Audience
Topic
Type
Another Way
Another Way is a new book written by three leaders of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE), a national leadership incubator for emerging Christian leaders. Ten years in the making, their book centers on four practices known through the acronym C.A.R.E.: Create hospitable space. Ask self-awakening questions. Reflect theologically together. Enact the next most faithful step. These practices are the building blocks for discerning, accompanying others, and living and leading change on purpose. These practices challenge systems in need of liberation and reject the “cult of individualism” that often leaves people burned out, unwell, and unable to meaningfully lead churches, nonprofits and other institutions. Another Way was written for, and dedicated to, “a new generation of people—the dreamers, freedom fighters, artists, and warrior-healers—who refuse to accept things as they are as all that there is.” People who desire another way to live and lead change.
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Discerning Our Way Forward with Bishop Flunder
Discerning Our Way Forward is a series of virtual gatherings exploring leadership and vocational discernment in challenging and uncertain times.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Nobody Cries When We Die
For people of color living each day surrounded by violence, for whom survival is not a given, vocational discernment is more than “finding your purpose” — it’s a matter of life and death.
Tags: Diversity | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
The Healing Power of Beloved Community
During the 2019 DISCERN gathering, Joyce and Nelson Johnson, founders of the Beloved Community Center, shared their inspiring story.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
2017 Christian Leadership Forum Publication
Diverse and creative Christian leaders of many ages and traditions, from a multitude of places and points of view, gathered at the Forum to distill the essence of what it means for Christians to lead change for good. Read insights from participants from the 2017 gathering.
Tags: Diversity | Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | High School Ministry |
5 Cups of Coffee
Asking questions can help us unlock our deep gladness and how we experience the world’s deep hunger. Do you know someone struggling to know what God’s call is in his or her life? Invite them to join you for a cup of coffee and share with them in each of these 5 important conversations.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
A Guidebook of Promising Practices: Facilitating College Students and Spiritual Development
A Guidebook of Promising Practices: Facilitating Students’ Spiritual Development summarizes campus-wide initiatives and institutional practices from colleges and universities across the country, and features examples of practices that can facilitate students’ spiritual development. This guidebook can serve as a companion to Cultivating the Spirit: How College Can Enhance Students’ Inner Lives by Alexander W. Astin, Helen S. Astin, and Jennifer A. Lindholm (Jossey-Bass, 2011). Promising Practices is designed for use by administrators, faculty, student affairs professionals, and student leaders who are committed to supporting students’ spiritual development.
Tags: Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |
A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life
Four themes that build on Palmer’s earlier writing are explored in this book: the shape of an integral life, the meaning of community, teaching and learning for transformation, and nonviolent social change.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry |
A Life at Work: The Joy of Discovering What You Were Born to Do
In this slender volume, bestselling spiritual guru Moore (Care of the Soul) says that finding the right work, finding one’s vocation, is also part of the care of the soul.
Tags: Spirituality | Vocational Discernment |
Active Faith Matters: 2015 FTE Christian Leadership Forum Reflections
Does an Active Faith Matter? This is the question explored by nearly 200 faithful leaders at the 2015 FTE Christian Leadership Forum. Over three days in Dallas, FTE hosted a diverse, intergenerational gathering of Christian leaders—seminarians, faith-based community workers and volunteers, doctoral students, leaders of theological schools, congregations and church-related organizations. This publication includes insights and reflections from several Forum participants as well as written pieces from FTE’s Stephen Lewis and Dori Baker.
Tags: Diversity | Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church
Based on the National Study of Youth and Religion—the same invaluable data as its predecessor, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers—Kenda Creasy Dean’s compelling new book, Almost Christian, investigates why American teenagers are at once so positive about Christianity and at the same time so apathetic about genuine religious practice.
Tags: Leadership Development | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
An Interweaving Ecclesiology: The Church, Mission and Young People
What is church? What spaces does church occupy? Can ecclesial space exist beyond the boundaries of church?
In An Interweaving Ecclesiology, Mark Scanlan offers a fresh vision of Christian community as constructed for and by participants as potential ecclesial spaces combine to create an experience which we call “church”. Drawing in particular on research into the dynamic between youth groups and the churches within which they operate, Scanlan brings us a distinct approach to the church in mission that can nuance and develop the tired and sometimes flawed thinking around Fresh Expressions and pioneer ministry.
Combining deep ecclesiology with a practical approach, this book will be useful to students and scholars of pioneer and youth ministry and those with a wider interest in how churches operate.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | High School Ministry |
At This Time and In This Place: Vocation and Higher Education
Growing out of a year-long seminar sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges and its Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), this book brings together a nationwide group of scholars from a variety of disciplines in order to produce new scholarly writing on this topic. It offers a historical and theoretical account of vocational reflection and discernment and also suggests how these endeavors can be carried out through specific educational practices. Attending both to the current state of higher education and to broader cultural trends, the contributors examine the contours of vocation from historical, theological, and philosophical perspectives. They consider the relationship between vocation and virtue, both of which encourage the cultivation of habits that lead to a life marked by flourishing and fulfillment-for oneself and for others. The authors also discuss how to engage students in actively reflecting on questions of meaning and purpose through classroom conversations, co-curricular activities, programs for community engagement, and attention to a campus’s physical features. At This Time and In This Placeoffers a compelling argument for vocational reflection and discernment in undergraduate education and represents a significant contribution to the emerging scholarly literature in this field.
Tags: Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment |
Book, Bath, Table, and Time: Christian Worship as Source and Resource for Youth Ministry
This book gives youth, youth ministers, congregational leaders, and seminary students ideas for and suggestions on how to practice the liturgical holy things of the ordo - the ancient church’s life “ordered” around its liturgical “holy things” - bath (Baptism); book (Scriptures); table (Eucharist); calendar (the prayerful patterning of time) - in order to provide the church with a faithful ecology of life that is capable of forming Christian youth who experience God’s presence, identify God rightly, and take up their baptismal vocations before God and for the world.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Leadership Development | Spirituality | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |Calling Cast Podcast Series
A podcast to support future pastors, those who teach them, and the communities who call them.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | Young Adults |
Calling for More “Than We Have Got Thus Far”
This review includes a historical statistical analysis of people of color in theological education from 1998 to 2016. The updated review of literature focuses on best practices for supporting people of color in the academy. The resources reviewed were all published since 2006, and represented fields across higher education—first targeting the humanities, then incorporating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and business and law. The review also provides thematic summaries and annotations of literary resources. Additionally, it incorporates findings from the 2016 FTE Doctoral Fellows Report on the status of FTE Doctoral Fellows who received fellowships from 1999 to 2016.
Tags: Diversity | Leadership Development |
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Grants
The Vital Worship Grants Program at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is designed to foster, strengthen and sustain well-grounded worship in congregations throughout USA and Canada. Two streams of grants are offered—to teacher-scholars and to worshiping communities.
Grants to teacher-scholars support integrated research that connects worship with other disciplines of study and practice.
Grants to worshiping communities stimulate thoughtful and energetic work that will result in worship services that exhibit renewed creativity, theological integrity, and relevance.
For more information, click here.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | Program Leaders |Campus Ministry
The best environment in which to learn about oneself as a leader is in the practice of leadership. The Campus Ministry course is designed to give students practical experience in organizing, planning, designing, and implementing a small group curriculum in the context of peer groups. Using the ‘classroom’ of the campus and the text of Philippians, students will use peer groups to develop a small group strategy for their dorm areas.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry |
Christianism In Its Youth
The search for a pattern for the contemporary Christian Eucharist takes us back into the history much before Christ’s earthly birth. Ancient traditions, as the Roman and Greek banquets and festive meals were an image of what will follow in the Christian religion; the world was preparing for its Savior. Coming closer to the place where the Christian religion was born, the Jewish monotheist world was the proper environment for our Lord’s incarnation. The New Testament accounts of the Last Supper give us one of the first written Eucharistic patterns, which will be followed by Christians in the first centuries.
Tags: Seminary Education |Congregational Resource Guide
An effort of the Alban Institute in consultation with the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and other specialists, the Congregational Resource Guide (CRG) exists to help congregational leaders connect with resources that will enable them to face challenges and foster vitality in their communities of faith.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment |
Create Conditions for Scholars of Color to Thrive: 2018 Doctoral Consultation Report
A report on the 2018 Doctoral Consultation held in Denver at the Iliff School of Theology, where FTE gathered 54 participants representing various parts of the theological education system. This included accreditation institution staff, staff members of philanthropic organizations, presidents of theological schools, deans, directors of doctoral programs, faculty of color, doctoral students of color, partners in theological education, and leaders and consultants who work in inclusion and equity. FTE sought to experiment with how we work with partners to come to new insights on the question, How do we create conditions for scholars of color to thrive?
Tags:CrossWalk.com’s Bible Search
CrossWalk.com provides various popular versions of the English Bible to be searched.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |CyberHymnal
6,700 Christian hymns and Gospel songs including lyrics, scores, MIDI files, pictures and history.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |Daily Lectionary
Daily Lectionary offers Sunday texts as well as daily texts for study, prayer and reflection posted by the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |
Day1
Day1 is the voice of the mainline Protestant churches, presenting outstanding preachers from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church and other denominations. This website features an extensive library of lectionary-based sermons in text and audio and other helpful information for lay persons and pastors.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality |
Desert Hearts, Healing Fountains: Gaining Pastoral Vocational Clarity
This books helps pastors, novice and seasoned, to find the vocational refreshment and nourishing sources to understand their pastoral call with a clarity that remains compelling and empowering throughout their ministry.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry |
Doctoral Fact Sheet
Over the past 15 years,FTE worked alongside partner institutions to support students of color pursuing Ph.D.s in religion, theology and biblical studies. FTE Doctoral Fellows and Alumni have become leaders within the academy and have diversified the voices of religious scholars who are making an impact in the communities they serve.
Tags: Diversity |
Doing Girlfriend Theology: God-Talk with Young Women
Girlfriend Theology is a model of religious education that helps nurture voice and authentic spirituality in girls and women. It is one way for the spiritual hunger, passion, and curiosity of today’s adolescent girls to connect with the beliefs and practices of the generations of faithful women who came before them. It provides a healthy faith-based antidote to the dangers many girls face as they approach adulthood.
Tags: Spirituality | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Exploring Vocation through Former Volunteer Retreats
Years of anecdotal evidence, together with responses from a 2015 survey of over 800 former Jesuit Volunteers (FJVs), tell us that alumni of faith-based volunteer service programs strongly desire retreat opportunities. This curriculum serves as a resource to those interested in planning vocational discernment retreats for former volunteers.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment |
Eyes of the Heart: Seeing God in an Age of Science
Growing up in a world shaped by science and technology, young people may easily lose sight of God. Or, as this book shows, their “eyes of the heart” can become opened like never before. With wit and insight, Russell Haitch offers a model for unifying faith and science that does not compromise either good science or Christian convictions.
In Eyes of the Heart: Seeing God in an Age of Science, Haitch puts this model to the acid test by showing how it resolves long-standing (and still heated) issues of creation and evolution.
Compelling stories and clear explanations make this book appealing to a wide audience, including parents, youth workers, and young people themselves. The ideas are deep—Haitch covers a lot of ground, from Einstein and Hawking to Augustine and Hildegard of Bingen. But the book’s arguments are easy to follow, and its bite-size chapters are enjoyable to read.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Spirituality | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Ferguson and Faith
The shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, reignited a long-smoldering movement for justice, with many St. Louis-area clergy stepping up to support the emerging young leaders of today’s Civil Rights Movement. Seminary professor Leah Gunning Francis was among the activists, and her interviews with more than two dozen faith leaders and with the new movement’s organizers take us behind the scenes of the continuing protests. Ferguson and Faith demonstrates that being called to lead a faithful life can take us to places we never expected to go, with people who never expected us to join hands with them.
Tags: Leadership Development | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Find Your Place in God’s Mission
Find clarity about how God has uniquely gifted you to participate in God’s ongoing mission for the sake of the world. This book provides a structure and step-by-step guide for discerning God’s calling and corrects misconceptions. Gibbs provides guidance and helps organize discernment into three intersecting categories: needs of the world, passions, and tools.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |Finding Your Calling: The Renaissance Within
As English theologian William Perkins explained, “every person of every degree, state, sex, or condition, without exception must have some personal and particular calling.” Because Renaissance men and women expected to discover their callings, in remarkable ways, they found them. Their vocations illuminated their lives as they combined ideals and action into unprecedented creative contributions to science, religion, politics, and the arts.
Tags: Spirituality | Vocational Discernment |
From a Ministry for Youth to a Ministry of Youth: Aspects of Protestant Youth Ministry in Sydney 1930-1959
At a time of unprecedented secularization and declining church attendance, youth ministry in the twenty-first century should be doomed. So why is Protestant youth ministry in Sydney vibrant, and in many places growing?
This book sets out to answer this question, which is of such importance for the future of the Australian church. A pioneering model of youth ministry evolved in the 1930s and was already flourishing in churches, schools, and university by the 1950s. Its early high point was the Billy Graham Crusade of 1959, which may legitimately be seen as an Australian youth revival. The new model broke with past practice by cultivating ministry leadership by young people, by promoting peer groups to nurture and share faith, and by fostering ministry collaboration between young men and women. The model, used by theological conservatives and liberals alike, and has proved both enduring and fruitful.
This book will engage with the model of youth ministry and the religious experiences of young people in Sydney. By reading it you will not only learn from the significant achievements of young people in the past but be better equipped to creatively consider new methods of ministry for the twenty-first century.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | High School Ministry |
FTE Guide to Theological Education
Theological education is a journey of the heart, soul, mind and strength into the life of God and the healing of the world. As you read The FTE Guide to Theological Education, our hope is that you will find the information helpful as you discern your next steps in pursuing a graduate theological degree.
Tags: Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
FTE Offerings
This two-page handout provides a quick look at opportunities FTE provides for young leaders who are exploring ministry and teaching and the partners who are cultivating those young leaders.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | Students | Young Adults |
Fuel the Fire to Lead
Right now a young adult you know is wondering, “what will I do with my one precious life?” Watch this short animated video to learn how you can impact the life of an emerging Christian leader.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment |
Fund Finder
Search Fund Finder to explore a full listing of support offered by churches, denominations, individuals, academic institutions and organizations.
Tags: Diversity | Seminary Education | Students | Young Adults |
Future of Christian Learning, The: An Evangelical and Catholic Dialogue
Evangelicals and Roman Catholics have been responsible for the establishment of many colleges and universities in America. Until recently, however, they have taken very different approaches to the subject of education and have viewed one another’s traditions with suspicion.In this volume, Mark Noll and James Turner offer critical but appreciative reassessments of the two traditions. Noll, writing from an evangelical perspective, and Turner, from a Roman Catholic perspective, consider the respective strengths and weaknesses of each approach and what they might learn from the other. The authors then provide brief responses to each other’s essays. Thoughtful readers from both traditions will find insightful and challenging ideas regarding the importance of Christian learning and the role of faith in the modern college or university.
Tags: Diversity | Seminary Education |
Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament
This is a book about getting, and staying, involved with God-what it takes, what it costs, what it looks and feels like, and why anyone would want to do it anyway.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |Hartford Institute for Religion Research
Hartford Seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religion Research has a 32 year record of rigorous, policy-relevant research, anticipation of emerging issues and commitment to the creative dissemination of learning. This record has earned the Institute an international reputation as an important bridge between the scholarly community and the practice of faith.
Tags: Seminary Education | Students | Young Adults |Holy Things for Youth Ministry: 13 Practical Sessions
Holy Things for Youth Ministry is a youth curriculum containing 13 sessions written by individuals who have extensive experience in youth ministry.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |How Learning to Lament Can Help Fight Racism
A ‘pause and reflect’ culture is far better than ‘tweet and retweet’ culture.
Tags: Spirituality | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
How Youth Ministry Can Change Theological Education If We Let It
Since 1993, forty-nine theological seminaries have created opportunities for high school students to participate in on-campus High School Theology Programs (HSTPs) that invite them to engage in serious biblical and theological study. Many of the young people who take part in these programs go on to become pastoral or lay leaders in their churches. What has made these programs so successful — especially given the well-documented “crisis of faith” among young people today?
Tags: Leadership Development | High School Ministry |Introduction to Peace and Justice
This course begins with reflection on “vocation” or “calling” in life. One of the Beatitudes Jesus proclaimed in His Sermon on the Mount was “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” Throughout this course we will consider the lives of various persons who have responded to a call to be a peacemaker. We will be alert to the variety of ways such a call found expression in their lives. Together we will study the vocation or “call” to nonviolence of Mahatma Gandhi and of Martin Luther King, Jr. Students will elect to study the life and writings of other peacemakers.
Tags: Vocational Discernment |
Joy: A Guide for Youth Ministry
Published in partnership with Yale University, this book points to a Christian faith grounded in a consequential way of life, including substantive moral virtues and a sacramental vision in which all of life participates with God.
This “who’s who in youth ministry” focuses on practices that enhance joy by pointing to the contingency of human life and our participation with God’s redemption work for all creation. At root, a Christian life is ordered by worship and practices that recognize, celebrate, and respond in joy in light of humanity’s contingency and God’s gratuitous liberation of all creation.
Contributors: Steven Argue, Kyle David Bennett, Kenda Creasy Dean, Michal Beth Dinkler, Amanda Hontz Drury, Fred P. Edie, Wesley W. Ellis, Sarah F. Farmer, Nyle Fort, Christian Gonzalez, Pamela Ebstyne King, Alaina Kleinbeck, John Leedy, Stephanie Paulsell, Andrew Root, James K. A. Smith, Miroslav Volf, David F. White, Anne E. Streaty Wimberly, Almeda M. Wright, Vanessa Zoltan
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | High School Ministry |Latina Evangelicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins
Latina Evangélicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins is a constructive and postcolonial examination of the theology of Protestant Latinas who reside in the United States. Written by three Latinas who have pastored and who teach in Latina/o communities, the book seeks to expand beyond Latina feminist and mujerista voices to include those whose perspectives have not yet been heard. It thus introduces an important theological perspective to a wider audience, and provides an important resource that has been lacking for evangelicas/os and other marginalized groups who study in various theological programs. Key terminology, such as evangélica, is defined throughout, and a glossary is included for non-Spanish-speaking readers. Each chapter considers theological themes important to the Latina Protestant worshiping community, beginning with a constructive discussion of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and followed by the doctrines of salvation and Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the church, Scripture, and “the last things” (eschatology). Given that one of the characteristics of Latina/o theologies is their dialogical and collaborative nature, the book concludes with a conversation among the three authors about the theological thinking that took place in its composition. Study questions are included at the end of each chapter.
Tags: Diversity |
Leading Differently: 2016 FTE Christian Leadership Forum Reflections
How do we shape a world with a more hopeful future? This is the question explored by more than 200 faithful leaders at the 2016 FTE Christian Leadership Forum. Over three days in Atlanta, FTE hosted a diverse, intergenerational gathering of Christian leaders—seminarians, faith-based community workers and volunteers, doctoral students, leaders of theological schools, congregations and church-related organizations. This publication includes insights and reflections from several Forum participants as well as written pieces from FTE’s Stephen Lewis and Dori Baker.
Tags: Diversity | Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Leading Lives That Matter
Leading Lives That Matter draws together a wide range of texts—including fiction, autobiography, and philosophy—offering challenge and insight to those who are thinking about what to do with their lives. Instead of giving prescriptive advice, Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass approach the subject of vocation as an ongoing conversation. They include in this conversation some of the Western tradition’s best writings on human life—its meaning, purpose, and significance—ranging from ancient Greek poetry to contemporary fiction. Including Leo Tolstoy’s novella The Death of Ivan Ilych as an extended epilogue, this volume will help readers clarify and deepen how they think about their own lives.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |Let Your Life Speak – Social Justice Vocation Symposium
This course examines fundamental questions of Christian vocation such as the following:
- What is God’s call for my life, and how do I discern that call?
- What are my particular talents, gifts, and strengths?
- How can I use these strengths and gifts as a leader on this campus?
- How do I see leadership as service?
- How can I understand my career as ministry, whatever that career may be?
Students will explore what it means to discern, accept, and fulfill one’s call to a life of Christian purpose, service, and leadership. Through exploration of contemporary social issues and service-leadership theories, critical readings and discourse, and theological reflection, students will look to Jesus Christ as a model and archetype for how to lead purposeful lives that respond to the needs of the world. The course places a special emphasis upon service to the poor and dispossessed. Moreover, students are required to engage in collaborative, service projects throughout the semester.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | Young Adults |Liberating Youth from Adolescence
Jeremy Paul Myers, a seasoned expert in youth and family ministry, calls the church to challenge the dominant societal view of adolescents as “underdeveloped consumers” who can only contribute creatively when they mature into adulthood. Myers argues that young people are innately creative creatures called by God to love and serve right now. We need to see young people as the called cocreators (with God) that they are.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | High School Ministry |
Lilly Endowment, Inc: Religion
In recent years, Lilly Endowment’s religion grant making has been focused on major, interlocking efforts aimed at enhancing and sustaining the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes. The Endowment has focused on supporting programs and projects that address four broad questions: How do we identify, recruit and call forth a new generation of talented Christian pastors? How do we best prepare and train new ministers for effective and faithful pastoral leadership? How do we improve the skills and sustain the excellence of pastors currently serving congregations? What are basic questions about the current state of the practice of ministry that we need to answer to improve the quality of ministry?
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Spirituality | Program Leaders |Lilly Youth Theology Network
Lilly Youth Theology Network is a collaborative effort of Lilly Endowment initiated and inspired Theology Programs for High School Youth located at seminaries, schools of theology, universities, and other church serving organizations across North America. Its mission is to advance the engagement of high school youth and their adult leaders in theological thinking about contemporary issues and vocational discernment. This network seeks to support youth theology programs in recruiting a cadre of theologically minded youth and adults to become committed Christian leaders in church and society.
Tags: High School Ministry |
Listen! God Is Calling!: Luther Speaks of Vocation, Faith, and Work
Author D. Michael Bennethum presents Martin Luther’s teaching on vocation as a resource both for individual believers, helping them find deeper meaning in their ordinary daily labors; and for congregations, encouraging them to develop a climate that supports their members at work.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry |
Listening for God: Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith, Volume 1
A resource intended to help readers investigate how life and faith merge in surprising ways and places. Includes excerpts from the works of eight contemporary American authors with author profiles. The reader’s guide:
- gives leaders an approach for nurturing spiritual growth
- small group format to aid in community building
- is accessible for readers with a beginning to intermediate familiarity with the Bible
Looking for Good Work: Western Christian High Commencement, May 19, 2015
In this May 2015 speech to those just graduating from his high school alma mater, Nick addresses the question of what constitutes good work. It is a vocational address framed for those still in high school; and it should appeal to students who need a theological/philosophical frame for pondering their choices and future service. It may be valuable for your work with those leading youth theology institutes.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Young Adults |
Louisville Institute Grants
Funded by the Religion Division of Lilly Endowment, Louisville Institute awards grants and fellowships to those who lead and study North American religious institutions, practices, and movements, advancing scholarship to strengthen church, academy, and wider society.
They offer four grant programs which support religious and theological scholarship among three strategic constituencies: pastors, academics and researchers for the broader church. You may apply to only one program during a given grant year, so carefully consider the program which is best for you.
Three fellowship programs support the formation of ecclesiastically engaged academics for teaching and scholarship that serves the church and its ministries. Each fellowship awards stipends and links early career scholars into dynamics peer cohorts.
For more information, click here.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Program Leaders |
Love God, Love Neighbor
An open invitation for a new generation of leaders to hold the church accountable by becoming a part of it.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Making a Life, Making a Living: Reclaiming Your Purpose and Passion in Business and Life
Drawing on interviews with fast-trackers, Albion shares how these men and women found the courage and motivation to re-create successful professional lives guided by passion.
Tags: Vocational Discernment |
Managing As If Faith Mattered: Christian Social Principles in the Modern Organization
With foundational insights from Catholic Social Teaching, Alford and Naughton explore the questions of who one should become as a manager and what sort of organization should one build.
Tags: Leadership Development |Metamorpha
Metamorpha brings Christians together to become an interactive community of formation and growth. Their goal is to inform and take part in the forming and building of communities whose desire is to grow with Christ.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Spirituality | Vocational Discernment | Students | Young Adults |Ministry and the Arts
Synopsis: The overall purpose of this course is three-fold:1) Practice the Presence of God through meditations and a sacramental approach to the ordinary, 2) Explore, Experience, and Express the Gospel message using various artistic modalities, 3) Examine a multi-sensory, post modern approach to worship
Tags: Pastoral Ministry |Ministry: Callings and Practice
This course will introduce students to the long history of ministry in the Christian tradition, beginning with the biblical bases for “calling”. This course is designed especially for students who are interested in exploring a call to the Christian ministry in preparation for work as a pastor, chaplain, religious educator, scholar, administrator, or in other faith based professions. Through systemic theological and biblical reflection students will explore historical and contemporary spiritual practices that lead to the discernment of spiritual gifts. Within their historical and social contexts, it will present model individuals who have excelled in pursuing their ministerial vocations in the Christian heritage and identify various types of religious callings and vocations in relationship to the socio-political realities evident in the world.
Tags: Vocational Discernment |National Association of Church Business Administration
An interdenominational, professional, Christian organization that exists to serve the church by promoting the highest level of professional competence in individuals serving Christ through administration in local churches.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry |National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity
An independent professional development, training, and mentoring community of more than 25,000 graduate students, post-docs and faculty members dedicated to supporting academics in making successful transitions throughout their careers.
Tags: Diversity | Students |NET Bible
The NET Bible is available for free download, and is completely searchable online. The NET Bible™ Learning Environment offers commentaries, articles, word studies, original biblical languages and cross references.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |Nurturing Different Dreams: Youth Ministry across Lines of Difference
Increasingly, adolescents and young adults in the United States are racially and socioeconomically diverse, while the teaching population remains predominantly white and middle class. Many youth ministry programs that utilize volunteer mentors recruit adults who are ill-equipped to bridge cultural differences and effectively build sustainable relationships with adolescents who come from different backgrounds than their own. College and university campus ministries that are historically white struggle to provide adequate support and mentoring for students who have traditionally not been represented in the college population. Often, mentoring relationships break down over cultural misunderstandings.
As educators who come from backgrounds marked by privilege, Katherine Turpin and Anne Carter Walker draw from their experiences in an intentionally culturally diverse youth ministry program to name the challenges and inadequacies of ministry with young people from marginalized communities. Through engaging case studies and vignettes, the authors re-examine the assumptions about youth agency, vocational development, educational practice, and mentoring.
Offering concrete guidelines and practices for working effectively across lines of difference, Nurturing Different Dreams invites readers to consider their own cultural assumptions and practices for mentoring adolescents, and assists readers in analyzing and transforming their practices of mentoring young people who come from different communities than their own.
Tags: Leadership Development | High School Ministry |
Partners in Prayer
Written by a diverse group of the church’s newest leaders, Partners in Prayer 2016 will help you see the everyday incarnations of God among us, appearing in the midst of our struggles and celebrations.
Tags: Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |Practicing our Faith
This website is sponsored by the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith, a project whose purpose is to develop resources to help contemporary people live the Christian faith with vitality and integrity in changing times. The Project is ecumenical in orientation and appreciative of the legacies of a range of Christian traditions. We sponsor seminars, books, conferences and websites for adults and youth.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Program Development and Sustainability
FTE President Stephen Lewis explains the two-loop theory of development and sustainability during the annual CMTEV gathering.
Tags: Leadership Development | High School Ministry |
Raising Hope: Four Paths to Courageous Living for Black Youth
Move from courage to hope to courageous hope in action. This book gives tried-and-true methods to effectively reach out to Black youth and motivate them to make healthier choices that promise positive outcomes. Written especially for pastors, teachers, leaders, and counselors, Wimberly and Farmer give new and powerful ways to become agents of hope who truly hear Black youth.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Diversity | Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | High School Ministry |
Reflections from the 2014 Christian Leadership Forum
175 faithful leaders gathered for FTE’s 2014 Christian Leadership Forum. The conversations that took place inspired many reflections from young adults, doctoral students and partners who are committed to the vitality of the church and academy.
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Religious Education Association Wornom Innovation Grant
Since 2017, the REA’s Herman A. Wornom Award has been directed toward supporting innovation in religious education. The Wornom Innovation Grant is a $3,500 award for innovative religious education projects and initiatives that further knowledge and deepen the practice of religious education, or that expand the field of religious education to a new area that is not traditionally associated with religious education. The annual application deadline is April 1.
For more information, click here.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Program Leaders |
Research and Writing in the Seminary: Practical Strategies and Tools
This practical, how-to book for beginning seminary students offers step-by-step guidelines for typical writing assignments at the master’s level.
Tags: Seminary Education | Students | Young Adults |
Seven Insights on Leadership the World Needs Now
We know that communities everywhere need inspired leaders to shape a hopeful future. But can we actually create the conditions in which faithful, wise and courageous leaders will thrive? We believe the answer is “yes.” And doing God’s work in the world depends on it.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Stakes Is High
In his powerful new book Stakes Is High, pastor, activist, and community leader Michael W. Waters blends hip-hop lyricism and social justice leadership, creating an urgent voice demanding that America listen to the suffering if it hopes to redeem its soul.
Tags: Young Adults |
The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring
The Active Life is Parker J. Palmer’s deep and graceful exploration of a spirituality for the busy, sometimes frenetic lives many of us lead. Telling evocative stories from a variety of religious traditions, including Taoist, Jewish, and Christian, Palmer shows that the spiritual life does not mean abandoning the world but engaging it more deeply through life-giving action. He celebrates both the problems and potentials of the active life, revealing how much they have to teach us about ourselves, the world, and God.
Tags: Spirituality |
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Mellon Foundation supports a wide range of initiatives to strengthen the arts and humanities.
Our grant making philosophy is to build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities, rather than be a source for narrowly defined projects. As such, we develop thoughtful, long-term collaborations with grant recipients and invest sufficient funds for an extended period to accomplish the purpose at hand and achieve meaningful results.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Service & Activism | Spirituality | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Program Leaders |
The Art of Theological Reflection
Currently in use with both undergraduates and graduate theology students, this is both method and example.
Tags: Seminary Education | High School Ministry |The Association of Theological Schools
The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is a membership organization of more than 250 graduate schools that conduct post-baccalaureate professional and academic degree programs to educate persons for the practice of ministry and for teaching and research in the theological disciplines. The Commission on Accrediting of ATS accredits the schools and approves the degree programs they offer.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Students |The Beatitudes Society
The Beatitudes Society develops and sustains a national network of emerging Christian leaders who advocate for justice, compassion and peace. They offer workshop on social justice preaching, media training for religious leaders, and summer fellowships for seminarians.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Students |
The Call to Ministry
This resource from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is meant to help you discern whether or not God has called you to ministry.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | Students | Young Adults |The Call to Service
This new service-learning course will provide an opportunity for an in-depth exploration of the connection between personal vocation and service to others. Students will be required to commit to a minimum of 2-4 hours per week of community service over the course of the semester at a site to be selected in consultation with the instructors during the first two weeks of class. In addition to readings and lectures on the spiritual and theological dimensions of the call to service and the meaning of service in the larger community, strong emphasis will be placed on personal reflection and in-class discussion of week-to-week personal encounters and experiences at the various sites where students will be providing service. Students will be expected to complete weekly writing assignments, and to write two more in-depth papers that bring together scholarly and personal reflection on questions and issues related to discernment of their own calling to a life of service.
Tags: Vocational Discernment |
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life
For Guiness, far bigger than jobs and accomplishments and higher than ideas of self-fulfillment, calling does more than give purpose and meaning to lives—it completes God’s plan.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Young Adults |The Calling
It takes a true calling to make faith a way of life. The Calling is a four-hour documentary series that follows seven Muslims, Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Jews on a dramatic journey as they train to become professional clergy. Embarking on life paths that demand tremendous personal sacrifice and commitment, these seminarians must uphold timeless truths in an era that values quick fixes and hot trends, and face a public that challenges the very relevance of their mission. A new look at an old job, The Calling takes viewers into the unknown world of seminaries to tell entertaining and compelling personal stories of how faith is lived in today.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | Students | Young Adults |The Common English Bible
A bold new translation of the Bible, designed to meet the needs of all Christians as they work to build a strong and meaningful relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The CEB represents the work of a diverse team of more than 120 scholars from 24 faith traditions in American, African, Asian, European and Latino communities.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |
The Council of Independent Colleges - Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) Grants
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership; advance institutional excellence; and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society.
The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) is a nationwide network of colleges and universities formed to enrich the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students. This initiative is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) with generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc. and members’ dues.
NetVUE currently offers grant programs to strengthen the ability of NetVUE member institutions to enrich the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students. These initiatives are administered by CIC with generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc.
For more information, click here.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | Program Leaders |
The Ford Foundation: Grants
Since their founding 85 years ago, they have believed justice begins where inequality ends. The Ford Foundation supports organizations that address the underlying drivers of inequality and align with their programmatic work around the world. The limited number of programs or projects that are open to funding requests can be found on their grant opportunities page.
The vast majority of Ford Foundation grants go to organizations. Individuals may apply for fellowships for advanced degrees in areas of interest to the foundation. Universities and other organizations select grant recipients.
Tags: Seminary Education | Service & Activism | Students | Young Adults | Program Leaders |
The FTE Guide to Doctoral Education
This guide provides insights from those who have pursued the doctorate, obtained degrees and now mentor the next generation of scholars in religion, biblical studies, and theology. Here we pull back the veil of the doctoral degree process, making plain the essential considerations about doctoral programs in theological education. Our guiding purpose for writing the guide is to help you discern your next most faithful step.
Tags: Students |
The Gospel as Social Revolution: The Role of the Church in the Transformation of Society
The ‘good news’ of Jesus, properly understood, will change the world. Jesus was clear: Love God, love your neighbor as you love yourself. We have separated the holistic teaching of Jesus into two categories, word and deed, creating a dualism that leaves neither side with the full story.
The church is equipped to bring transformation to any community on the planet, but it seldom takes advantage of this opportunity. The Gospel as Social Revolution is aimed at waking this sleeping giant, armed with the historical and biblical evidence to motivate the change our broken world desperately needs. This is practical guidance for Christians ready to make a difference!
Tags: Service & Activism | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
The Jesus Climb: Journeying from Student to Disciple
The Jesus Climb crafts George Mallory’s quest to climb the world’s tallest mountain into a parable illustrating how Jesus trained his first students to summit the world’s greatest commandment. Like Mallory peering too low on the horizon to see Everest’s peak towering above him, the lack of Christlikeness in modern Christianity stems from our inability to imagine the impossible heights to which Jesus calls us. The Jesus Climb draws upon the life and teachings of Jesus and the experiences of some of history’s greatest spiritual and physical mountaineers to map out eight “expedition camps” through which Jesus guides every student seeking to follow him.
Tags: Leadership Development | High School Ministry | Youth Ministry |The Louisville Institute
The Louisville Institute is a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Louisville Seminary supporting those who lead and study American religious institutions. The fundamental mission of the Louisville Institute is to enrich the religious life of American Christians and to encourage the revitalization of their institutions, by bringing together those who lead religious institutions with those who study them, so that the work of each might inform and strengthen the other.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students |The Meaning of Vocation
This compact compendium collects the Pope’s remarks on God’s call, clarifying how and when God calls, and speaking to parents about their children’s vocations.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry |The Purposeful Graduate: Why Colleges Must Talk to Students about Vocation
In The Purposeful Graduate, Tim Clydesdale elucidates just what a tremendous loss this is, for our youth, our universities, and our future as a society. At the same time, he shows that it doesn’t have to be this way: higher education can retain its higher cultural role, and students with a true sense of purpose—of personal, cultural, and intellectual value that cannot be measured by a wage—can be streaming out of every one of its institutions.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
The Scope of our Art: The Vocation of the Theological Teacher
A diverse group of theological teachers explore the spiritual dimensions of their vocation as religious educators.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry |
The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
The Wabash Center supports teachers of religion and theology in higher education through meetings and workshops, grants, a journal and other resources.
Tags: Seminary Education | Students |The Way of Compassion: Theological Reflection on Vocation
This course explores the various meanings of the term, but typically with the normative idea that “vocation” designates the kind of life one ought to live. The course title suggests a connection between compassion and vocation, and during the course we shall test the thesis that compassion is an essential element of vocation. The course will give primary but not exclusive attention to Christian traditions.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment |Theology of Ministry
Theology of Ministry is intended to be the capstone course for the Certification in Ministry program. The class provides students with an opportunity to think about ministry in light of their internships, life experiences, reading and study, and classroom discussion. The class meets in the home of a professor helps to create a more informal atmosphere, which serves to enrich relationships and stimulate honest interaction. This class, in other words, gives students a chance to think through their own philosophy of ministry. It will set a trajectory for how they will function in positions of ministry they might someday have.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment |
Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
Velvet Elvis is the first book from Rob Bell, the New York Times bestselling author of Love Wins. Selected as one of 2011’s most influential people by Time Magazine, pastor Bell offers original and refreshingly personal perspectives on what Christianity is truly all about in Velvet Elvis. A vibrant voice for a new generation of Christians—the most recognizable Christian leader among young adults—Rob Bell inspires readers to take a fresh look at traditional questions of faith.
Tags: Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |Vespers
Vespers: A Year Long Journey of Faith and Service is a project of the Faith and Service Program of the CF Foundation in partnership with several faith based voluntary service programs and FTE.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | Students | Young Adults |
Vintage Saints and Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Faith
Saints are people too. The word saint conjures up images of superstar Christians revered for their spectacular acts and otherworldly piety. But when we take a closer look at the lives of these spiritual heavyweights, we learn that they also experienced struggle, doubt, and heartache. In fact, we learn that in many ways theyre not all that different from you and me. Narrating her own winding pilgrimage through faith, Karen Marsh reveals surprising lessons in everyday spirituality from these “saints”―folks who lived and breathed, and failed and followed God. Told with humor and vulnerability, Vintage Saints and Sinners introduces us afresh to twenty-five brothers and sisters who challenge and inspire us with their honest faith. Join Karen on her journey with the likes of Augustine, Brother Lawrence, and Saint Francis, as well as Amanda Berry Smith, Søren Kierkegaard, Dorothy Day, Howard Thurman, Flannery OConner, and many more. Let their lives and their wisdom be an invitation to authentic life in Christ.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment |
Vocation 101: What Do You Mean by Vocation?
Vocation 101: What Do You Mean by Vocation? Inspired by Volunteers Exploring Vocation, an initiative of The Fund for Theological Education. Animation by Josh Peters @ Contusion Creative. Music by Haddon Givens Kime. Executive Produced by FTE. Produced by Kimberly Daniel. Directed by Melissa Wiginton.
Tags: Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Vocation 201: How Do I Discover My Vocation?
You were created for a purpose. But how do you discover what it is you were created to do with your life? Watch our Vocation 201 video to help you begin to explore your place in God’s story.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
Vocation Across the Academy
Although the language of vocation was born in a religious context, the contributors in this volume demonstrate that it has now taken root within the broad framework of higher education and has become intertwined with a wide range of concerns. This volume makes a compelling case for vocational reflection and discernment in undergraduate education today, arguing that it will encourage faculty and students alike to venture out of their narrow disciplinary specializations and to reflect on larger questions of meaning and purpose.
Tags: Leadership Development | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry |Vocation: Discernment, Decision-making
Questions driving this seminar are: What are your strengths, gifts and concerns? What current socio-historical realities may impact our choice of work? How do those realities interact with individual sense of calling? How do your strengths and interests mesh with opportunities and needs in today’s world? How do we understand and discern God’s will? How does one make decisions with confidence? How might we understand calling in terms of spiritual giftedness, psychological strengths and individual concerns?
Tags: Spirituality | Vocational Discernment |
Wabash Center Grants
The Wabash Center provides funds for projects that enhance teaching and learning in the fields of religion and theological studies as taught in colleges, universities and theological schools. Routinely, they fund projects that focus on: improving teaching and learning practices in and beyond the classroom; nurturing supportive environments for teachers; nurturing supportive teaching environments for learners; strengthening student learning; connecting the classroom to the wider society.
The Wabash Center understands its grant projects as learning processes. A grant proposal will need to support projects, initiatives, programs and design moments of exploration, discovery, learning and response for those participating in the grant project. The project director should think of the presenting pedagogical issue as that which needs investigation, exploration and interrogation, and the activities of the grant project as the means by which this exploration is satisfied.
For more information on grants, click here.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | Program Leaders |
What Can the Church Be to the World with Your Leadership?
Are you in the midst of exploring what to do with your one precious life? Is the church a place to live out your call? Watch this video and learn what the church can be to the world with your leadership.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Vocational Discernment | High School Ministry | Students | Young Adults |
What Is Ignatian Spirituality?
In What Is Ignatian Spirituality?, David L. Fleming, SJ, provides an authoritative yet highly accessible summary of the key elements of Ignatian spirituality, among which are contemplative prayer, discernment, and dynamic involvement in service and mission. In twenty concise chapters, Fr. Fleming explains how this centuries-old method of disciplined reflection on God’s work in the world can deepen our spiritual lives today and guide all the decisions we make.
Tags: Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |
Wide-Awake in God’s World: Bible Engagement for Teenage Spiritual Formation in a Culture of Expressive Individualism
In an expressivist culture, effective engagement must acknowledge teenagers’ freedom to choose their own spiritual path. Yet, in an evangelical theology, faithful formation must hold on to biblical authority.
As we seek to engage young people with the Bible, key questions need to be explored. Such questions include: how can pedagogical freedom be affirmed without undermining theological authority; and how can authority be asserted without diminishing personal freedom?
This study explores a freedom-authority dialectic in theological dialogue with the educational philosophy of Maxine Greene. Greene’s reflection on the arts and the imagination are brought into conversation with insights from Charles Taylor, Garret Green, and Nicholas Wolterstorff.
As a work of practical theology, the book concludes with a framework to shape the purpose, content, and values for Bible engagement in contemporary youth ministry.
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | High School Ministry |Women in Leadership
This seminar course is designed for female students in the leadership track as a professional development opportunity. A strengths based approach is utilized to assist students in developing their leadership skills in their chosen field of study. Students have the opportunity to identify their strengths, study characteristics of women leaders from various fields, and study characteristics of biblical women leaders. The course will include discussion, group activity, lecture, and guest speakers. At the conclusion of the course students will identify goals for intentional development of personal strengths in their chosen vocation
Tags: Diversity | Vocational Discernment |Women, Work, and Calling in the Organized Church
This course examines how the arrangement of women’s work and calling is structured by the broader social, geographical, racial, gendered, and economic context in which churches operate. We begin by examining gender concepts, feminist theories, and varying definitions of vocation. The course is then organized around three women’s stories—two autobiographical (Dorothy Day and Heidi Neumark) and one fictional (Janie Crawford)—interspersed with articles and essays. We conclude by investigating two contemporary controversies—lesbianism and the church, and the sacred feminine. Throughout, we discuss structural barriers to vocational fulfillment and strategies to work towards a more just and equitable society as well as how issues raised by our three central women’s stories impact our own reflection on vocation and work.
Tags: Diversity | Vocational Discernment |Working Preacher
A website dedicated to “support, nurture, and inspire preachers working at the craft of creating compelling, faithful, and creative biblical sermons.”
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Seminary Education | Spirituality | Students | Young Adults |
Youth Ministry as Mission: A Conversation About Theology and Culture
Is ministering to youth like being a cross-cultural missionary? You’d better believe it.
The parallels between ministry within youth culture and global missions have long been touted by youth ministry experts, yet few resources exist to help youth workers benefit practically from the insights of missiologists. In Youth Ministry as Mission, Brian Hull and Patrick Mays fill this gap with an introduction to missiology, missions practice, and missionary witness tailored especially for a youth ministry context.
Youth ministers will discover missiological language that describes realities they face regularly and activities of cross-cultural missionaries that translate well into leaders within youth ministries.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | High School Ministry | Young Adults |
Youth Ministry as Peace Education: Overcoming Silence, Transforming Violence
Young people can be peacebuilders—citizens who address the root causes of hatred and abuse of power to build more just and peaceful communities. Indeed, young people are already leading movements to change policy and culture—most prominently, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Climate Strikers, and the originators of the Standing Rock protests and Black Lives Matter movement. Yet churches are notably absent among those who support and mentor such leaders.
Drawing on the deep wisdom of Christian tradition and practice and the latest insights in educating for peace and civic engagement, Youth Ministry as Peace Education offers clergy, students, and practitioners a new approach to youth ministry—a way to equip young people to transform violence and oppression as part of their Christian vocation.
[This book was written by a YTN program leader.]
Tags: Pastoral Ministry | Service & Activism | High School Ministry |
Youth Theology Network Leadership and Connection Grants
The Leadership and Connection Grant supports program directors as they expand their expertise to accompany youth in exploring their call.
Forum for Theological Exploration will award Leadership and Connection Grants of up to $50,000 to grantees in the Youth Theology Network. Grant proposals will include activities that either 1) Provide coaching and technical assistance to YTN program directors who need support sustaining their programs or 2) deepen connections and relationships with other YTN program teams.
If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact FTE’s Director of Community Engagement, Allison Arsenault (aarsenault@fteleaders.org), before applying.
Tags: Leadership Development | Pastoral Ministry | Vocational Discernment | Program Leaders |
YTN Resource Series with Dr. Beth Corrie
Do you believe young people are a force for leading movements to change policy and culture, yet also believe churches are notably absent in supporting and mentoring them? Beth takes seriously the capacity of young people and their unwillingness to accept injustice. In this video, she discusses how to integrate new tools and insights into the typical facets of congregational youth ministry so that high school students are empowered to actively establish God’s shalom, peace, justice and well-being.
Dr. Beth Corrie is the Associate Professor in the Practice of Youth Education and Peacebuilding and Director of the Religious Education Program at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Her teaching draws on commitments to both peace with justice and the education of young people, particularly the development of teaching and ministry that empower people for global citizenship.
Tags: Leadership Development |