Churches are not the only institution caught in the midst of incredible change and reformation. Seminaries and colleges are also experiencing the upheaval of cultural and technological shift. Many leaders in higher education are wrestling with how to reform and restructure, in order to prepare for the future they know is coming (and, in many ways, is already here). I’d encourage them to read my friend Tony Jones’ recent series on “What Seminary Education Ought to Be.”
While students are increasingly frustrated by the burden of incredible tuition debt, the call to seek higher education continues to roll on. Scot McKnight (someone I confused for all the time, no doubt because of our smashing good looks) has written “10 Reasons to Attend Seminary,” but keep in mind he teaches at Northern Seminary in Chicago, so he has to say things like this. (*wink*)
With summer registration deadlines looming, I thought now would be a good time to highlight some of the many degree programs that are now available for those interested in more formal education around missional leadership and church ministry (in no particular order):
- Wheaton College – Masters in Missional Church Movements — led by Alan Hirsch and Dr. Rick Richardson; next course starts July 9, 2012
- Fuller Seminary – Missional Leadership Cohort — led by Alan Roxburgh and Mark Lau Branson; application deadline: July 10, 2012
- Seattle School of Theology and Psychology – Leadership in the New Parish — led by Dwight Friesen, Paul Sparks, and Tim Soerens; cohort application deadline: July 15, 2012. I especially love the “think tank” model they are using for this certificate program.
- Northwest University – Master of Arts in Missional Leadership — next information session is July 16, 2012
- George Fox University – Leadership and Global Perspectives DMin program (formerly known as the Global Missional Leadership DMin) — led by Dr. Jason Clark; rolling application deadline
- George Fox University – MA in Ministry Leadership — includes courses in missional ecclesiology and missional leadership (Thanks to Carol McLaughlin at GFU for suggesting this one!)
- Luther Seminary – Center for Missional Leadership — offers four degree programs (M.A., M.Div., D.Min., Ph.D.) supported by a teaching team of faculty from multiple disciplines
- Southern Methodist University/Perkins School of Theology – Missional Wisdom program — led by Dr. Elaine Heath; Year One starts September 6, 2012
- Biblical Seminary – ACT 3 Missional-Ecumenical Leadership Cohort — led by Dr. John H. Armstrong; next cohort group begins in Philadelphia on September 20, 2012
- Northern Seminary – Missional Leadership DMin— led by David Fitch, Alan Roxburgh, Craig Van Gelder
- Rochester College – MRE in Missional Leadership — led by Dr. Mark Love
- Wesley Theological Seminary – Emerging Ministry program — while not explicitly “missional,” does include some missional courses (thanks to Mike Croghan for suggesting this one!)
- Northwest Nazarene University – MDiv and MA in Missional Leadership — courses taught by Dr. Tom Oord and others (thanks to Cody Stauffer for suggesting these!)
- Wycliffe College (Toronto, Canada) – MDiv and MTS with a Pioneer Track — “Pioneer Ministries are Anglican codeword for Missional,” according to Andrew Stephens-Rennie (thanks for suggesting this one, Andrew!)
- Ripon College (Cuddesdon, UK) – MA in Ministry — for folks across the pond, this degree program is offered through the Church Mission Society and led by Jonny Baker and missiologist Cathy Ross; launching September 2012
- Cliff College – MA in Mission (FX Emerging Church) — “It’s a missional programme running for the last five years that includes pioneering a new church as part of the programme. Mostly taken by those based in UK/Europe. It links with Cliff College’s PhD in Missiology which launched in September 2011,” according to Stephen Skuce (thanks, Stephen!)
I’m sure there are other degree programs that are missing from this. Do you know of others? Please post them (preferably with links for more info) in the comments! I’ll update this post as more information comes in.