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Andrew C. Thompson

Category Archives: Theological Education

Methodist House of Studies: Visiting with Bishop Debbie Wallace-Padgett

19 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, United Methodist Church

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Bishop Debbie Wallace-Padgett visited the campus of Memphis Theological Seminary last month to share the story of her leadership in the North Alabama Conference of the UMC with our students. While she was here, Bishop Wallace-Padgett and other officials from her annual conference were also able to learn more about the ongoing work of the Methodist House of Studies at MTS.

The North Alabama Conference sends a lot of students to MTS. So we were glad to have Bishop Wallace-Padgett on campus to show her how the Methodist House is working to become a vital resource for the church, both in our training of men and women for pastoral ministry and in our outreach to congregations. It was also just exciting for our students to have a UM bishop on campus. Her address at our Methodist House luncheon gave the students a chance to engage her in conversation in an intimate setting.

Bishop Wallace-Padgett speaking with MTS students on February 3, 2015

Bishop Wallace-Padgett speaking with MTS students on February 3, 2015

Bishop Wallace-Padgett’s message was focused on sharing the Ministry Action Plan of the North Alabama Conference. While that plan has a comprehensive set of commitments regarding the vision, mission, and values of the annual conference, what I found most intriguing was the bishop’s comments about her personal views on leadership. Here are a few of them:

  • On a personal connection with Christ: “For me, I could not do what I do if I did not have a daily experience with Jesus Christ.”
  • On ongoing spiritual formation: “Whatever your leadership role, it is critical that the spiritual part of you is healthy and growing. Spiritual formation is key.”
  • On the renewal of leaders: “For an annual conference to be renewed, it is crucial that the conference’s leaders are experiencing renewal on a daily basis.”
  • On ministry with a holy urgency: “We live in a world where it is urgent that we share the good news of Jesus Christ at every opportunity.”
  • In answer to a student’s question about how we can get people in our churches to take the Holy Spirit seriously: “A starting point is acknowledging that without the Holy Spirit breathing life into us, we are dead in the water. We must have a sense of absolute reliance on the person and power of the Holy Spirit.”

In many ways, Bishop Wallace-Padgett exhibits the very best in United Methodist episcopal leadership. She is clearly focused on a mission only oriented future for her annual conference, yet she is spiritually grounded enough to be aware of the nuances and complexities of people and situations around her. I had had the good fortune to work with Bishop Wallace-Padgett last year in organizing the Aldersgate Covenant Gathering in Kansas City, Missouri. I got to see her at the Methodist House luncheon in a different light — sharing her vision for the church that she leads, and interacting as a true shepherd in a conversation with up-and-coming pastoral leaders who were eager to engage one of the UMC’s episcopal leaders.

2015-02-03_DWP visit 5

Events of this type are exactly what we want to do more of in the Methodist House of Studies. After all, not all formation for ministry happens around the seminar table in a classroom. Breaking bread together, engaging in conversation about matters of real importance, and shared fellowship are all vital aspects of how best to train men and women for pastoral leadership in the church.

For other posts about the Methodist House of Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary, click here.

Thinking about Seminary?

03 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education

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Have you been thinking about seminary? Are you wrestling with a call to ministry but you’re not sure what that looks like? We are going to have a preview day at Memphis Theological Seminary that is specifically for students from Methodist backgrounds. It will be a great way to learn about our degree programs and about the Methodist House of Studies at MTS. Here are the details:

Methodist Preview Day_2

I hope you’ll come and join us! It will be a great day all around.


 

 

Lunch with Bishop Debbie Wallace-Padgett

02 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, United Methodist Church

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Bishop Debbie-Wallace-Padgett_Photo courtesy of the UM Council of BishopsThis week the Methodist House of Studies welcomes Bishop Debbie Wallace-Padgett, who serves as the episcopal leader of the North Alabama Conference (UMC). Bishop Wallace-Padgett will speak with students over lunch along with other representatives from her annual conference.

Bishop Wallace-Padgett has led the North Alabama Conference since her election 2012. Her previous pastoral appointments have included eight years as the Lead Pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, and six years as the district superintendent of the Prestonsburg District (Kentucky Conference).

The Methodist House luncheon will take place at 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3rd., in the Brockwell Room in Founders Hall. Pizza and cookies will be served, along with soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee. All are invited to attend!

 


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The Methodist House of Studies is a program at Memphis Theological Seminary that draws on the seminary’s rich, ecumenical tradition while providing a robust Wesleyan theological formation designed to prepare men and women for pastoral ministry in Wesleyan and Methodist church contexts.

Methodist House: Courses in Wesleyan Studies

20 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Doctrine & Theology, Means of Grace, Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, Wesleyan Theology

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Spring 2015 Courses in Wesleyan Studies_Methodist House at MTS

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One of the ways that the Methodist House of Studies is expanding its work at MTS is through expanded course offerings in the area of Wesleyan Studies. I’m excited to be able to announce the following four courses on our Spring 2015 course schedule. (If you would like to inquire about enrolling or auditing courses at the seminary, find the contact information here.)

Here’s what we’ve got on tap for the upcoming semester:

Women in Methodist History  |  Dr. Andrew Thompson
Mondays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Encounter the historic role of women’s leadership in Methodism. This course surveys the history of women in Methodism from the time of the late 18th century to the late 20th century. It will examine the role of women’s leadership in the Methodist and Wesleyan movement—from Mary Bosanquet Fletcher to Jarena Lee, and from Amanda Berry Smith to Mildred Bangs Wynkoop. The course focuses on themes of women’s leadership, the challenge of women responding to calls in ministry, the role of spiritual autobiography, and the contribution of women to the vitality of the Wesleyan tradition.

The Prophetic Rhetoric of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner  |  Dr. Andre Johnson
Mondays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Engage the remarkable life, career, and prophetic rhetoric of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Turner was one of the most dynamic, influential, and eloquent African American church leaders of the post-Civil War period—yet today he is largely forgotten. This course highlights his historical importance and rhetorical power. By engaging in a careful reading of Turner’s writings and speeches, students in this class are able to examine the theoretical, methodical, and practical applications that make up Bishop Turner’s discourses.

American Methodism: History, Doctrine, & Polity  |  Dr. Andrew Thompson
Tuesdays, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Prepare for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church through an immersion in the history, doctrine, and polity of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America (MEC) and its successors from the time of its founding in 1784. This course follows the ecclesiastical line that leads to the United Methodist Church at the time of its formation in 1968. It is designed to fulfill the second half of the ordination requirements for history, doctrine, and polity as outlined in the United Methodist Book of Discipline (¶324.4, ¶330.3, & ¶335).

The Means of Grace in Wesleyan Theology  |  Dr. Andrew Thompson
Wednesdays, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Come and explore the theology of the means of grace in the Wesleyan tradition. As the “sacramental grammar” of Wesleyan theology, the means of grace are at the heart of the doctrine of sanctification and the practice of discipleship. This course engages both primary sources (from John and Charles Wesley) as well as secondary sources (from contemporary scholars). Half the course focuses on a study of the sacraments (i.e., Baptism and Holy Communion) and the other half considers the other means of grace in the categories of “instituted,” “prudential,” and “general.” Attention is also given to the practical implications of the means of grace for Christian ministry.

MHOS Banner Quote

Job Announcement: Church History position

18 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Memphis Theological Seminary, Theological Education

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Memphis Theological Seminary is seeking to fill an opening in church history. The position description can be found on our seminary website at this link.

The text of the announcement is below…


 

Faculty Position in Church HistoryMTS Logo_large copy

     Memphis Theological Seminary invites applications for a tenure-track position in Church History. Rank is open. Responsibilities include teaching introductory and elective courses in our M.Div, MAYM, and D.Min programs. An ability to teach from a global perspective is welcomed. Qualifications include a Ph.D. in the field and a commitment to diversity, collegiality, and the life of the church. We invite applications from all qualified candidates, especially those from traditionally under-represented populations.

     Applicants should send a letter of application, CV, graduate transcripts, and three letters of reference to Dean Stan Wood, Memphis Theological Seminary, 168 E Parkway South, Memphis, TN 38104.

____________________________

     Interested parties are encouraged to read the following description regarding teaching responsibilities, institutional expectations, and participation in the community life of Memphis Theological Seminary.

  • Our students are primarily ministerial students (rather than PhD candidates). They seek courses to help them do pastoral work in a variety of contexts, explore new avenues for ministry, and enable the people with whom they do ministry to fulfill their sense of mission.
  • The successful candidate for our position in Church History will have significant freedom to shape the course offerings in the area according to the needs of our students & her or his understanding of the field and areas of expertise.
  • Currently, all M.Div. students are required to take the introductory course in the field (CH—Introduction to Church History). The successful candidate will shape this course and teach it nearly every semester.
  • Our M.Div. students are currently required to take 2 electives in the area of History and Theology and may take more. The successful candidate will have the freedom and responsibility for creating elective courses which meet our students’ needs and interests.
  • We are interested in expanding our offerings in the area of global Christianity. Potential courses might highlight the history of a single religious tradition (e.g., Pentecostalism) in global perspective; focus on the history of religious diversity or contexts of a particular region (e.g., Christianity in South Asia); or the history of inter-religious encounters in global context (e.g., Christianity and Islam in Africa).
  • We are currently working on a curriculum revision which, when implemented, will significantly reshape the landscape of our curricular offerings across all the theological sub-disciplines. We are looking for input from a new voice in the field of Church History who can develop a portfolio of courses for that area that will both expose our students to diverse approaches to the subject matter and engage them in critical considerations of the latest scholarly views and arguments. It will be important for our new professor to endorse the curriculum revision that has already been completed, even while adding his or her voice in those areas of ongoing work.
  • The new curriculum includes attention to cross-disciplinary approaches aimed toward greater integration of subject matter for our students. Consequently, we envision creating a number of team-taught courses in our near future. Thus, the successful candidate will embrace collegiality & cooperation in working with his or her peers, including an openness to joint ventures in course instruction.

 

Methodist House: The Path to Ordained Ministry

14 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, United Methodist Church

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Dr. Johnny Jeffords joined us at Memphis Theological Seminary this week to discuss the journey towards ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. The luncheon was part of the Methodist House of Studies‘ ongoing series of fellowship gatherings designed to build community and provide opportunities for Methodist students at MTS to draw on the wisdom of ministry practitioners.

In addition to serving as senior pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Memphis, Dr. Jeffords is also the chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry for the Memphis Conference. That means he has a unique insight into how ordination candidacy works for those seeking to become deacons or elders in the UMC.

2014-11-11_Jeffords visit 4

One of the real highlights of our lunchtime conversation was in getting to hear Dr. Jeffords speak about how he sees the candidacy process both from the annual conference-side of things and from the candidate’s perspective . Here are some of the things he mentioned:

  • We need to clearly understand the relationships between the local church, the District Committee on Ministry (or DCOM), and the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry (or BOM). Local churches should only put forward candidates for ministry that they would want to have serve as their own pastors. (That’s a pretty good criterion to go by, if you ask me.) The DCOM also needs—for practical reasons—to understand itself as the primary body to discern which candidates will ultimately be ordained or not. That’s not to deflect the responsibilities of the BOM; it is rather a reality about how much time a given body will spend with a candidate and how workload is distributed.
  • Formal training for both DCOM and BOM members is essential for these bodies to understand their roles and perform them well. That has to be matched by a personal commitment of each DCOM or BOM member to undertake his or her work with seriousness, intentionality, and prayer.2014-11-11_Jeffords visit 5
  • Candidates themselves need to know that the church will be more discerning in the future about who needs to be a pastor in the United Methodist connection. Knowing and embracing our Wesleyan doctrinal distinctives is necessary. Understanding and agreeing with our polity and form of ministry—also necessary. It isn’t up to a DCOM or a BOM to determine who is called to ministry; it’s just up to them to determine who is called into ministry in a particular annual conference of the UMC. The church is in a stage where it has got to be more robust about how it goes about identifying and preparing its future leaders. And this is ultimately a good thing.
  • In preparing for both written and oral responses to doctrinal questions, a candidate should be able to articulate answers in a couple of ways: 1. Knowledge and agreement with our core doctrines with reference to Scripture and the Wesleyan tradition. 2. How our core doctrines relate to ministry and the living of the Christian life. You can be too academically sterile on one extreme, and you can be too mushy/personal on the other. So the balance would be in having the ability to respond with theological rigor and integrity while also being able to speak meaningfully about how our understanding of the triune God, the Lordship of Christ, the sacraments and other means of grace, justification & sanctification, etc., make a different in ministry and discipleship.

These are just a few of the highlights. There was much more, and it was all great. (All the summaries above are, of course, from my own notes and are not a transcript of what Dr. Jeffords said.)

2014-11-11_Jeffords visit 3I’ve been counseling students for years who are working through ordination candidacy while they’re also going through seminary. I’ve never found that they have an issue with candidacy being a demanding, even rigorous process. The objections they tend to raise have to do with the seeming opaqueness or confusing aspects of the process. Usually that is due to poor communication of one sort or another, and sometimes it is due to the inherently “institutional feel” that candidacy processes have taken on in the contemporary church.

The good news is that these challenges can all be fixed. The bad news, if that’s the right word for it, is that the work of fixing our problems is dependent on intentional, focused work by those in the relevant leadership positions in each annual conference. The Memphis Conference at least is fortunate in having a leader the caliber of Johnny Jeffords as it moves forward with the work of its own Board of Ordained Ministry.

For other posts about the Methodist House of Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary, click here.


 

Fellowships for Doctoral Study

31 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by admin in Theological Education, United Methodist Church

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Are you a United Methodist planning on pursuing a doctorate in some area of theological studies?

A Foundation for Theological Education (or AFTE) is an organization that annually awards fellowships for doctoral studies to United Methodists. These are called the John Wesley Fellowships, and they can go a long way in making a Ph.D. or Th.D. program affordable for aspiring scholars who have strong Wesleyan commitments and a love for the church.

Dr. Joel Green of Fuller Theological Seminary has written an article explaining the John Wesley Fellowship Program. Applications are now available on the AFTE website and are due on January 20, 2015.

I mention the John Wesley Fellowship program because I have firsthand experience with it. I held a fellowship when I was in my doctoral program at Duke, and both the support from AFTE and the camaraderie I developed with other fellows in the program were very important factors the whole time I was in my Th.D. program. So if you are heading toward a doctoral program in theological studies, you should check it out!

AFTE_2


 

Job Announcement: Looking for a Librarian

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Theological Education

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The seminary where I teach—Memphis Theological Seminary—has just opened up a search for Library Director. If you are interested in this position or know someone who is, please feel free to pass this information along.

You can find a description of the position at the job board of the American Theological Library Association. Here’s the direct link. I’ll also reprint the text of the job announcement at the bottom of this post.

I can say from personal experience that the MTS library has been a real highlight of my time teaching on the faculty here. Our collection is larger than I would have expected from a freestanding seminary. We have a very strong collection of periodicals as well, which I hope will be augmented by an increased subscription to online databases in the coming years. The tradition at MTS has also been for the library director to be an administrative faculty position. So there is the possibility of teaching added to what I would regard as the very interesting challenge of carrying our library fully into the digital age in the years ahead.

For more information about Memphis Theological Seminary, click here. The job announcement is below.


 

Position Opening: Library Director

MEMPHIS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY seeks qualified applicants for the position of Library Director.

Qualifications

Qualifications include an M.L.S. with professional experience. A theological degree such as the M.Div (or equivalent) with experience in theological bibliography is preferred. Ph.D. or other terminal degree is desirable. The rank of administrative faculty will be considered for candidates who have the appropriate degree and/or experience. Applicants should show a willingness to work in the setting of an ecumenical Christian seminary with a diverse faculty, staff, and student body. Applications from traditionally under-represented populations are encouraged. The position is set to begin in the summer of 2015.

Responsibilities for the position include:

  • Oversight of the existing collection
  • Strategic planning for acquisitions of texts and periodicals in both print and digital formats
  • Managing staff (both full-time and part-time)
  • Managing an annual budget
  • Visioning for the library’s continuing transition into a multiplatform learning commons in the digital era
  • Ability to teach writing and research skills with reference to the theological disciplines
  • Primary leadership in coordinating/providing research assistance for faculty and students in the library’s collection and digital resources

Applicants should send a letter of application, CV, graduate transcripts, and three letters of reference to Dean Stan Wood, Memphis Theological Seminary, 168 E Parkway South, Memphis, TN 38104. Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2014.

Memphis Theological Seminary is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer.  It actively seeks and encourages nominations and expressions of interest from members of underrepresented populations.


Certificate in Wesleyan Studies

08 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, United Methodist Church, Wesleyan Theology

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John Wesley Seal (1)_vectorizedlargetransparentWe’re offering a Certificate in Wesleyan Studies to students in our master’s-level degree programs here at Memphis Theological Seminary. The certificate program was approved by the MTS faculty last spring, and it is now available to students as of this academic year.

I’m really excited about this new development. I see the Certificate in Wesleyan Studies as the centerpiece of the new Methodist House of Studies here at MTS. Let me tell you about it…

What’s the purpose of the Certificate in Wesleyan Studies? It is really two-fold. First, the certificate program will give students the ability to focus a certain number of hours in their elective coursework around courses grounded in the study of the Wesleyan tradition. The courses that already exist offer a diverse range of subject areas: theology, church history, pastoral care, evangelism, rhetoric & religion, denominational studies, and leadership studies. Future courses are in the planning stages that will broaden that range into both preaching and spiritual formation. By taking advantage of these offerings, students can immerse themselves in a level of Wesleyan theological formation that we believe is unique.

The second purpose of the new certificate program is to demonstrate to church judicatory bodies that the Methodist House at MTS is serious about Wesleyan formation for pastoral ministry. Take my own church as an example: the United Methodist Church. We want our United Methodist graduates to be able to go before their Boards of Ordained Ministry with an M.Div degree under one arm and a Certificate in Wesleyan Studies under the other. We want bishops and annual conferences to know that they can send their students to MTS with the knowledge that they’ll be able to take advantage of innovative coursework designed to bring theory and practice together—all in a distinctly Wesleyan accent.

It is true that the requirements for the Certificate in Wesleyan Studies are not particularly easy to attain. Earning the certificate requires 15 hours of coursework in approved courses, in addition to active participation in the Methodist House of Studies during one’s student career here. We allow no transfer hours—all of the courses that apply for the certificate must be earned here at MTS. In our research about certificate programs during the development stage last year, we found that almost no certificates require more than 15 hours save those that are intended to result in some type of professional certification. In other words, we’ve set the bar high on what a student will have to accomplish to graduate with the certificate. But here’s the truth of the matter: That’s exactly how we want it.

We want the Certificate in Wesleyan Studies to really mean something, and we want our graduates who earn it to know that as well.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I believe Memphis Theological Seminary will be offering a wider range of coursework in Wesleyan Studies than any seminary in the United States within two years. We have a critical mass of faculty here who believe that the kind of traditioned approach to theological education that the Methodist House of Studies is advancing is crucial to how we will be going about forming men and women for ministry in the future.

We want to be on the leading edge of those changes.

And you know what? There are plenty of people out there who are considering seminary and wrestling with God’s call right now. If you are one of those people, I hope you’ll join us.

 


 

Methodist House of Studies Online

02 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by admin in Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, Wesleyan Tradition

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One of the ways we’re going to make the Methodist House of Studies visible here at MTS is through a new website that we launched a few days ago. Go ahead and take a look!

My hope is that this website can serve a number of purposes. The primary purpose will be informational. I want the website to provide helpful information for current and prospective students. It will highlight what we’re doing through the Methodist House, and what we’ve got planned for the future.

John Wesley Seal (1)_vectorizedlargetransparentAnother role the website will fulfill is in outreach to the church. Every one of the Methodist professors here at MTS is also an ordained minister with significant pastoral experience. We believe that the academic work that we do ought to be directed at helping to equip the church to fulfill its mission more effectively. Our professors engage in work related to youth ministry, urban ministry, addiction recovery, local church ministry, and Wesleyan approaches to evangelism—all of which are deeply relevant to the day-to-day ministry of the church. As the Methodist House website develops, it will be a resource both to provide churches with helpful resources and to highlight some of the speaking events and workshops that our professors are doing.

Finally, my hope is that our new website will simply serve as a network to further the work of Wesleyan revitalization. We live in a time when the ‘catholic evangelicalism’ of the Wesleyan tradition is needed more than ever. In a world where cynicism and discord often seem to be ascendent, I hope the Methodist House can be a community where the ‘hope that is within us’ can be the primary mark of how we serve God and one another. If the website can contribute to that work in some small way, then it will have served a good purpose.

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