Masters of Arts-Transformational Leadership

Bethel Seminary Masters of Arts-Transformational Leadership

Mentored Leadership Development Cohort O ML571, 572, 573 DE (Year Three)

Revised 07/17/2012

Instructors: Greg Meland, Director of Formation, Supervised Ministry and Placement [email protected] (651) 635-8541

Kara Stromberg, Faculty Associate [email protected] (651) 587-3124

INTRODUCTION:

Welcome to ML 571,2,3. We are excited to serve as your guides for the three year MLD process. Please contact either instructor if you have any questions or concerns regarding this course. COURSE DESCRIPTION: These locally supervised courses seek to assist the student in discovering the fullness of his/her identity: gifts, strengths, vulnerabilities, and continue the discernment of God’s call on his/her life. The MLD Courses will allow the student to apply what they are learning about themselves and in their seminary education to their local ministry contexts. Through the use of psychometric and developmental testing, self-reflection, and mentor and group feedback, these courses will help the student identify and progressively clarify their life purpose, mission, and vision, in addition to identifying unique personal needs that require intentional focus in order to develop as whole and holy transformational leaders. Because Mentored Leadership Development is part of the interdisciplinary curriculum of the M.A. in Transformational Leadership, special attention will be given to integrating the learning experience from The Center for Biblical and Theological Foundations, The Center for Spiritual and Personal Formation, and The Center for Transformational Leadership into the student’s ministry context. It is expected that each student will be involved in a local ministry context (either vocationally or as a volunteer) that has some built-in leadership responsibilities beyond those of a typical volunteer or entry-level employee.

COURSE FORMAT: These courses will be conducted through locally supervised ministry locations that receive prior approval. The material and assessments for these courses will be processed through several forms of media, such as self- leadership reflection assignments, ministry leadership practice, and mentored leadership sessions with the student's supervisor(s)/mentor(s) and through group interaction.

LEARNER OUTCOMES:

1 Supported by their local ministry venue the student should use these courses to provide a number of ingredients crucial to a dynamic, contextual educational experience. These the learner outcomes should include but are not limited to the following: 1. A healthy understanding of each student’s unique identity including his/her gifts, strengths, and vulnerabilities. 2. Practical experience in a wide range of innovative and entrepreneurial ministry situations, emphasizing the personal qualities of flexibility and creativity. 3. A set of multi-faceted ministry responsibilities which must be successfully negotiated and properly managed, thus highlighting the need to strategically prioritize the competing demands of multiple ministry responsibilities. 4. A healthy and reliable relational network of resource people, including peers, mentors and others who will assist and sustain the student in ministry preparation, processing leadership insights, and application of the coursework in a local ministry context.

MLD 571, 572, 573 Required Reading: .Fall . Thurman, Howard Jesus and the Disinherited. 96, Beacon. ISBN 9780807010297

.Winter . Hagberg, Janet O. & Guelich, Robert A. The Critical Journey, Stages in the Life of Faith, Second Edition, 05, Sheffield Publishing Company ISBN 1-879215-49

.Spring . Haley Barton, Ruth; Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry 08, InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-3513-3

LATE WORK POLICY: We understand that life happens. Balancing schoolwork with ministry and family means that you will continually make choices about what gets done well and what doesn't. We want to help you make good choices. If something comes up and you need more time to complete an assignment, contact us before it is due and we will gladly give a one-week extension - no questions asked. In cases where no extension has been granted or the extension deadline has elapsed, points may be deducted for the total score.

The bottom line: stay in touch, do your best and we'll do our best to work with you and make this be a successful and enjoyable journey for us all.

GRADING POLICY:

Grades for ML 571 and ML572 will appear as either an S (satisfactory) or a U (unsatisfactory) as these assignments will be continued in ML 573. Upon successfully completing ML 573, final grades will be tabulated and applied to all three courses (ML 571, 572 and 573) as letter grades: A-F. Our grading scale for final grades is provided below. Following the grading scale is the weighted total for each assignment in ML 571, 572 and ML 573 used to tabulate the students final grade.

2 GRADING POINT CRITERIA The student’s course grade will be based on the scale below

A95-100 A-...... 92-94

B+...... 88-91 B...... 85-87 B-...... 82-84

C+...... 78-81 C...... 75-77 C-...... 72-74

D+...... 68-71 D...... 65-67 D-...... 62-64

F...... Below 62

Assigning Grades for ML 571, 572 and 573 (the total for all three courses combined is 100)

Assignment % of final grade ML 571 Course Check-in 1 ML 571 Book Review - Thurman 5 ML 571 Quarterly Reflection 5

ML 572 Course Check-in 1 ML 572 Book Review - Hagberg & Guelich 5 ML 572 Quarterly Reflection 5

ML 573 Course Check-in 1 ML 573 Book Review - Haley Barton 4 ML 573 Mentor Evaluation 24 ML 573 MST Evaluation 24 ML 573 Final Reflection 24 ML 571,2,3 Course Evaluation 1

Course Evaluation: While most courses have course evaluations at the end of the each term, the MLD courses will have one course evaluation at the end of the three term MLD series. The course evaluation information will come to your bethel email address and will need to be submitted within a week of the end of the term. In order to factor in participation, instructors will receive a list of those who did not participate. The evaluation responses will be provided for review in grouped data after grading and will not be connected with student name or identification.

Academic Course Policies: Please familiarize yourself with the catalog requirements as specified in Academic Course Policies document found on the Registrar's website at: https://bethelnet.bethel.edu/ureg/bssp/acp. You are responsible for this information, and any academic violations, such as plagiarism, will not be tolerated. 3 MLD 571,2,3 ONGOING ASSIGNMENTS: The following assignments began in ML 551,2,3 and continue to varying degrees in the entire MLD courses. Reflective Journal: Your Reflective Journal should be designed to provide you with a place to thoughtfully reflect on what is being learned through your assessments, ministry practice, mentoring sessions, biblical and theological reflections, and ongoing coursework. You are encouraged to reflect on your ministry experiences through the use of journaling or other means which you determine to be most personally suited for this process. While the journal will not be submitted for a grade, you are encouraged to engage the process fully as this will be helpful for completing future reflection assignments and reflection with their mentor(s) and ministry support team. Your season in life, whether at a high or a low, tends to be significantly meaningful in the reflective process. Try to ask yourself not only what is happening or has happened, but why. One goal of the reflective process is to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the growth fronts God may be addressing in the seasons and events of life and ministry. Reflective assignments will also occur on a regular basis during the MLD series to assist you in increasing your proficiency at reflective work. These assignments will be spaced throughout the course and highlighted by the instructors in their regular communication (email or Moodle announcements) with the class. These regular reflective assignments will be submitted via the assignment tabs on Moodle as directed by the instructors. Due dates of these and other assignments can be found in the course schedule in Moodle. Regular Mentor Relationship Meetings: Continuing your mentoring relationship will be a primary focus during ML571. You are to meet with your mentor 6-8 times during this final academic year (ML 571,2,3). These should be at least one hour meetings. Guidelines are provided through Moodle. If you should for any reason have difficulty with your mentoring relationship, please contact the course instructors as soon as possible. In this final year of the MLD sequence, students will submit quarterly reflections on their mentoring experience at the end of fall and winter quarters. A final reflection assignment will be due at the end of spring quarter.

Further instructions and assignment due dates for each ML 571,2,3 assignment can be found in your Moodle course and the end of this document. All assignments are due via submission in Moodle by midnight of date listed unless otherwise noted.

2012-2013 ASSIGNMENTS BY QUARTER:

Instructions for each assignment can be found in your Moodle course. Fall 2012: ML571: Course check-in. Please register your attendance for this class by posting in the check-in forum on Moodle.

4 1 Page Book Review due October 23rd: Thurman, Howard. Jesus and the Disinherited. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1996.

Mentor/MST Meeting Reflection Paper due December 11th (written and submitted by student)

Winter 2013: ML572:

Course check-in. Please register your attendance for this class by posting in the check-in forum on Moodle.

1 Page Book Review due January 22nd:

Hagberg, Janet O. & Guelich, Robert A. The Critical Journey, Stages in the Life of Faith. Second Edition, Sheffield Publishing Company, 2005.

Mentor/MST Meeting Reflection Paper due March 12th (written and submitted by student)

Spring 2013: ML573: Course check-in. Please register your attendance for this class by posting in the check-in forum on Moodle.

1 Page Book Review due April 8: Haley Barton, Ruth. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry. InterVarsity Press, 2008.

Ministry Support Team Evaluation due May 31st (written by MST and submitted by student): The student’s MST will review their evaluation with the student and the student will submit the evaluation to the course instructor via Moodle.

Mentor Evaluation due May 31st (written by mentor and submitted by student): The student’s mentor will complete an evaluation at the end of each academic year providing feedback on the student’s vocational and developmental progress. The mentor will review the evaluation with the student, and the student will upload the evaluation to Moodle.

Final Reflection Paper due May 31st: Students will reflect on the past year’s ministry experience, mentoring outcomes and completed course work using template provided on Moodle.