Leadership in Preaching and Pastoral Ministry
The Leadership in Preaching and Pastoral Ministry concentration emphasizes "knowing," that is, you communicate truth in ways that lead people -- they know the right direction. You learn to lead people from where they are to where they need to go. You give them purpose.
Seminars in the Leadership in
Preaching and Pastoral Ministry Concentration
DMP-801 Leading Through Preaching/Communication (3 hours)
Leading well requires that biblical truth be persuasively communicated so that people can understand it and will live it. People need instruction that ties the truth of Scripture together with their church’s philosophy of ministry. For this to happen, the church’s mission must have a unifying theme that is pervasive in weekly preaching. Students learn to communicate vision, mission, values and purpose through a normal year’s preaching.
For preaching to be relevant as God intends it must first be biblical. Some of the questions addressed are: How does one select and study a passage to discover the exegetical idea? How does one take this exegetical idea and develop a homiletical idea with a biblical purpose? How can the sermon be shaped to carry out that purpose?
DMP-813 Relevant Biblical Preaching II (3 hours)
Preaching must not only be biblical, it must be relevant. The gulf between the biblical world and the modern world must be bridged. Biblical truth must be applied to the everyday life of the audience. Students will examine the communication process and analyze the audiences to which they preach in order to structure sermons according to the listeners’ needs. (Prerequisite: Relevant Biblical Preaching I)
DMP-813 Using Narrative Preaching to Raise Interest and Improve Retention (3 hours)
People in today’s culture are constantly exposed to narrative media. Many people may better listen to and remember a familiar narrative style of presentation than the traditional didactic one. Narrative literature com-prises much of the biblical material and demands a special hermeneutic to understand its message. The sermon can also be structured in a narrative style.
DMP-815 Preaching Creatively to Help People Listen (3 hours)
The use of storytelling, extended illustration and various approaches to preaching develops a more interesting delivery. The seminar is intended to enhance creativity in sermon style and increase the student’s ability to read Scripture well.
DMP-816 Expository Preaching of Old Testament Narrative (3 hours)
Narrative preaching and preaching narrative scripture are different. The first is preaching in a narrative style. The second is preaching a narrative passage. One can preach a narrative passage in a narrative style, but also preach a narrative passage in other styles. However one preaches, the keys to preaching narrative scripture must be grasped. This seminar focuses on the development and delivery of expository sermons from O.T. narrative passages.
DMP-821 Ministering to Adults with Diverse Needs (3 hours)
Adults have unique needs. A model will be developed for ministering to adults in light of the unique needs of different adult learners: young, middle, senior, singles, and single parents. Adults desire ministry that addresses the needs that they have, not the needs that others have.
DMP-822 Building a Church of People With
Purpose
It is not sufficient for leaders to know where they are going. For a church to be healthy and move forward the people must know where they are going. Students will study the principles for building a church of people who have a sense of purpose.
DMP-823 Relating Theology and Culture (3 hours)
In a world wallowing in relativism, the church and individual Christians must be called back to biblical values as the only foundation for any genuine and lasting impact on their culture. The church must respond to the current debate on culture wars and the church’s place in modern society. Christian leaders must understand both theology and culture if they are to communicate Christian principles in a way that will be understood by people whose thinking has been molded by cultural relativism rather than the Bible.
DMP-825 Navigating the Minefields of Ministry (3 hours)
There is a need to step away from the daily pressure of public Christian service and observe some of the per-sonal dimensions of life in leadership. Engaging in self-examination through dialogue with peers and class instructors helps students see themselves more clearly. Formulating ideas and plans for the future that might make leadership more sustainable and satisfying is the goal.
DMP-890 Independent Study in Preaching and Pastoral Ministry (3 hours)
An independent study in pastoral ministries may be arranged with an appropriate professor with the approval of the D.Min. Director. Only two independent studies or transfer of credits from another seminary may be included in the student’s course work.
