Wesley Theological Seminary » Academics

Interested applicants are encouraged to ontact the Wesley's Office of Admissions via email or via phone at (202) 885-8659.

Tracks Projected for 2009 and 2010:

Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling - January 2009
The Arts and Theology - January 2009
Spirituality and Story - May 2009
Church Leadership Excellence - May 2009
Urban Ministry - January 2010 - at the 900 Massachusetts Avenue Campus

Objectives
The Doctor of Ministry program offers an advanced-level curriculum integrating the experiences of ministry with the academic resources of the Seminary. As ministry is fundamentally theological in character, disciplined theological reflection is fostered as its root in all offices and functions. The D.Min. Program aims at enabling pastors to develop an integrated theology of ministry that embraces the total life and mission of the church.

The specific goals of the doctor of ministry program at Wesley include acquainting students with current theological trends and issues, deepening the integration of discipline and ministry, and providing students with opportunities for establishing lasting collegial ties with other students.

Admission Criteria

Admission to any Wesley degree program requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited college. In addition, applicants for the Doctor of Ministry program must hold a Master of Divinity or equivalent from a seminary accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and must have completed three years of ministry experience prior to entering Wesley's D.Min. program.

Admission is based on academic achievement and the Seminary's ability to meet your goals, as well as on your personal and professional qualifications for Christian ministry. Previous academic achievement should reflect a grade point average of at least 3.0 at the graduate level.

Applying for Admission

1. Complete the application form in all detail and submit the $40 processing fee.
2. Submit:
a. A brief biographical statement that describes your career in ministry in chronological order
b. A personal evaluation of your professional competence
c. A statement on how you use your seminary education in the practice of ministry, especially studies in Bible, theology, and church history
d. Your reason for pursuing a D.Min. at Wesley.
3. Request that official transcripts from all junior colleges, colleges, universities, or seminaries you have attended be sent directly to the Office of Admissions.
4. List references from whom the Office of Admissions will request a letter of recommendation.

D.Min. Admission Timeline

October 1 - Deadline for tracks beginning in January
February 1 - Deadline for tracks beginning in May

Most D.Min. tracks are limited to 20 candidates and often fill completely. Therefore you are encouraged to apply well in advance of the deadline.

Requirements
The D.Min. program supports diverse areas of focus, or tracks, which require the successful completion of 24 core course hours and 6 hours of electives. Three hours for the Project Seminar are included in the core courses. Transfer credit is not accepted as a substitute for the required core courses. The project is generally written during the third year.

Electives may be completed through elective courses offered during the intensive terms (for those who have completed their core courses), through independent studies with Wesley faculty, or through work transferred from other ATS accredited institutions using the D.Min. program's transfer credit procedure. Up to 6 hours of elective courses may be taken outside Wesley. Work completed prior to entry into the D.Min. program at Wesley will not be applied towards the D.Min. degree. Transfer work must be done on an accredited, doctoral level and must not be applied toward the awarding of another degree.

The 30 hours of course work are normally completed within three and a half years. A limit of six years will be allowed for completion of the D.Min. degree. The faculty's Doctor of Ministry Committee will entertain requests for time extensions in circumstances of unusual gravity. Students who have outstanding work and incomplete grades from the January and May terms of a given year will not be allowed to enroll in courses for the following January. Course work must be started within two years after admission into the program; otherwise, eligibility for admission will be reviewed.

Two months before the January or May intensive term, students receive their reading lists and preparatory assignments. Each of the two weeks of the intensive term requires 30 contact hours with the professor. After the intensive term, students have two months to complete course assignments. The two weeks on campus for the intensive term are devoted entirely to class interaction on the basis of the preparatory work.

Peer learning is an essential part of Wesley D.Min. programs. D.Min. core courses are normally limited in enrollment to those students in a given D.Min. track.

Ministerial setting is also an essential part of Wesley's D.Min. program. Students are encouraged to engage people in their ministry settings in a variety of ways, from personal support and accountability to participation in the projects and oral examinations.

The Project Paper

Each student will write a project proposal in the Project Seminar. When the seminar instructor approves a student's project proposal, that proposal is forwarded to the D.Min. Committee for assignment of a faculty reader. Upon payment of a $250 Reader's Fee, the student is formally advanced to candidacy status in the D.Min. program. The faculty reader will serve as a consultant to the candidate for selection of the specialized elective courses as well as the development of the Project Paper.

The Project itself should be started as soon as possible following the approval of the proposal, advancement to candidacy, and assignment of a faculty reader. A first draft of the complete Project Paper is due in the D.Min. Office by February 1 preceding graduation. During the month of March preceding graduation, each candidate will make an oral presentation and evaluation of his or her project. Proposed venues for this presentation should be cleared with the D.Min. Office. Two copies of the Project Paper in final form, together with two copies of a 100-word abstract, and various forms provided by the Library, must be submitted to the D.Min. Office on or before the date specified in the Seminary Calendar.

Electives

Any combination of the following options may be used to fulfill the elective course requirements for a D.Min. track:

elective courses/seminars for D.Min. students offered during the January and May intensive terms
a maximum of six credit hours taken as independent study under the direction of Wesley faculty
immersion study experiences, directly related to the subject of focus for a given track, for a maximum of six credit hours
advanced seminars in Wesley's M.Div. curriculum in which Wesley faculty agree to develop additional readings and assignments for the D.Min. student.
approved courses at member institutions of the Washington Theological Consortium.
work at other ATS approved institutions with prior approval from Wesley's D.Min. Office

Length of Program

Wesley's D.Min. degree requires successful completion of thirty hours of course work, plus a D.Min. project and project paper. Classes are held during intensive two-week periods in January and May.

Future Tracks

Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling

Subject of Focus: Designed to equip ministers with the theoretical and practical tools necessary for more effective and reflective ministry in care and counseling. It will include a strong emphasis on biblical and theological foundations combined with current theory and best practices. Participants will grow in both theological and clinical competencies, in the ability to reflect as pastoral theologians and in the ability to respond to pressing human needs as skilled caregivers. Four hundred clinical hours in an AAPC affiliated or accredited center or two units of ACPE-recognized CPE are required.

Students in this program will select one of two possible tracks for clinical training:

Pastoral Counseling - In this track, students will be required to complete 400 clinical hours in an AAPC (American Association of Pastoral Counseling) affiliated or accredited center. Normally, these client hours as well as additional supervisory and case conference meetings will occur over a period of two years.
Clinical Pastoral Education - In this track, students will be required to complete two units of ACPE (Association for Clinical Pastoral Education) recognized CPE from the time of entering the D.Min. program. These may be full time or extended units of CPE. Students will be responsible for securing their clinical settings in consultation with Wesley's D.Min. faculty. The clinical component fulfills 6 credit hours of this D.Min. degree. Students also may apply these clinical hours toward certification or licensure in various professional associations (e.g., AAPC, ACPE, and APC).

Core Courses:

Foundations and New Directions in Pastoral Theology and Practice
Assessment, Diagnosis, and Psychopathology
Theological Foundations for Pastoral Care and Counseling
Intercultural Pastoral Care and Counseling
The Bible as Source for Pastoral Care and Counseling
Ethnography and Transformation of Congregations
The Care and Counseling of Couples and Families
Project Seminar

The Arts and Theology

Subject of Focus: Use of artistic and theological resources to unfold theological truth, to recognize the glories and claims of creation, to articulate the depths of suffering, and to enhance the proclamation of the gospel of the Incarnate One in the congregation and the public arena. The venue for this doctor of ministry track will rotate between classroom, studio, stage, museum, and church.

Core Classes:

Spirituality and Creativity
Integrating the Arts into Worship
The Hebrew Bible and the Arts
Songs of Zion: Ancient and New
The Jazz Tradition: An American Treasure and Theological Resource
Redemption and Reconciliation in Contemporary Drama
Historical Theology in Ethiopian and Russian Iconography
Project Seminar

Life Together: Spirituality for Transforming Community

Subject of Focus: Life Together is one of the most popular tracks at Wesley. It looks to the transformation of groups (congregations, ministries, communities, the public) through the use of classical and contemporary texts and the spiritual disciplines of the church.

Core Courses:

Life in Community: Theological Reflection and Experiential Models - Dr. Michael Koppel
Exodus, Covenant, Exile: the Formation and Transformation of God's People - Dr. Bruce Birch
Howard Thurman - Dr. Beverly Mitchell
God's Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World - Dr. Amy Oden
Pilgrimage to the Alabama of the Civil Rights Movement - August 2009 (6 credits) - Dr. C. Anthony Hunt
Listening as a Tool for Transformation of the Congregation - Dr. Mary Clark Moschella
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks

Missional Evangelism

Subject of Focus: Across the mainline church the cry goes out to have done with a thousand and one lesser things and get back to the essential work of the church, making disciples. The cry is too often little more that an institution's thinly disguised anxiety over its loss of numbers, an anxiety that invites simplistic diagnoses and bold sounding but irrelevant moves. This doctor of ministry track will look at the biblical and theological foundations that motivate the church to focus on making disciples of Jesus Christ as well as give substance to contemporary best practices. There are best practices that are sensitive to post-modern sensibilities, take local church story, size, and context into account, and manage to combine ancient passion and vision with twenty-first century awareness.

Core Courses:

Missional Evangelism - Dr. Scott Kisker
Historical Models of Missional Evangelism - Dr. Douglas Strong
Salvation in the New Testament - Dr. Michael Gorman
Preaching to Those on the Edge of Faith - Dr. William McClain
God's Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World - Dr. Amy Oden
Making Disciples Across Class and Culture - Dr. Sathianathan Clarke
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks
Leading Fruitful Congregations - Dr. Lovett Weems

Current Tracks

Spirituality and Story

Subject of Focus: Narrative as a category of spirituality and as a tool by which pastors participate in the work of weaving human stories into the fabric of God's story.

Core Courses:

Spiritual Biography and Autobiography - Dr. Douglas Strong
Theology as Story - Dr. Kendall Soulen
Life Story and Spiritual Practice - Rev. Marjorie Thompson
A Word of Silence: Narrative Spirituality and Preaching - Rev. Michael Williams
Narrative Collapse and Restoration: Story and Healing - Dr. Bruce Epperly
African-American Novel as Theological Source - Dr. Josiah Young
Spirituality through Negotiating Religious Otherness - Dr. Sathianathan Clarke
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks

Church Leadership Excellence

Subject of Focus: Personal issues and public practices of those called to lead the church. A serious engagement with contemporary secular leadership studies is held in tension with contemporary theologies of the church.

Core Courses:

Effective and Visionary Leadership - Dr. Lovett Weems
Leading God's People: Lessons from the Old Testament - Dr. Bruce Birch and Rev. Susan Halse
Leadership Diversity in the 21st Century - Dr. Jacqueline Lewis and Rev. John Janka
Paul and Church Leadership - Dr. Craig Hill and Dr. Lewis Parks
The Cultural Dynamics of Leadership - Dr. George Thompson
The Art of Leadership Improvisation - Dr. Michael Koppel and Rev. Gina Campbell
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks
The Leader as Communicator - Dr. Lovett Weems

Campus Ministries

Subject of Focus: The unique challenges of the mission field of the college or university campus: working in the shadow of secular science, witnessing in a pluralistic faith environment, meeting the respective needs of traditional and non-traditional students, connecting with local congregations, and long-term financial support.

Core Classes:

The Spirituality of Young Adults and Non-Traditional Students - Dr. Bruce Epperly
Theology for Campus Ministry - Dr. Kendall Soulen
Education for Stability and Change: Biblical Perspectives - Dr. Denise Dombkowski Hopkins
The Life and Vision of Howard Thurman - Dr. Beverly Mitchell
Best Practices in Leadership and Administration for Campus Ministers - Dr. Lovett Weems
Moral Discernment in the Context of Pluralism - Dr. Sondra Wheeler
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks
Worship for Campus Ministers - Dr. Eileen Guenther and Dr. Laurence Hull Stookey

Wesley and the Poor

Subject of Focus: Providing church leaders with a new vision and new tools for leading the church in ministry to and with the poor. Note: January case study of St. John's Downtown takes place in Houston, TX.

Core Courses:

John Wesley and the Poor - Dr. Douglas Strong
The Church and the Poor: A Study in Social Location - Dr. James Shopshire
Hearing the Voice of the Poor in the Bible - Dr. Sharon Ringe
Pastoral Theology and Economic Justice - Dr. Mary Moschella
St. John's Downtown, Houston, TX: A Case Study in Ministry to and with the Poor
(6 credit hours) - Dr. Fred Smith, Rev. Rudy Rasmus, and Rev. Juanita Rasmus
Teaching the Church's Moral Tradition on Wealth - Dr. Sondra Wheeler
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks

Faith and the Health of Communities

Subject of Focus: Leadership capacities of religious professionals working on the boundaries of faith and public health practices. Uses the combined resources of Wesley Theological Seminary, the Interfaith Health Program of Emory University in Atlanta, and Methodist Healthcare of Memphis

Core Courses:

Dynamics of Power and Health - Dr. Fred Smith
Salvation, Health and Community - Dr. Sondra Wheeler
Biblical Faith and Human Health - Dr. Denise Dombkowski Hopkins
Health as Urban Ministry - Dr. Gary Gunderson
Faith, Flesh, Health Alignment - Dr. Fred Smith
Building Religious Leadership Competencies for Serving - Dr. Lovett Weems
Project Seminar - Dr. Lewis Parks
Religion as an Asset for Health: The Social Science Perspective - Dr. James Cochrane and Dr. Gary Gunderson