1. WHAT DID YOU VALUE/APPRECIATE ABOUT BEING AT
GARRETT-EVANGELICAL?
One thing I
appreciated during my time (1970-1997) was the collegiality and mutual respect
among faculty. We each had our respective gifts and specialized roles, and were
valued for our diverse contributions. Some were primarily scholars; some gave
leadership in church, community and society; some helped adminster
seminary programs; and some had strengths in all three areas. But
all gave priority to classroom teaching and the professional formation of
pastors and church educators. As Associate Dean for Ministry Programs during
many of these years, I had occasion to call on faculty colleagues to give
leadership in the Doctor of Ministry, Continuing Education, Summer School, and
Field Education programs. As able and when available, most responded to
these requests with enthusiasm and grace. As a team we complemented one
another's gifts and expertise. I especially remember the late Jim Ashbrook, a
renowned scholar in his field of pastoral psychotherapy, also under treatment
for cancer, who yet volunteered as a consultant in Field Education and a D.Min.
seminar leader. Another was Bob Jewett, a New Testament scholar who was working
on a massive Romans commentary, who agreed to chair the D.Min. Committee. And
all of us took on our share of committee assignments, advisee loads, and exams
at the students' annual checkpoints. Whether in the classical or practical
fields, we all were honored for what we had to contribute, accepted for our diverse
theological perspectives, and trusted as members of a collegial enterprise.
I also appreciated the opportunity
to design the first Garrett-Evangelical Doctor of Ministry program, and to direct it for 17
years. I was given free rein to develop a program that embodied my educational
priorities: faculty-student collegiality, shared clergy-lay ministry,
self-directed learning, correlation between academic learning and ministry
practice, theological reflection on experience, self- and peer-evaluation in
relation to learning goals, interdisciplinary team-teaching integrated around
theological themes, and ministry focused on personal and social transformation.
These principles were manifested in several innovative features. Entering
pastors--whom we called "participants" rather than students--engaged
first in a "ministry assessment lab" (which I co-led with pastoral
counseling colleague John Hinkle) where learning contracts were hammered out.
Thematic seminars team-taught across disciplinary lines were followed by papers
and projecs that integrated theory with practice. An advisory team, composed of
both clergy and laity in the local setting, provided participants with support,
accountability and evaluation, and carried equal weight with faculty assessment
in measuring progress. Regional colleague groups composed of several
participants and a faculty coordinator met regularly for sharing and
support. And, at the end, the diploma could be presented in a ceremony in the
local congregation which had shared in the benefits of the program. At its
peak, this demanding program had about 80 participants in four
tracks, and clusters in Alaska, Central Illinois, North Indiana, and
Korea.
2. FAVORITE
COURSE.
I developed an elective course called "Christian
Education as Faith Translation," based on my book, Working Out Your Own Beliefs, which
utilized the guidelines of the "Wesley Quadrilateral"--scripture,
tradition, reason, and experience--in relating faith to everyday life, and
contained sharing exercises related to each of these elements. As the
quarter proceeded, trust and intimacy developed to remarkable depth. Once the
prescribed exercises had been completed, the class identified other issues to
explore using this method. One year, a young African-American woman suggested
reflecting on the "Roots" series, a rerun of which was currently
playing on TV. When I asked how many were watching it, only she and I raised
our hands. This deeply offended the woman, who exploded with resentment at such
disinterest in her heritage. Taken aback by her vehemence, the group fell
silent, but then began to share their interracial experiences. With the
floodgates released, strong feelings of fear, prejudice,
anger, sympathy, and bewilderment were expressed. The exposure of
these raw emotions served to enhance candor and deepen trust. The class became
bonded in a shared experience of the divisive power of racism and the healing
grace of confession and acceptance. During the rest of the quarter the class
explored other controversial issues, made possible by the honesty of this
one person. who later commented to me that it was in this class that her whole
seminary education really "came together."
3. SPECIAL PROJECTS.
Before coming to Garrett-Evangelical I was, for eight years, a missionary, teaching Christian
education at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. Although the
Christian mission was central to my vocation, during my years at Garrett-Evangelical I could
give only marginal attention to this aspect of ministry. However, after my
retirement I turned my attention in this direction. I first volunteered for six
years as a reservist with Christian Peacemaker Teams, a group which placed our bodies on the line between hostile forces to protect endangered people in
troubled places. My assignments were in Hebron Palestine, Chiapas Mexico, and
Barrancabermeja Colombia. After that, I taught for ten summers the course on
"Mission" in the Course of Study School at Wesley Theological
Seminary. Growing out of these experiences I have now published a book
entitled, Marks of Mission: A Life
Transformed by 50 Years in Mission. This has led to my
being invited by United Methodism Women to teach the course on
"Poverty" in one of their regional schools this coming
summer. In these endeavors my commitments to mission and education continue to
coalesce, enabling me to bring my years of experience together as
I continue to grow and serve as an activist theological
educator.
