


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  • Coming Home: Inward Discovery for Outward Living after Long-Term Incarceration; Howard Thurman’s Notion of Community, Religious Experience, and the Inner-Life as Tools for Freedom and Wholeness after Incarceration

    Time: 1:00-1:50 p.m.

    Abstract

    The purpose of the research is to examine Dr. Howard Washington Thurman’s notions of community, religious experience, and an inward journey are potentially helpful tools of reentry from long-term incarceration. The project looks at the origin of the American prison-industrial complex through the twenty-first century and its impact on marginalized people of color. There is robust research on programmatic needs coming out of prisons, such as financial and housing assistance and vocational training. Returning citizens also need help to deal with inward wounds and traumas of life and incarceration. Howard Thurman’s notion of community, religious experience, and the inner-life offer a pathway to wholeness to those regaining their footing in society.

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  • Are We There?: Journeys of Faith and the Role of Racialized Trauma in Individuals Who Identify as Religiously Unaffiliated

    Time: 2:00-2:50 p.m.

    Abstract

    This project explores the intersections of racialized trauma and faith development in individuals who have sometime during their life identified as religiously unaffiliated or “nones.” Through the lens of life stories, nine individuals describe their faith journeys from their earliest memories of life to their most recent adult experiences. 

    Their courageous sharing sheds light on the connections between racism and racialized trauma and the precious moments when faith in God moved them forward on their journey of faith. Their stories highlight the experience of over 250 years of historical trauma from slavery and its intergenerational influence, alongside the instances of racism members of the black community continued to experience. 

    The stories that they shared also help us to understand that God inserts himself into the lives of His people in ways that are unexpected, not written about or understood. Like life, faith development is a journey not a destination. 


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  • View only 'Topic 5'