H E L P I N G L E A D E R S B E C O M E B E T T E R S T E W A R D S .

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Ashland Theological Seminary

CONTINUING EDUCATION

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Table of Contents

MAKING THE MDIV PERSONAL 4By design, MDiv degrees develop competency in ministry skills. That’s a given.

But, at Ashland Theological Seminary, the process starts, continues — and concludes — with an emphasis on personal formation, as well.

By W.P. Payne, Ph.D. & Terry Wardle, D.Min.

CONSIDERING CHAPLAINCY? WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 5By W.P. Payne, Ph.D. & Terry Wardle, D.Min.

KEEPING CONTEXT AT THE FOREFRONT 6An in-depth look at Ashland Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program in Transformational Leadership with Dr. Matthew H. Bevere

By RaeAnn Slaybaugh

A HEART FOR PASTORAL COUNSELING 7 As Associate Dean for Counseling Programs at AshlandTheological Seminary, Dr. David P. Mann knows a lot about helping parishioners navigate the human condition — but that’s now.As a pastor, he had a lot to learn.

By RaeAnn Slaybaugh

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CONTINUINGEDUCATION

By design, MDiv degrees develop competency in ministry skills. That’s a given.

But, at Ashland Theological Seminary, the process starts, continues — and concludes — with an emphasis on personal formation, as well.

“We’ve designed the MDiv degree in such a way that, on the front end of students’ practical training, they spend a lot of time on issues of personal development, personal growth — personal formation,” explains Terry Wardle, Ph.D., Professor of Practical Theology and Director, Institute of Formational Counseling at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, OH. “Then, we begin to weave ministry formation into personal formation.”

Read on to find out more about this personal formation focus, how Ashland is making the

pursuit of an MDiv work with busy church leaders’ schedules, and more.

In what ways is an MDiv degree from your seminary unique? Wardle: One of the required courses in our MDiv program is “The

Person in Ministry,” which focuses on what Richard Foster calls the “upward and inward journey.” How will people who will be in ministry attend to their relationship with God, their intimacy with the Lord, their spiritual vitality, and their ongoing personal growth? We spend a lot of time on this, both curricularly and co-curricularly. Our experience has been that people don’t fail or lead in ministry because of competencies; the outcome depends more of their own spiritual vitality, the strength they have in Christ.

We’ve interwoven four primary core values — “the 4 Cs” — into the curricula: core identity, character, calling and competency. In every single course, we want to make sure our students are, in some ways, being impacted by all four.

In the past, we’ve found that students can get so focused on a competency (for example, how to administrate a church, or how to exudate scripture) that they begin to lose sight of how it integrates into the broader questions pertaining to being in ministry. So, we’re very intentional — even to the point of our syllabi — of designing courses that in some way are going to help students understand who they are in Christ (i.e., core identify); the importance of character; and then competency. I’ve found this to be an outstanding paradigm to keep all our courses mapped together in a significant way.

In what ways has the MDiv study format at Ashland evolved to suit church executives’ increasingly busy daily schedules?

Wardle: First, we’ve sought to decentralize our program so that it goes beyond our main campus here in Ashland to three satellite campuses in Cleveland, Detroit and Columbus.

Two other things have also become very important in this regard. One is offering courses in intensive modules so that a student can attend for a shorter period — maybe a weekend, or a five-day concentration — and pick up a course. Second, of course, they can also take courses online.

Let’s talk more about how the MDiv curricula at Ashland has adapted to hone spiritual formation.

Wardle: Sure. At Ashland, we have developed a very integrated new program — Life 6:31. that comes out of Mark 6:31: “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.”

In this program, students come to our campus for something like a residency, similar to the new monastic movement. We provide them with free housing, and they are here for three years. We then work hard to integrate spiritual formation into ministry formation so they’re not only taking their courses, but they’re also involved in pre- and post-retreats every year. They’re in a weekly journey group. They have a spiritual director. Then, they go through a rotation of ministry incubators very similar to what someone would have done in the medical school — a different rotation and various specialties.

Life 6:31 kicks off in fall 2016, but we’ve already started to market it, with a tremendous response. Many people thought that the days of residency were over; but, we believe there are people out there who are very hungry for a deeper experience of Christ and community.

We’ve designed this program so that students take their classes as a cohort. They move through the whole curriculum as a group, building deep relationships and learning how to lean in to another — and, most definitely, coming to an understanding of the relationship between their own spirituality and their effectiveness in ministry.

Not just among MDiv students, but also among individuals who are going into church administration, I’m finding they’re really hungry for a deep spiritual vitality. There needs to be some guidance so that they’re not getting caught up in the barrenness of busyness. Or, to say it another way, so that they’re not sacrificing being in the interest of doing.

Are there other ways in which the MDiv curricula at Ashland have been specialized and honed to address emerging areas of need among senior and executive church leaders?

Wardle: One way is by having a cohort of students go through the practical ministry courses together. That happens in their second year of study.

At that time, we also bring in specialists in the business field. Over lunch, they provide lectures and dialog with students about topics such as personal health and well-being, how to deal with student debt, better understand the culture, and so on.

— Reporting by RaeAnn Slaybaugh

Making the MDiv personal

Terry Wardle, PhD, Professor of Practical Theology; Director, Institute of Formational Counseling

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Considering chaplaincy? What you need to know

William P. Payne, PhD — who oversees the MDiv program in chaplaincy at Ashland Theological Seminary — is uniquely suited to shape the program. He spent 30 years as a chaplain in the Marines and Navy and is fully credentialed as a chaplain, both in the military and in the traditional hospital requirements. At Ashland, he is supported by other faculty who has spent many years in chaplaincy roles. As a result, the seminary’s chaplaincy training is exceptionally relevant in its ability to prepare students for these in-demand ministry roles.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm on our campus about chaplaincy because we’re seeing increasing need and increasing opportunity,” explains Terry Wardle, Ph.D., Professor of Practical Theology and Director, Institute of Formational Counseling at Ashland. “In this area, there are many institutions and hospitals looking for highly qualified men and women to come in and serve their clientele. We want to be right on the cutting edge of helping them.”

But, don’t take our word for it: Here, Dr. Payne talks about the study options available, the career prospects for graduates, and the skills and aptitudes that lend themselves well to this concentration.

What chaplaincy training options are available from Ashland?Payne: We have a continuum of learning with our MDiv in

chaplaincy. A clergyperson who feels called into chaplaincy — or a person who wants to be a chaplain but doesn’t have time to earn a full degree — can take the chaplaincy core. It consists of: • An introduction-to-chaplaincy class• Advanced ethics for ministry practitioners• Navigating the multi-faith context (world religions and cults)• Cultural competencies• Pastoral care classes• A unit of CPE (optional for non-degree-seeking students).

We also offer a MDiv equivalency in chaplaincy (73 hours). This is for a student who wants to pursue board certification and become a professional chaplain but does not feel called to be a pastor of a local church.

We offer a MDiv in chaplaincy (80 hours) for a student who needs a MDiv for ordination or simply prefers it.

Finally, we offer a D.Min. in chaplaincy that is perfect for a pastor who wants to get equipped to become a chaplain, or for a chaplain who wants more qualifications.

Where can an Ashland student work after graduation? Payne: Our graduates work for hospitals, hospice organizations,

the military, prisons, parish-based ministries, counseling programs, industry, police departments, retirement communities, college campuses, and many more places.

Why might a pastor want to “switch gears” to a chaplaincy role?Payne: People should not become chaplains because they’ve lost

their faith, are running from problems in the local church, or want more money. However, if a pastor feels called into a public ministry setting, loves people, has good pastoral care skills, likes to work as a member of a multidisciplinary team, wants regular job hours, and is willing to be re-trained, chaplaincy is a great option. Plus, generally it pays more than the local church.

What skills and aptitudes are necessary for church leaders interested in making the transition to chaplaincy?

Payne: The first skill is not a “skill,” per se —it’s a calling to become a chaplain.

Second, if the person wants to pursue board certification and work in a public setting, he or she will need the ability to minister to all. Our program equips a person to do this. It has four main outcomes:1) Be competent to minister to people

of your own faith tradition like a clergyperson of that tradition. This focuses on faith-specific ministry.

2) Be able to facilitate for people who are not of your faith tradition.

3) Give spiritual care to all without compromising your faith or the faith of the person with whom you are ministering.

4) Be a subject matter expert on all things related to ethics,religion and culture.

Which endorsements and other prerequisites will be needed prior to pursuing chaplaincy training?

Payne: It depends on where one enters into the continuum of learning. The diploma in chaplaincy is for non-degree-seeking people. The MA in Chaplaincy and the MDiv in chaplaincy normally require a bachelor’s degree. However, we accept people who enter through the 15 percent rule.

Also, bachelor-exempt students will be able to be board-certified if they complete the master’s degree. To become board-certified, in additional to the master’s degree, a person needs to complete four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPEs); be endorsed by a recognized faith community; complete 2,000 hours of ministry; and appear before the certification committee. Some churches require ordination before they endorse a person for chaplaincy; others do not.

Women who belong to churches that do not endorse or ordain women may get endorsement through other national organizations. They will be introduced to them in the program.

William P. Payne, PhD — Harlan and Wilma Hollewell Professor of Evangelism and World Missions — has served as a Navy and Marine Corps chaplain for many years, providing him with ministry opportunities in 27 countries

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CONTINUINGEDUCATION

Keeping context at the forefrontAn in-depth look at Ashland Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

program in Transformational Leadership with Dr. Matthew H. Bevere

In recent years, have pastors shown greater interest in leadership and management education?

Bevere: Yes, I believe so; but it goes beyond that. We’re seeing a lot of interest [in these types of offerings] among Christian leaders of all types, not just pastors.

As the landscape of ministry changes, there’s interest among Christian leaders who aren’t necessarily in full-time pastoral ministry positions. Although we certainly have those in full-time pastoral ministry in the program — they’re probably the majority — we also have Christians who lead in nontraditional ministry roles who are quite interested in leadership training.

The landscape of the culture and the church has changed. Because of that, Christian leaders are trying to navigate what it means to be in that role within the modern context. They’re looking for ways to help them do that.

What are some of the most valuable leadership skills church executives can develop today?

Bevere: In leadership, we talk a lot about skills. What are those leadership skills? One thing we really need to help students understand is that so much of leadership comes out of wisdom.

There’s certainly a body of skills which church leaders need to possess, and we can talk about those — listening skills, for example. Time management skills. People skills necessary to manage staff. Those are all very, very important.

Yet, all of those stem from leaders having the wisdom to know how to work in different situations. By this, I mean a leader must consider the context of his or her leadership — not simply as individual problems to be solved, but seeing their organization as an organic reality that’s very complex. It’s a more holistic view. So, for example, one of the things we examine is understanding leadership from a family systems perspective.

Does Ashland Theological Seminary offer advanced-level training to help pastors fill voids in their leadership acumen?

Bevere: We have a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program in Transformational Leadership that’s designed to address several different, critical areas in Christian leadership. It’s for pastors, but not exclusively.

In this program, we look at foundational issues — how scripture is applied in leadership situations, for example. We also look at things like how leaders can address issues of power; that’s something that often goes unaddressed in many leadership materials.

Again, I’d say the most important aspect of the DMin program in Transformational Leadership is that it’s designed to help guide students through leadership within their own ministry contexts. It’s not just a matter of learning principles of leadership or a theology of leadership; we

want to help students integrate their understanding of leadership from a biblical and theological point of view; we want those students to know how this is done within the context of ministry.

One of the words we use often in the DMin program is “integration.” How do you integrate your theology with the practical realities of your own leadership context?

In what ways has Ashland tried to make leadership and management training work for busy church executives?

We offer six courses over two years, each as a one-week intensive. We understand our DMin students to be a community of learners, so we want to put them in a focused, intensive experience. Obviously, they’re learning from faculty members, but they’re also learning from each other’s unique leadership experiences.

The assumption we have is that the Christian leaders who join the program are busy people. They’re all involved in ministry in some way — and actually, we want them to be involved in ministry! The main goal of the DMin program is for students to develop, implement, and then assess a leadership project within their own ministry context. To do that, they need to be in ministry leadership in some capacity. Students can be pastors, teachers, counselors, or Christian leaders in the marketplace.

— Reporting by RaeAnn Slaybaugh

Dr. Matthew H. Bevere, Associate Dean for the Doctor of Ministry Program at Ashland Theological Seminary (Ashland, OH); Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry

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Dr. David P. Mann

CONTINUINGEDUCATION

A heart for pastoral counselingAs Associate Dean for Counseling Programs at Ashland Theological Seminary, Dr. David P. Mann knows a lot about helping parishioners navigate the human condition — but that’s now. As a pastor, he had a lot to learn.

Tell us about the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program at Ashland Theological Seminary.

The CHMC program is what has evolved over the years, starting way back in the early 1970s — if not before that — with a degree in pastoral counseling. Back then, folks realized there were some real benefits from the behavioral sciences that could be integrated into the training of pastors. In my own training to become a minister [in the late 1970’s], I only had one class in pastoral counseling; and I’m pretty sure it was taught by somebody who’d never actually done it. By the end of my training, I had tons of biblical and theological training, and I was all set to answer questions. But then, people started coming to me and saying, ‘Pastor, my marriage is on the rocks. What do I do?’

So, I believe our program at Ashland was borne out of a need to help train pastors to help their congregations in ways beyond what they’d already been trained in — spiritual and religious things. The biblical and theological.

With limited training in counseling, how can a pastor know his or her limits of competence? When to refer — when they’re over their heads? How do they know when they’re dealing with someone who has a personality disorder, or a psychotic disorder?

And if they don’t know how to pick up on these things, they can place themselves in a bad spot. That can be really dangerous.

Back when I was a pastor in upstate New York, I just knew that my real calling was more about counseling and helping people. But, I recognized that I didn’t have the training, so I kept going out and getting more.

For pastors who really want to delve more into counseling, it’s important that they get the training necessary — hopefully from a program like ours which focuses on integration of the Christian worldview with the behavioral sciences.

Have pastors and other church leaders shown increased interest in pastoral counseling training and courses in recent years?

I’ve been with Ashland professionally, in some capacity, for 24 years. Over that time, CMHC training has been drawing more and more people like me, beyond just pastors: they’re answering the call to the ministry of counseling, be it in the church or in the marketplace. Also, I’m thrilled to see more churches opening their own counseling centers and providing pastoral care.

Over time, in our training program, we noticed a split: some people wanted to become licensed, and others just wanted to do ministry in their churches. For the latter group — because we had to meet the license requirement coursework (research, design, diagnosis and so on) —

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those students who were preparing to go into lay counseling or pastoral counseling weren’t being served well; they didn’t need the clinical coursework. So, we worked with our practical theology department and developed a more specialized degree for them: a master of arts in pastoral care and counseling.

We’ve also gotten a lot of people from the ‘nontraditional’ camp, so to speak. We’ve had a number of folks come [to Ashland] out of other non-ministry professions to pursue their heart call. One of our recent students was an accomplished lawyer. He had his own practice. He and his wife and were looking around their large church one Sunday and realized there were no resources to help couples who were in trouble; no professional counseling. As this dawned on them, he said it was as if the Lord “nudged” him to retire early and go back to school — and that’s exactly what he did. To my knowledge, he went back to his church and is helping to fill that need. He responded to the call.

How do you navigate Christian counseling with science? I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but it’s not as difficult as some might make it

out to be, either. Like anything we do[in Christian leadership], we need to always keep an eye towards the principles of scripture and how they play out in our world.

In my own counseling training, I remember one of my professors saying that the behavioral sciences can help us with the ‘how-to’s for the ‘ought-to’s. As an example, The Gottman Institute — which studies marriage and relationships — put out an article that said successful couples have ‘high levels of love and respect.’ I had two immediate thoughts when I read that: First: That’s wonderful! The researchers have found what scripture has said all along, because Scripture says, ‘Husbands, love your wives’ and ‘Wives, respect your husbands.’

My second thought was: Wait a second — if they’re researchers, they’ve got operational definitions for love and respect. That will help us, then, in talking to couples in our churches about what constitutes healthy, loving behaviors (or the lack thereof) or respectful behaviors (or the lack thereof).

If I get up in a congregation on Sunday morning and say that passage of Scripture, and then ask for a show of hands for those who believe it to be true, it’d be 100 percent of the people. But what if I asked, “And what does that love and respect look like?” Most of us would be stuck with, “Um, my best guess is …”

This is where I think the behavioral sciences — studying human behavior — can help us put into application a number of the things we see in Scripture.

And vice versa, by the way: scripture can hold us accountable in some of the sciences. For example, consider this question: Is my own pleasure and enjoyment in life my highest calling? From a Christian worldview, not necessarily.

What does the acronym “CACREP” mean, and why is it important that a degree be CACREP-accredited?

CACREP stands for Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. CACREP is really the gold standard for counselor education programs, be they Christian (or what they would refer to as ‘faith-based’) or — for lack of a better term — secular. It standardizes the education for the profession of counseling.

So many states have different counseling educational requirements. The accreditation Ashland has through CACREP says to the population, ‘We’re covering all the bases of a quality counselor education program.’

On the CACREP website, I was pleased to see that if someone is searching for a school, one of their criteria is: Do you want a faith-based school? So, they’re not telling us we can’t talk about faith. In fact, in CACREP-accredited schools, if you don’t broach the subject of spirituality with your client as part of the counseling process, there’s some question about whether or not you’re actually doing competent work.

What kinds of roles can a professional degree in counseling prepare leaders for?

Some students come to us knowing they’re going to become professional counselors. But, our program isn’t just about training counselors; it involves looking at the person and the transformation process that takes place while they’re here. We help them refine their call.

That said, I’ve seen a number of people leave here, get licensed as counselors, and serve in a variety of capacities — inpatient, outpatient, private practice, group practice.

Others go into pastoral work better prepared (like I wish I’d been as a pastor) to help parishioners navigate the real issues they’re dealing with, not simply the issues we’ve been trained to handle.

For pastors, it’s not just about delivering a good sermon; a lot of what we do is pastoral. It’s not just the services we perform for our people; it’s ministering to them throughout their lives.

What are some of the most valuable pastoral counseling skills a pastor can hone in today’s church leadership environment?

What some common psychological disorders look like, and how to refer people as needed. People need to meet with their pastors; at the same time, a pastor needs to have the skill to say, ‘This issue is outside of my ability to provide you with the best care. But, let me refer you to someone I trust who can take good care of you.’

Also, communication skills for families. Parenting skills. Gaining some understanding about the human condition and the real issues people are dealing with — addictions, personality disorders.

For busy pastors (who can’t or won’t leave their full-time ministry roles to study on-campus), are online study options available in the CMHC program?

Because our program is cohort-based program, it wouldn’t really work out well for them; their lives would be so out of balance. I say that with kind of an asterisk on it, though, because I’ve had a number of pastors who were able to delegate to others while they were in the training program.

We talk a lot about self-care here — a sense of, Don’t add this on to a 60- to 70-hour-a-week ‘plate’ that’s already full.

For those who have been able to do the training, they leave with a much better understanding of people, but also of themselves. I know a little about this myself. At my church, everyone referred to me as Pastor Mann. As a student here at Ashland, I got to be David. And David — in small groups — was able to explore some of David’s stuff.

My heart is for so many pastors, because I believe the church is one of the most healing places. If the church can become healthier in training its leaders — so that they understand the human condition and how to respond to it — those churches get healthier and healthier. That makes an impact on our society.

I often remind students that they’re change agents in their churches. Speaking as a former pastor — before I had the counseling training — I would’ve welcomed somebody with more training share what they know with me.

Pastors are so often dealing with grief and loss; but, for me, I wasn’t trained in what grief looked like. How long is it was supposed to last? What’s the role of the pastor beyond the funeral?

Even something like understanding why Mother’s Day and Father’s Day aren’t days of celebration for everyone in my church is important — figuring out how to approach these holidays. Not in a paranoid way, but sensitively. Some people are unable to have children. Some have lost children. Some don’t feel great about their mothers or fathers because of early life experiences — or maybe they never knew them.

We can celebrate holidays, but let’s be cautious because churches are places of ministry. At all times, we’re helping hurting people and nurturing their growth.

— Reporting by RaeAnn Slaybaugh