17 Mar PMLT Studies UB Pastoral Training
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team. L-r: Chuck Wheatley, Robert Bruce, Craig Burkholder, Lee Rhodes (chairman), Chris Little (red shirt, back to the camera), Bishop Phil Whipple, Cathy Reich (secretary, hidden), Terry Smith, Dennis Sites.
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team (PMLT) met Monday night and Tuesday, March 15-16. The main agenda item involved pastoral training. The Huntington University Graduate School will discontinue the Pastoral Leadership track in June. That has always been our primary vehicle for training ministers. The PMLT needed to figure out how to replace it.
They settled on a list of 11 core courses for the National Conference license, and 24 core courses for ordination. If no college can be found that offers a particular course, the PMLT may cover the subject through a workshop of some kind. A Masters degree is no longer required for ordination.
Here are the course subjects. If you have questions, ask them in the “Comments,” and Bishop Whipple will respond.
| National Conference License |
Ordination |
| Spiritual Formation | Bible Study |
| Old Testament Survey | Mentoring and Time Management |
| New Testament Survey | Christian World View |
| Systematic Theology | Christian Ethics |
| UB History | Church History Survey |
| Pastoral Care and Counseling | Missions |
| Preaching | Worship |
| Ministry Internship | Relationship Building |
| Evangelism | Equipping the Church for Service |
| Bible Elective | Conflict Management |
| Bible Elective | Leadership of a Governing Body |
| Leadership of a Congregation | |
| Staff (Lay or Paid) Management |
Joe Leighton
Posted at 09:04h, 17 MarchThis looks like a very good step. How will these courses be made available – via enrollment @ HU, distance education (internet, correspondence) or some combination of the two?
Phil Whipple
Posted at 09:15h, 17 MarchA number of the courses are already available through Huntington University. We will continue to work with them on others. We will accept work from other Christian colleges as well as long as it is approved in advance. We will be putting together very soon a list of colleges and universities that we will accept work from. A few of the courses will be put together in a seminar or workshop style. Thanks for your question.