Bethel Theological Seminary : 2001 Seminar
Narrative
Informing the Formers: the Role of Faculty
In the Spiritual and Personal Formation of Students
As Professor Edgren disconnected his PowerPoint presentation for his Gospels course, he reflected on the class session that had just ended. John, a first-year MATS student, had expressed excitement about the narrative process of approaching the Gospels to which Edgren had introduced them and offered an insight about a passage in Matthew 18 that he had been wondering about. Some of the class members seemed to share his enthusiasm; several were skeptical; some, as usual, were confused.
Judith, a middler M.Div. student, had interrupted to disagree vigorously with John's conclusions. "I also have strong reservations about this whole methodology. Even though it may be of interest to some scholars, it doesn't seem to serve a purpose for those of us who will become pastors. I am sure that we all agree that it is dangerous to stray too far from the obvious, most widely accepted meanings of the text." Judith went on to describe her struggle with whether or not to stay at Bethel, given the concerns she had about the orthodoxy of the professors and the trustworthiness of the materials being studied. She ended with an additional example from her pastoral care course, in which they were studying psychological theories of individual development—theories she believed to be irrelevant to biblical truth if not in direct conflict with it.
Since the interchange between Judith and John had come just as students were packing up, Edgren suggested they return to the issue at the next session. He invited Judith and John to talk with him further over the lunch break, which both declined to do.
John and Judith had Introduction to Pastoral Care that afternoon. Their preferred seats—on opposite sides of the room—seemed particularly appropriate this time. Near the end of the session, a fellow student asked Professor Sabel her opinion of "tough love," especially in cases of rebellious adolescents. Before she answered, Sabel asked the class for their input. John reiterated his new insight about Matthew 18 and what he perceived as its apparent emphasis on reconciliation and inclusion rather than relational division and exclusion.
Judith, exasperated, raised her hand. "We have to have standards! Common sense would tell anybody that you have to deal strongly with people who keep on sinning, and clearly Matthew 18 is referring to that responsibility we have as Christians. Once again, we go through all kinds of gymnastics to make Scripture justify behavior that's really just touchy-feely, politically correct stuff."
Sabel made a mental note of the intensity of Judith's response and invited other students to join the discussion as well.
Edgren and Sabel both serve on the Student Life Committee, along with Professor Bowen from the Marriage and Family Therapy program, David Hagstrom from the office of supervised ministry, and Jeannette Lindbloom, associate dean for spiritual and personal formation. The monthly meeting of this committee began just after Sabel's class ended. The primary item on the agenda this afternoon was discussion regarding two students about whom concerns had emerged during the standard annual assessment process in which all students participated.
Jennifer, a 23-year-old, single, African-American, Youth Leadership student, had reported feeling like she was "in the wilderness" spiritually right now, partly as the result of a two-year-long struggle to get her drinking under control. Lindbloom, the committee chair, reported that Jennifer had committed to attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and to seeing a spiritual director.
Stephen, a third-year M.Div. student, had learned during his session with the assessment consultant that his wife is strongly opposed to his ministry plans (church planting) and that she had thought going to seminary would "get that out of his system." Hagstrom asked the committee for recommendations about a developmental plan for Stephen.
Bowen immediately suggested that the couple be referred to a marriage therapist. "I think it's important that they work through this with somebody who understands family systems and who can help them hear each other." He didn't add that he knew Stephen was wrestling with guilt about a brief affair he had a year after he got married that he had never disclosed to his wife.
"I don't know if that would be necessary," protested Edgren. "Won't he feel like he's being punished for something he has no control over? I mean, to be asked to see a counselor seems a little extreme. He's in an internship in First Megachurch; shouldn't his supervising pastor there help him figure out what to do?"
"Actually," said Sabel, "there is a Marriage Enrichment course offered here next quarter. Maybe we should require that they take that."
"This really doesn't seem like it's any of our business," interrupted Edgren. "This is a private issue for them."
"But it's our responsibility to support our students in these developmental ways," countered Bowen. "If we're serious about being a school that addresses spiritual and personal formation intentionally, then we have to address it in every area—dealing with issues that come up in assessment, keeping each other informed about concerns we know students are struggling with, watching for signs of stress or dysfunction that show up in classes. . . ."
"I've got an example of that," said Sabel. She described the interchange between Judith and John.
"I think I should address this in the next class," she concluded. "Other students seemed to feel uncomfortable with the intensity of Judith's reaction, and it seemed out of proportion to me, too. Judith is often pretty verbal, so that didn't surprise me, and she's pretty skeptical about psychological theories anyway, but she reacted so strongly to John's concern about ‘tough love.' She was near tears. I feel like we need to revisit this as a class; I need to say something about it."
"Like what?" asked Edgren. "Those same two got into it in my class this morning, but I don't plan to bring it up again. Judith is probably stressed out; that's pretty common this time of the quarter."
"She took my Family Systems class last quarter as an elective," said Bowen. "I know her family is dealing with a lot right now, with a daughter who's pretty much out of control. And her father, who was recently diagnosed with a fast-growing kind of cancer, has moved in with them to be closer to the hospital for his treatments. I wondered if she might benefit from taking a quarter off."
"Once again," Edgren emphasized, "these are private issues. I know we're all concerned, but suggesting she take a quarter off might make her feel worse—like we think she's weak and can't handle her life."
"I'm not sure a quarter off is necessary," agreed Sabel, "but I would like to be sure that she and John and the other students who were present in our classes know that we take seriously the stresses that pile up for all of us and that we value addressing them and the impact they can have on relationships."
"I agree," Bowen said. "Once again, if we're going to address formation in every aspect of a student's seminary experience, then it seems to me that we should take time in class to deal with these kinds of process issues."
"Do you realize, though," asked Edgren, "that, once I set a foundation for what we're doing, I only have time in a quarter to spend about ten minutes on each chapter of the Gospels? If I start stealing time from that to deal with all these ‘process things,' the students will leave here under-prepared to do the kind of work they're going to be asked to do. Besides, they come here expecting to get a lot of content. Many of them would be frustrated if we started using class time to address everyone's ‘issues.' That's why we have a Student Life Office. You are the ones who should deal with these things. Probably the only two professors around here who are equipped to do what you're suggesting are in this meeting," he said, pointing at Sabel and Bowen. "In your classes, maybe you can do formation. It's different in the classes in biblical and theological foundations."
Sabel shook her head. "I don't see it that way," she said. "We have the best chance to have an impact on our students' formation if it's a coordinated effort—in every classroom, in every required activity, with everyone from staff to administration thinking intentionally about it. If we don't model our own formation journeys and make formation explicit, then we'll never achieve the kind of holistic integration we're hoping for—interdisciplinary integration, as well as spiritual, emotional, and intellectual integration. We need to change the entire way we do things."
"Well," concluded Lindbloom, "that's going to require a completely different way of thinking. It could affect faculty loads, faculty training and development, class size, how we use adjunct faculty, even whether we need to move to semesters. I agree with you, but I'm not sure how we could deal institutionally with what might be required. Perhaps we could begin to develop some recommendations for the strategic planning team. In the meantime, what do we do about these students?"
Informing the Formers: the Role of Faculty
In the Spiritual and Personal Formation of Students
As Professor Edgren disconnected his PowerPoint presentation for his Gospels course, he reflected on the class session that had just ended. John, a first-year MATS student, had expressed excitement about the narrative process of approaching the Gospels to which Edgren had introduced them and offered an insight about a passage in Matthew 18 that he had been wondering about. Some of the class members seemed to share his enthusiasm; several were skeptical; some, as usual, were confused.
Judith, a middler M.Div. student, had interrupted to disagree vigorously with John's conclusions. "I also have strong reservations about this whole methodology. Even though it may be of interest to some scholars, it doesn't seem to serve a purpose for those of us who will become pastors. I am sure that we all agree that it is dangerous to stray too far from the obvious, most widely accepted meanings of the text." Judith went on to describe her struggle with whether or not to stay at Bethel, given the concerns she had about the orthodoxy of the professors and the trustworthiness of the materials being studied. She ended with an additional example from her pastoral care course, in which they were studying psychological theories of individual development—theories she believed to be irrelevant to biblical truth if not in direct conflict with it.
Since the interchange between Judith and John had come just as students were packing up, Edgren suggested they return to the issue at the next session. He invited Judith and John to talk with him further over the lunch break, which both declined to do.
John and Judith had Introduction to Pastoral Care that afternoon. Their preferred seats—on opposite sides of the room—seemed particularly appropriate this time. Near the end of the session, a fellow student asked Professor Sabel her opinion of "tough love," especially in cases of rebellious adolescents. Before she answered, Sabel asked the class for their input. John reiterated his new insight about Matthew 18 and what he perceived as its apparent emphasis on reconciliation and inclusion rather than relational division and exclusion.
Judith, exasperated, raised her hand. "We have to have standards! Common sense would tell anybody that you have to deal strongly with people who keep on sinning, and clearly Matthew 18 is referring to that responsibility we have as Christians. Once again, we go through all kinds of gymnastics to make Scripture justify behavior that's really just touchy-feely, politically correct stuff."
Sabel made a mental note of the intensity of Judith's response and invited other students to join the discussion as well.
Edgren and Sabel both serve on the Student Life Committee, along with Professor Bowen from the Marriage and Family Therapy program, David Hagstrom from the office of supervised ministry, and Jeannette Lindbloom, associate dean for spiritual and personal formation. The monthly meeting of this committee began just after Sabel's class ended. The primary item on the agenda this afternoon was discussion regarding two students about whom concerns had emerged during the standard annual assessment process in which all students participated.
Jennifer, a 23-year-old, single, African-American, Youth Leadership student, had reported feeling like she was "in the wilderness" spiritually right now, partly as the result of a two-year-long struggle to get her drinking under control. Lindbloom, the committee chair, reported that Jennifer had committed to attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and to seeing a spiritual director.
Stephen, a third-year M.Div. student, had learned during his session with the assessment consultant that his wife is strongly opposed to his ministry plans (church planting) and that she had thought going to seminary would "get that out of his system." Hagstrom asked the committee for recommendations about a developmental plan for Stephen.
Bowen immediately suggested that the couple be referred to a marriage therapist. "I think it's important that they work through this with somebody who understands family systems and who can help them hear each other." He didn't add that he knew Stephen was wrestling with guilt about a brief affair he had a year after he got married that he had never disclosed to his wife.
"I don't know if that would be necessary," protested Edgren. "Won't he feel like he's being punished for something he has no control over? I mean, to be asked to see a counselor seems a little extreme. He's in an internship in First Megachurch; shouldn't his supervising pastor there help him figure out what to do?"
"Actually," said Sabel, "there is a Marriage Enrichment course offered here next quarter. Maybe we should require that they take that."
"This really doesn't seem like it's any of our business," interrupted Edgren. "This is a private issue for them."
"But it's our responsibility to support our students in these developmental ways," countered Bowen. "If we're serious about being a school that addresses spiritual and personal formation intentionally, then we have to address it in every area—dealing with issues that come up in assessment, keeping each other informed about concerns we know students are struggling with, watching for signs of stress or dysfunction that show up in classes. . . ."
"I've got an example of that," said Sabel. She described the interchange between Judith and John.
"I think I should address this in the next class," she concluded. "Other students seemed to feel uncomfortable with the intensity of Judith's reaction, and it seemed out of proportion to me, too. Judith is often pretty verbal, so that didn't surprise me, and she's pretty skeptical about psychological theories anyway, but she reacted so strongly to John's concern about ‘tough love.' She was near tears. I feel like we need to revisit this as a class; I need to say something about it."
"Like what?" asked Edgren. "Those same two got into it in my class this morning, but I don't plan to bring it up again. Judith is probably stressed out; that's pretty common this time of the quarter."
"She took my Family Systems class last quarter as an elective," said Bowen. "I know her family is dealing with a lot right now, with a daughter who's pretty much out of control. And her father, who was recently diagnosed with a fast-growing kind of cancer, has moved in with them to be closer to the hospital for his treatments. I wondered if she might benefit from taking a quarter off."
"Once again," Edgren emphasized, "these are private issues. I know we're all concerned, but suggesting she take a quarter off might make her feel worse—like we think she's weak and can't handle her life."
"I'm not sure a quarter off is necessary," agreed Sabel, "but I would like to be sure that she and John and the other students who were present in our classes know that we take seriously the stresses that pile up for all of us and that we value addressing them and the impact they can have on relationships."
"I agree," Bowen said. "Once again, if we're going to address formation in every aspect of a student's seminary experience, then it seems to me that we should take time in class to deal with these kinds of process issues."
"Do you realize, though," asked Edgren, "that, once I set a foundation for what we're doing, I only have time in a quarter to spend about ten minutes on each chapter of the Gospels? If I start stealing time from that to deal with all these ‘process things,' the students will leave here under-prepared to do the kind of work they're going to be asked to do. Besides, they come here expecting to get a lot of content. Many of them would be frustrated if we started using class time to address everyone's ‘issues.' That's why we have a Student Life Office. You are the ones who should deal with these things. Probably the only two professors around here who are equipped to do what you're suggesting are in this meeting," he said, pointing at Sabel and Bowen. "In your classes, maybe you can do formation. It's different in the classes in biblical and theological foundations."
Sabel shook her head. "I don't see it that way," she said. "We have the best chance to have an impact on our students' formation if it's a coordinated effort—in every classroom, in every required activity, with everyone from staff to administration thinking intentionally about it. If we don't model our own formation journeys and make formation explicit, then we'll never achieve the kind of holistic integration we're hoping for—interdisciplinary integration, as well as spiritual, emotional, and intellectual integration. We need to change the entire way we do things."
"Well," concluded Lindbloom, "that's going to require a completely different way of thinking. It could affect faculty loads, faculty training and development, class size, how we use adjunct faculty, even whether we need to move to semesters. I agree with you, but I'm not sure how we could deal institutionally with what might be required. Perhaps we could begin to develop some recommendations for the strategic planning team. In the meantime, what do we do about these students?"