DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROGRAM

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Doctor of Ministry program is open to persons in ministry who hold a Master of Divinity (or its equivalent) from an accredited seminary and who can also demonstrate some other significant post-Master-of-Divinity    educational experience. Students must have at least three years of experience in ministry prior to admission. The first eighteen months are spent collegially in seminars; the remaining time is spent in developing a practical project.

This program is intended to continue the professional development of persons engaged in ministry by stimulating them to examine the integrity of their lives in the light of the Gospel, and by examining means of transforming persons and social structures in a multicultural environment.

Specifically, this introduces the candidates to a methodology that brings ministerial practice into dialogue with the scriptures, theology, a variety of faith traditions, the social sciences, and the current realities of each ministerial setting.

Students will also study multicultural dynamics in particular settings and develop skills in promoting cross-cultural dialogue, understanding and values.

Toward these purposes, the program will include assisting the candidates in a collegial setting to refine their understanding of the scriptural and theological foundations of ministry and to apply the methods of the social sciences to the analysis of their local ministry situations. Group leadership and spiritual growth will be promoted through the practice of such skills as self-assessment, group process, and individual and group discipline.

CURRICULUM - FIRST YEAR

SEMINARS IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN-CARIBBEAN and LATINO/LATINA RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

The racial, ethnic and national diversity of South Florida is addressed in these two seminars. The uniqueness of African-American-Caribbean and Hispanic experiences and the special contributions each makes to church life in South Florida and the Caribbean will be studied.

INTEGRATIONAL SEMINAR

This seminar focuses on the task of integration --- personal, professional and theological. It deals with hermeneutical questions which enable the candidates to get in touch with the various pieces of who they are. Intensive biblical study is done around questions of structural evil and systemic sin. Careful analysis of the dynamics of racism, sexism and classism are done.

MENTOR SESSION

This session focuses on the development of skills in self-assessment, program development and evaluation, and in relating to the site team. It is in this segment of the program that the Demonstration Project is shaped.

RESEARCH MODULE

This session is methodological in approach. The intent of the Module is to offer specific training in doing biblical, theological and sociological research. Continuing tardiness or more than two unexcused absences in any one semester from these sessions will result in faculty review of the student's academic performance.

A Site Team is organized in the first year and continues to function through the duration of the program. A full description will be found below

THE D.MIN. PROJECT

Upon successful completion of the first year of study, the D.Min. candidate devotes her or his time to a Demonstration Project which involves a significant action project in ministry, carefully researched and analyzed, which affords the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate competencies in the practice of ministry and of significance to the broader religious community. This Demonstration Project must be approved by the Program Director.

The normal time for completion of the program is three years; the program must be completed within six years. Continuous registration for the Demonstration Project is required unless a student has requested and been approved for a Leave of Absence.

RETREATS

• An orientation overnight retreat is generally held about two weeks before fall classes begin. Students are familiarized with the program and get to know each other and the faculty through community exercises, worship services and other activities led by faculty.
• An overnight evaluation retreat about two weeks after the end of the first semester allows students and faculty to evaluate each other and the program collegially. Students and members of the faculty participate in designing worship and other activities. This evaluation allows faculty members to grade students and gives students an opportunity to evaluate faculty and make suggestions about the program. The same type of evaluation retreat held after the completion of the fall semester is also held after the end of the spring semester of the second year.

GRADES

Students in the D.Min. program receive grades of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) for each educational unit described above. A grade of U in any unit will be cause for dismissal. Policies on withdrawal and Incompletes described elsewhere in this catalog under Seminary Policies also apply to D.Min. students.

STRUCTURES OF ACCOUNTABILITY

An important feature of the D.Min. program is that the candidates pursue their study within a network of structures of accountabilities: a Director, a Mentor, a Site Team, a Seminary Team, and the Faculty.

Mentor

The faculty mentor will assist the candidate in:

• developing an appropriate on-site learning environment and forming the site team with on-site visits;
• formulating curriculum elements necessary to achieve the candidate's personal objectives for the program; and
• defining the central task in ministry around which the candidate's work will be focused and his or her competence affirmed.

Site Team

Early in the program each D.Min. candidate will be responsible for organizing a site team which will be drawn primarily from the group of people with whom the candidate is engaged in ministry. The site team's responsibilities include:

• assessing their mutual ministry and the competence needed for its accomplishment;
• assisting the candidate in assessing his or her competency level in the range of functions as well as in any additional areas of special requirement or interest;
• assisting the candidate in developing, monitoring and evaluating a significant project in ministry which will constitute the basis for determining eligibility for the degree; and
• evaluating the completed project and the candidate's performance in relation to it and advising the Academic Dean that the granting of the degree is recommended.

Seminary Team

Members of the seminary team (faculty members teaching in the D.Min. program) will continue to serve during the period of the candidate's Demonstration Project. This group or a faculty mentor will meet frequently to monitor the progress of individual projects, to serve as consultants to one another and to certify the completion of the projects to the Center.

Faculty

The Director, the faculty mentor and other D.Min. faculty members are involved in the teachings, retreats, and approval of the Demonstration Project. They are available to the student as consultants throughout the program.

D. MIN. INTENSIVE

Florida Center for Theological Studies, a pioneer in multicultural ministry and ecumenical education, is offering an intensive version of its existing D. Min. program to candidates outside the South Florida area, from other parts of the United States, from the Caribbean as well as Central and South America.  This program is designed to help various persons to hone their skills in ministry in an inclusive, cross cultural setting.  The requirements for this program are the same as for the regular D. Min. program. 

The first year includes an orientation retreat and a Fall two-week intensive followed by an evaluation retreat and a Spring two-week intensive followed by a second evaluation retreat generally in a Miami residency. The reading papers are to be completed in the student's own ministry setting.

The second year includes the development and execution of the ministry demonstration project, coupled with a one week residency in each of the Fall and Spring terms. The student will spend the first semester in independent study with a faculty mentor in the area of the student's focus.

The third year is the writing phase and carries no residency requirements. The time limit for the completion of the D. Min. degree is six years.

Special arrangements will be made for faculty to interact with the candidate's local site team and the Intensive candidate is advised that additional cost may be incurred because of travel and time dedicated by the program faculty. Candidates for the Intensive track should be in dialogue with the director of the program regarding additional costs and stipulations that may be incurred.