Personal Spiritual Formation (PSF)
PSF 511NE, 512NE, 513NE, 514NE (Core courses)
Introduction to Personal and Spiritual Formation
Credits: 0.5 for each course (2 credits total)
Interwoven throughout the period of the NES Core curriculum, these courses are designed to provide a theological, historical, and practical introduction to the resources and disciplines of formative Christian spirituality. In addition to exposure to classical materials through integrated readings in the Core curriculum, students will participate outside of class in a faith-sharing practicum, chapel programs, seminary retreats, and an individual formative assessment process.
[Prerequisite: see BHT511—514NE] [Corequisite: must be taken with BHT 511NE, 512NE, 513NE, 514NE]
PSF 611NE
Pastoral Formation
Credits: 3
This course offers substantial exposure to the rich resources of the Christian tradition regarding the nature and practice of the pastoral calling. Among the issues explored are the spiritual and theological foundations of pastoral work, the discovery of a pastoral identity, the meaning of ordination, and the office and functions of the pastor. Building on a foundation of the central pastoral acts of prayer, Scripture reading, and spiritual direction, the course seeks to assist the student in the development of a method for ongoing theological reflection in ministry.
PSF 612NE
Spiritual Formation
Credits: 3
This course addresses such questions as the nature of spiritual formation, the dynamics involved in Christian spiritual formation, and its distinctiveness in relation to other religious and ideological spiritualities in our world. Based on van Kaamian’s Formative Spirituality, students develop a holistic appraisal framework that is conducive to and compatible with the Christian revelation. The course surveys classic Christian texts from a variety of Christian traditions throughout history to deepen appreciation for the rich and varied ways people experience knowing the Holy Trinity. Students engage in classic spiritual disciplines including: Scripture reading, reading Christian devotional texts, prayer, journaling, retreat, and shared communal worship and reflection. Through these means, students nurture attentiveness to the presence and work of God in their everyday lives. Students learn to identify dispositions to nurture intentionally as well as the specific obstacles to and facilitating conditions for nurturing these dispositions.
PSF 615NE
Exploring Personal and Spiritual Faith Development
Credits: 2
Faith will be explored from a life cycle, developmental perspective, from infancy through senior adulthood. Autobiographical, theological, and theoretical perspectives will be examined. Students will narrate/map their own faith journeys. Strategies for facilitating faith development in the church setting will be discussed.
PSF 620NE
The Use of Scripture in Meditation and Prayer
Credits: 2
The use of Scripture in meditation and prayer is key to both a close relationship with Jesus Christ and to a faithful ministry. John Wesley considered meditation upon Scripture and prayer like the air we breathe. He used Lectio Divina and journaling as the means by which he traced the movements of God in his life in order to “walk according to the Spirit.” The student will learn about and experience Lectio Divina, other prayer forms, and journaling in the course. Students will learn about the rich spiritualities which influenced Wesley and his life of prayer and ministry.
PSF 621NE
Introduction to Spiritual Direction
Cedits: 2
Spiritual direction is one milieu in which we find another person of faith who will invite us to pay attention to our experiences and responses to God’s action in our daily lives. This course will provide a basic introduction to spiritual direction as well as an experiential understanding of what it is, what it is not, its benefits, and differences between it and pastoral counseling or clinical therapy. It will address the history and practice of spiritual direction as well as its place in 21st century spirituality.
PSF 622NE
Metaphor, Image and Story: Apprehending the Gospel from the Creative Side of Our Nature
Credits: 2
How do we nourish our imaginations? How should the Christian interact with the culture in which we live? Do we have sources of private delight? Have we ever seen Jesus through the membrane of another story? In this course, students will read Scripture and selected works in the literary canon. In addition to surveying some representative authors, the students will concentrate on an author of their choosing and write about how and why this author speaks to them. The course will also explore some of the ways the arts can be used to unlock the creative springs within us.
PSF 623NE
Social Justice and Spirituality
Credits: 3
This course is a study of the intersection of faith and social justice and relationship of the first two great commandments. Students will study relevant spiritual writings that include application to social justice and peacemaking. Included are readings by Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, Gustavo Gutierrez, Teresa of Avila, and others. The disciplines including prayer, simplicity, confession, and worship will be studied in relation to the Christian call to mission and creating social justice. Students will explore practical ways to live out the call of Jesus to worship God and love their neighbor. (This course satisfies the social ethics requirement.)
PSF 652NE
Calling and Vocation
Credits: 2
This course will provide students with an opportunity to explore the relationships between spiritual formation, personality, and leadership. Students will benefit from standard personality and leadership assessment tools to gain insights into their own personality and leadership style. In addition, students will enhance their understanding of the biblical foundation of leadership and the significance of spiritual formation for today’s Christian leaders. The expected outcomes of this course will be a well-developed theology of ministry within the context of the individuals’ personality, spiritual giftedness and leadership style. Students will develop an informed sense of calling to their unique place in the Kingdom of God and will begin to consider a strategy of continuous personal growth to enhance their effectiveness in ministry for years to come.
PSF 653NE
Global Themes in Christian Spirituality
Credits: 2
Global Themes in Christian Spirituality is a survey course that approaches the topic of Christian spirituality from the viewpoint of various thematic expressions of lived Christian discipleship in a global context. These thematic expressions will be overviewed and placed in dialog with both cultural dynamics and theological issues and assumptions. Goals of the course include an increased appreciation of global theology as an aspect of our shared Christian heritage, an increased ability to situate one’s own Christian spiritual traditions within the broader Christian tradition, a recognition of the powerful dynamics of culture on expressions of Christian spirituality, and an ability to bring focal attention to theological assumptions of various Christian spiritual traditions.
PSF 655NE
Celtic History and Spirituality
Credits: 2
This course explores the rich resources that Celtic history and spirituality offer for individual worship and spiritual formation. Celtic Christianity in Ireland and Britain, while an integral part of the larger Christian world, had its own distinctive character, which continues to influence the church today. The Celtic church was monastic and evangelistic, contemplative and engaged. Leaders such as Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Aidan, and Columbanus modeled and taught a way of life that was at once demanding and contagious. Pushing beyond romantic images, this course seeks to understand Celtic Christianity as it actually was, through primary sources and contemporary interpretation, in order to appreciate its culture, context, and contribution. The course will include examination of Celtic authors and interpreters such as David Adam, Pat Robson and Brendan O’Malley, exposure to significant organizations, including the Iona and Northumbria Communities, and an introduction to contemporary Celtic Christian music and art. This course is cross-listed as HST 655NE.
PSF 685NE
Topics in Contemporary Christian Spirituality
Credits: 2
This is a seminar-style course that will explore one focused topic of contemporary importance to the Church as it relates to a holistic view of Christian spirituality (specific topics of focus will change from one semester to another). A central goal of the course will be for students to develop a theologically grounded and spiritually formative approach to the discernment of cultural dynamics that are forming their personal expressions of Christian spirituality and the spirituality of the contemporary Church as a whole. The course will give special attention to making focally aware what are often implicit formational dynamics in order to create a healthy environment of questioning, critiquing, and prophetically responding to sociohistoric currents in which we are immersed. Examples of topics on which the course might focus include: spirituality and technology; spirituality and issues of gender; spirituality and consumerism; or Christian spirituality as it encounters spiritual pluralism. (Course may be repeated if topic differs.)
PSF 695NE
Independent Study in Personal Spiritual Formation
Credits: 0.5—3
Through guided studies and spiritual readings, the student is given the opportunity to investigate additional or assigned areas of personal spiritual formation—current and historical.
[Prerequisite: advisor and instructor approval required and a GPA of 3.0]
PSF 699NE
M.A. Thesis in Personal and Spiritual Formation
Credits: 3
This course is a research option for M.A. students in the field of personal and spiritual formation. Students wishing to pursue thesis work must file a written petition with academic services formally requesting this degree completion method prior to registering for the course. (Students who have not completed the thesis project by the end of the semester will automatically be registered for RES 799NE-Continuation of Registration for Master’s Thesis, and charged a $250 fee every subsequent semester until the completion of the master’s thesis.)
[Prerequisite: faculty approval] [Corequisite: must be taken in conjunction with RES 690NE]