Contextual Education Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology Guidebook for Supervisors 2014

Transcription

1 Contextual Education Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology Guidebook for Supervisors 2014

2 Foreword Thanks for your interest in preparing and forming students for effective missional leadership in all of its ministry forms. We are grateful for your willingness to participate in mentoring leaders. This Guidebook intends to provide (1) basic information about contextual education in the Graduate School of Theology, and (2) guidelines for your role as a Supervisor of GST students. 2

3 Dear friend in ministry When I ask ministers to reflect back on their most formative ministry experiences, they lean back and take a deep breath pondering the question. This vital question requires reflective thought about their life s work. After listing off several experiences, circumstances, life events, and education, most ministers light up as they begin to answer a different question: who was most formative? They describe those with whom they had relationship who were a bit further down the road in ministry. The names of people who invested time, energy, and love in their development as a believer and minister. Certainly, we learn in specific situations that actually provide setting for relationships to develop. It seems we are formed for ministry in relationship. Our formation for ministry involves key relationships with other ministers, educators and the active practice of ministry with people. Here in the Graduate School of Theology we boldly endeavor to a sacred task of equipping men and women for effective missional leadership for ministry in all its forms. We partner with God s work in the world and God s activity in the specific lives of women and men in order to raise up missional leaders in any setting. This partnership includes you. Together we equip student- ministers beyond classroom walls and extending into the real world. Through our relationships with Christians and non- believers, ministers and churches, prisons and hospitals, we serve the mission of God beyond our own settings. The nail upon which I have chosen to hang Contextual Education originates from a story in Jesus own ministry. He was questioned to define greatness in a single command. Instead, he answered that greatness arises in active obedience to two commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. For Jesus, this summarizes greatness as well as the entirety of the prophetic writings and the Law of Moses. It should be obvious that ministers are those who deeply love God and show it by their love of neighbors. Ministers distinguish themselves by their ability to equip other people for this work of ministry and by building up a community of believers who look like Jesus Christ. Our primary relationship with God, seen clearly in Jesus and manifested by the Holy Spirit, is the defining relationship for ministers. I am inviting you to be part of this partnered experience of learning. Not as an expert with all the answers, not as one ready to do much talking, but as a co- learner who is ready to listen and to nurture the work of God in a new minister. I thank you in advance for your partnership in this sacred journey. Peace to you, Brady Bryce 3

4 Overview Contextual Education is an active process of formation for ministry in which student- ministers practice ministry in a setting and reflect on the practice of ministry. This approach indicates a basic understanding that we best learn the practice of ministry through attentiveness, action, and reflection in a specific setting. Contextual Education exemplifies the integrative, practical nature of the formative ministry degrees in the Graduate School of Theology (GST) at Abilene Christian University. This experience locates student learning and formation in relation to specific contextual locations. Contextual Education serves the mission of the GST to equip men and women for effective missional leadership for ministry in all its forms. Students select one of four contextual tracks as their primary location for contextual learning. In this way, students may be clustered into cohort groups by context. Each contextual track consists of local and non- local contexts, supervisors, and other designated partners. Thus, the community of formation in the GST consists of a diversity of contexts and a diversity of persons. The four contextual tracks are listed in the box below. Each contextual track provides the student opportunity to engage in a particular expression of the life and mission of God as it is represented in a specific context they choose. Ideally student participation in their primary contextual location stretches across the core Con Ed sequence allowing for a deeper, thicker, more substantive, and formative contextual experience. At the same time, within the individual courses of the Contextual Education core, students are exposed to a range of contexts represented by the tracks drawing connections between their own experience and those of others. Additionally, Contextual Education is represented in the GST curriculum in both curricular (courses students take) and co- curricular (activities and experiences not tied to any particular course) ways. The chart on the following page shows how these two elements unfold through the program. Community: Community Development, Social Justice, Non- profit ministry Church: Congregational Nurture and Transformation Emerging: Global Contexts, Church Plant, Mission Pastoral: Restorative Justice, Chaplaincy, Prison ministry 4

5 Overview The following chart provides a visual representation of the contextual education sequence in the GST: Foundations for Theology and Ministry Contexts for Ministry Contextual Immersion Leading in Context Theological Reflection in Practice Community Development Non- profit Ministry Community Congregational Nurture and Transformation Church Global Contexts Church Planting Mission Work Emerging Chaplaincy Prison Ministry Restorative Justice Pastoral 5

6 Overview In the Spring semester of their first year as part of the Contexts of Ministry course, students select one of these four contextual tracks and a specific place to explore that track. Students begin to serve in that context in relationship with a Site Supervisor or Contextual Supervisor. At the end of the Spring semester, students and supervisors conceive together of the nature and work of the students Contextual Immersion. Contextual Immersion requires students to be present in the context in an intentional way for approximately hours over no less than 10 weeks. Contextual Education serves the mission of GST, which is to equip men and women for effective missional leadership for ministry in all its forms 6

7 Supervisors Role of Supervisors Supervisors provide guidance, oversight, and wisdom to students as they learn in context. An approved supervisor is one with a seminary degree (M.Div. or Masters in ministry) and/or extensive experience in ministry. There are two types of supervisory relationships: a site supervisor and a contextual supervisor. A site supervisor is directly linked to the site in which the student is serving. A contextual supervisor may not be directly linked to or located at student s context but functions in a supervisory and mentoring relationship for the student through their contextual immersion (field work) experience. Primarily, supervision means assisting a student through attentive listening to these three areas: Attending to God students and supervisors engage in theological reflection together as they engage the community of their context. Prayer and scripture, the history of the Christian tradition, and experience are brought to bear in theological reflection. Where is God at work in my experiences? Attending to Context supervisors help students as they attempt to learn about and from the context. Students will be engaged in intentional practices enabling them to understand critically and carefully the unique contexts in which they find themselves. What am I learning about others in my context? Attending to Self supervisors will help students gain a deeper awareness of who they are as God s servant. Students and supervisors will attend to the resources and disciplines that sustain life in God s mission and reflect together on vocational clarity. What am I discovering about myself through my feelings, thoughts, and experiences? 7

8 Supervisors Supervision in the Spring Semester of Year One In the Spring Semester of Year One as part of the course Contexts of Ministry, students will take first steps in relationship to a context. 1 These first steps are designed to form and equip students with the ability to read and interpret the context carefully and appreciatively. They are asked to engage in the practice of ethnography simply defined as a way of immersing oneself in the life of a people in order to learn something about and from them. 2 Students engage in four ethnographic practices during this time to begin learning about and from their context: 1. Basic History and Demography first level inquiry into the makeup of a context, the people who comprise that context, the history of their life together, etc. 2. Observation presence in the context in order to attend carefully to people, actions, interactions, and materials within a given context; recorded as field notes, photos, video and reflected upon in a field journal. 3. Interview attend carefully to people, actions, and interactions in interview about the given ministry context 4. Appreciative Inquiry create a list of interview questions for an individual or group to listen for life- giving experiences in the context. 1 Some students may be engaged in a context prior to the course or even entrance into the degree program. In this case, first steps refers to the intentional manner of engaging context in order to re- focus their engagement to deepen and extend learning about and from context. 2 Ethnography is a form of social research used by sociologist, anthropologists, historians, and other scholars to study living human beings in their social and cultural contexts. For our students, it is an important means of discerning and participating in the life of God in the church and the world in many different contexts. See Moschella, Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice (Pilgrim, 2008). 8

9 Supervisors Supervision in the Spring Semester of Year One Many students are able to identify their context and supervisor in the course Contexts of Ministry. This deepens the learning of Field Ed. The Supervisor s potential role during this time includes the following: To help facilitate and guide the student in conducting these four ethnographic exercises. All student activities in relation to the context should be done with the awareness and consent of the supervisor. To reflect with the student(s) about what they are learning. Supervisors should meet with the student(s) periodically for reflection and to exploration. To collaborate with the student in shaping a contextual immersion experience going forward. Students will write a Proposal for Contextual Immersion informed by their ethnography and in consultation with their supervisor. 9

10 Supervisors Supervision in Contextual Immersion (Field Work) This is a primary place for your leadership as a supervisor. The overall aims of attending to God, context, and self remain the focus of contextual supervision during Contextual Immersion. During this time, students will be fully present in the context and will be implementing the proposed and approved contextual immersion project crafted in the Spring of Year One. The Supervisor s role during Contextual Immersion (BIBM 629: Field Work) will include the following: Oversee the student s ministry in their context. The vast majority of the learning comes from day- to- day ministry experiences that are reflected upon with a supervisor. Meet with the student minutes every week for reflection and spiritual care (see Role of Supervisor above). Oversee the implementation of the student s listening project and their overall participation in and with the context. Provide feedback to the Director of Contextual Education regarding the student s growth and formation. This feed back will come in two forms: o o A Mid- Course Summary a brief report (two or three paragraphs) on the status of the student s project, areas of growth and development, and issues of concern that may have arisen. This summary is ed to the Director of Contextual Education. A Final Report as a final assessment, complete a comprehensive online evaluation form. 10

11 Readings What Students are Reading in Contextual Theology You might be interested to know what our students are reading in relation to their contextual education. Here are a few of the sources our students are engaging as they think about contextual theology: Branson, Mark Lau. Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change (Alban, 2004). Killen, Patricia O Connell and John de Beer. The Art of Theological Reflection (Crossroad, 1994). Moschella, Mary Clark. Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice: An Introduction (Pilgrim Press, 2008). Nouwen, Henri J.M. Creative Ministry (Image, 2003). Peterson, Eugene H. Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity (Eerdmans, 1987). Taylor, Barbara Brown. An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (Harper Collins, 2009). Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends (Baker Academic, 2007). 11

12 Contexts Where Our Students Are Located Community FaithWorks of Abilene Connecting Caring Communities, Abilene CitySquare, Dallas Homeboy Ministries (LA) Church Abilene Christian Church (ICC) Avenue B Church of Christ, Ballinger Benjamin Church of Christ Cottonwood Church of Christ First Christian Church, Abilene (DOC) Highland Church of Christ, Community Ministry Hillcrest Church of Christ, College Ministry New Hope Church, Abilene Southern Hills Church of Christ, Connecting Ministry Emerging Tanzania, East Africa Burkina Faso/Togo, East Africa The Bronx Fellowship, New York Missionary Residency for North America (MRNA) A Christian Ministry in the National Parks Pastoral Care Baptist St. Anthony s (BSA) Health System, Amarillo Hendrick Health Care Center, Abilene Lifeline Chaplaincy, Dallas Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Middleton Unit, Abilene 12

13 Brady Bryce, DMin Assistant Professor of Practical Theology Director of Contextual Education ACU Box Abilene, TX Ken Cukrowski, PhD Dean, College of Biblical Studies and Graduate School of Theology Tim Sensing, PhD Associate Dean, Graduate School of Theology Roni Zimmerman Recruiting Coordinator for the College of Biblical Studies Graduate School of Theology 1850 Teague Boulevard Abilene, Texas