The Future of Seminaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Future of Seminaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nomad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-19T21:04:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/files\/2014\/10\/sfts-sunset5-300x217.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brandan Robertson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brandan Robertson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\",\"name\":\"The Future of Seminaries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-19T21:04:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-19T21:04:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830\"},\"description\":\"I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Future of Seminaries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/\",\"name\":\"Nomad\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830\",\"name\":\"Brandan Robertson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brandan Robertson\"},\"description\":\"Brandan Robertson is a leading progressive Christian writer, activist, and speaker, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He has been called one of the \u201cmost influential voices in the modern LGBTQ Christian movement\u201d and is passionate about helping people of faith understand the complexity and beauty of human sexuality, creating unlikely partnerships with communities of all faith's and no faith, and empowering people to be agents of renewal in their community, culture, and world. Brandan has a B.A. in Pastoral Studies and Bible from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and is pursuing his Masters of Divinity degree at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He writes regularly for Patheos, Huffington Post, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and IMPACT Magazine and has been a featured contributor to a number of major media outlets such as TIME Magazine, XO Jane, The Washington Post, and Dallas Morning News. 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{"id":3046,"date":"2014-10-19T17:04:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-19T21:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/?p=3046"},"modified":"2014-10-19T17:04:20","modified_gmt":"2014-10-19T21:04:20","slug":"the-future-of-seminaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Seminaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco Theological $\"sfts-sunset5\"$ <\/a>Seminary, a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (USA).<\/p>\n

I have been invited here, along with 150 faith leaders, to be a part of the launch of the seminaries new\u00a0Center for Innovation in Ministry,\u00a0<\/em>the newest effort of the seminary to prepare innovative Christian leaders to minister effectively in our rapidly evolving world.<\/p>\n

I was first invited to SFTS back in March to be a part of a small group of Christian leaders from across the spectrum to discuss what exactly the future holds for the Church, in order to help SFTS formulate what this new center should be focusing on.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Center has evolved and progressed and it is tremendously exciting to see the vision that was cast back in March to be coming into reality this week.<\/p>\n

It is no secret that the Church is changing. Religions are changing. The\u00a0world\u00a0<\/em>is changing.<\/p>\n

As the various institutions of our culture are encountering these changes, it is exciting to see that a traditionally mainline seminary, which are typically\u00a0well<\/em>\u00a0behind on the cultural trend, is leading the way in training Christians to be on the cutting edge of ministering in fresh ways to our world. The center\u2019s mission has been stated as:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo encourage faith communities to think and act creatively about how they can engage the world with the good news of the Gospel.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

SFTS says that this center is not merely another think-tank. Instead,<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>It will be a \u201cthink, do and be\u201d tank\u2014a place where participants can:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
Engage the power of the Holy Spirit in Personal renewal that feeds the soul and sparks the imagination.<\/em><\/li>\n
Community formation through knowledge sharing, network building, communal worship and prayer.<\/em><\/li>\n
Creative approaches to ministry through opportunity analysis, asset identification, skill development through coaching\/mentoring, and support systems that encourage and challenge.<\/em><\/li>\n

Research and development that tests theories about innovation, experiments with forms and models, breaks new ground, and disseminates learning.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now that\u2019s clearly\u00a0no small mission<\/em>, but I honestly believe that if any seminary could accomplish this, San Francisco Theological Seminary can.<\/p>\n
Led by the fabulous Rev. Sherri Hausser, the new Center is bringing together some of the most innovative minds in the world today in order to address the pressing issues that the Church is facing. For the launch of the center, SFTS has brought in Dr. Jane McGonigal, a leading speaker on the application of game-design to the real world.<\/p>\n
A game designer? At a Seminary?!<\/p>\n
$\"events-487\"$ <\/a>I have to admit that when I first heard that the seminary had chosen a\u00a0game designer\u00a0<\/em>to be the first speaker for the Center, I was a little\u00a0more than skeptical<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
But after listening to Jane\u2019s innovative ideas on how to leverage the skills that\u00a099% of young men and 97% of young women<\/strong>\u00a0who are gamers in America (I know<\/em>, I didn\u2019t believe the stats at first either! But check them out here<\/a>) and seeing how the room, filled with 150 faith leaders lit up as they began engaging with the principles that Jane presented and how they might be applied to their ministries, I became convinced that the Seminary had tapped in to something very\u00a0unique<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Indeed,\u00a0innovative.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Over the course of the two day launch event, participants were invited to engage in\u00a0CoLabs<\/em>, small group conversations and collaboration about how they might use the ideas that Jane had presented in their own ministry contexts, giving them a taste of what the Center hopes to do for its future students.<\/p>\n
Along with the keynote address and the CoLabs were innovative worship experiences led by my friend Dr. Marcia McFee of Worship Design Studio. Dr. McFee\u2019s worship experience consisted on participatory readings, live music, audio, video, dramatic portions, and set designs that enveloped the congregation in awe and wonder.<\/p>\n
By the end of the opening worship service, you\u2019d have thought that this mainline group had been turned in to Pentecostals. People were shouting \u201cAmen!\u201d, snapping fingers, clapping hands, and singing with all of their might. It was an all too rare yet glorious sight to see.<\/p>\n
Now that these two days of celebrations have concluded, the\u00a0Center for Innovation in Ministry<\/em>\u00a0begins the real work. The work \u201cCreating a new kind of seminary, preparing women and men for ministry of peace, hope, and justice,\u201d as described by President Jim McDonald.<\/p>\n
As far as I know, SFTS is the first and only mainline seminary to launch a center specifically focused on helping to train a new generation of leaders to minister in our ever changing world. I am confident that the contributions that the Center will make to the Church and to the world are going to be plentiful and much needed.<\/p>\n
In a time where the headlines continue to read \u201cThe Church is Dying!\u201d San Francisco Theological Seminaries\u00a0Center for Innovation in Ministry\u00a0<\/em>stands as a bold witness to the world to the fact that the Church\u00a0will not die<\/em>\u00a0on their watch, and that it\u2019s future will be one of bold innovation, unparalleled creativity, and unapologetic justice.<\/p>\n
And that is something I hope the rest of mainline seminaries will take note of.<\/p>\n
For more information about the Center for Innovation in Ministry, visit\u00a0www.sfts.edu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
For other attendees accounts of the Center\u2019s launch event, check out:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
Mark Sandlin\u2019s Thoughts on\u00a0The God Article<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
Chip Hardwick\u2019s, (PC(USA) Executive) Thoughts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco Theological Seminary, a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (USA). I have been invited here, along with 150 faith leaders, to be a part of the launch of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1830,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-revangelicalbettertomorrow"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Future of Seminaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Future of Seminaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nomad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-19T21:04:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/files\/2014\/10\/sfts-sunset5-300x217.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brandan Robertson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brandan Robertson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\",\"name\":\"The Future of Seminaries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-19T21:04:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-19T21:04:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830\"},\"description\":\"I am currently sitting in a beautiful retreat center on the top of a massive hill in San Anselmo, California on the stunning campus of San Francisco\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2014\/10\/19\/the-future-of-seminaries.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Future of Seminaries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/\",\"name\":\"Nomad\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830\",\"name\":\"Brandan Robertson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brandan Robertson\"},\"description\":\"Brandan Robertson is a leading progressive Christian writer, activist, and speaker, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He has been called one of the \u201cmost influential voices in the modern LGBTQ Christian movement\u201d and is passionate about helping people of faith understand the complexity and beauty of human sexuality, creating unlikely partnerships with communities of all faith's and no faith, and empowering people to be agents of renewal in their community, culture, and world. Brandan has a B.A. in Pastoral Studies and Bible from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and is pursuing his Masters of Divinity degree at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He writes regularly for Patheos, Huffington Post, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and IMPACT Magazine and has been a featured contributor to a number of major media outlets such as TIME Magazine, XO Jane, The Washington Post, and Dallas Morning News. 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He has been called one of the \u201cmost influential voices in the modern LGBTQ Christian movement\u201d and is passionate about helping people of faith understand the complexity and beauty of human sexuality, creating unlikely partnerships with communities of all faith's and no faith, and empowering people to be agents of renewal in their community, culture, and world. Brandan has a B.A. in Pastoral Studies and Bible from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and is pursuing his Masters of Divinity degree at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He writes regularly for Patheos, Huffington Post, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and IMPACT Magazine and has been a featured contributor to a number of major media outlets such as TIME Magazine, XO Jane, The Washington Post, and Dallas Morning News. 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