Practical Theology, Youth

This article contends that theological training supported by effective mentoring can contribute to the shaping of theology students in terms of their spiritual growth, character development and ministry formation. It is further argued that mentoring as a supportive pedagogy needs to be an essential element of theological education. Subsequently, guidelines for making mentoring an effective pedagogy in theological training are proposed. A lot has been written about mentoring; however this article focuses on the use of mentoring as a supportive pedagogy in denominational seminaries as a means of fostering the holistic development of theology students.

2015

The goal of theological education is to prepare students for their careers. It does not stop there, however; a further goal of theological education is to enable students to live lives of purpose—thus not only to transfer knowledge to students, but also to channel knowledge into meaningful Christian service. Making connections between faith, living and learning is thus a primary purpose of theological education. These necessary connections are made between faculty, staff and students by establishing and maintaining mentoring relationships. Hence, this article considers the prospects of mentoring in theological seminaries with the aim of challenging seminaries to revisit the use of mentoring in the preparation of students.

STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2017

In this article I shall look at the role of mentoring and its relational nature in the ministerial formation of seminary students. Incorporating the relational nature of mentoring in ministerial formation it facilitates the integration of seminary students’ classroom experiences and their intellectual imaginations into practical ministerial skills in both the church and community. It is argued that embracing the relational nature of mentoring for ministerial formation in theological seminaries will help seminary students develop an awareness of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for effective practical ministry. It will further help them develop an appreciation for their unique calling, gifting and skills. This article thus looks into how the relational nature of mentoring can foster the ministerial formation of seminary students.

1998

This study focuses on the role that mentors play in the development of a pastor's personal, professional, and spiritual for mation. It explores the impact of pastoral mentors in the Church of God (Anderson). Standardized open-ended interviews were conducted from a random sample of thirty-one pastors in the Church of God (Anderson) in this • qualitative study. • Twenty-three of the thirty-one pastors interviewed identified a mentor in their background. Those identified as mentors included pastors from their background, fathers who were pastors, senior pastors served under as associates, a youth pastor, a teacher in a Christian high school, an evangelist, a pastoral colleague, and a Christian father. The majority of mentors emerged from existing relationships in the key settings of the home, local church, educational institutions, and early ministry placements. The predominant mentors were pastors who played a role in the formative years of life and the developmental stage of ministry. Mentoring is wanted and needed by pastors. Of those pastors who did not identify a mentor in their background, all but one indicated a desire for one in the developmental stage of ministry. Mentors impacted personal formation in the following ways: time spent, informal conversation, personal guidance, accountability, and instruction. Mentors impacted their spiritual formation primarily through observation of the mentor's spiritual disciplines. Mentors impacted their professional formation in the following ways: demonstration of ministry skills, instruction, training events,accountability structures, and delegation of

University of Pretoria, 2005

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister Artium (Theology)

Mentoring is an important but often overlooked resource in theological education and students' academic and spiritual formation. This essay profiles the mentoring practices and postures of the writing tutor and the spiritual director as exemplars of academic and spiritual mentoring. An extended probe of this analogy affirms the integration of academic and spiritual formation as a core value in theological education; identifies mentoring in theological education as a hidden treasure fostering this integration and warranting attention as a theological practice; and re-envisions the theological practice of mentoring under the traditional rubric of the "care of souls," embracing the relational, educational, formational, spiritual, and rhetorical dimensions of this practice.

Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry, 2022

After sharing a brief story from my early forays into mentoring, I turn to descriptions of flourishing offered by Karen Scheib and Stephanie Crumpton. These understandings, along with findings from the Learning Pastoral Imagination Project, shape a practical theology of mentoring for flourishing. Finally, I recount vital lessons from the last eight years of directing a seminary mentoring program. These nine key practices hold potential to foster flourishing for mentoring and ministry. https://journals.sfu.ca/rpfs/index.php/rpfs/article/view/1065

2019

The article presents results of a qualitative study that investigated the perspectives of student pastors who had participated in a one year mentoring programme. Participants were ten student pastors who had each been mentored by an average of three qualified Ministers of Religion in different Reformed Churches in Zimbabwe congregations throughout the country. Data collection instruments were semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. The constant comparative method was used to analyse data for thematic coding. Findings indicated that participants viewed mentoring as a developmental experience since theygained various basic practicalskills in terms of house visits, preaching in different contexts, church council chairing and many other administrative responsibilities.The success of the attachment programme was attributed to those mentors who were capable of providing the necessary guidance and support.However, some challenges were noted, the major ones including failure by mentors to discharge their duties through modelling practice, not giving students the opportunity to practise, and inadequate feedback. Participants suggested ways of improving the practicum periodin order to accomplish positive outcomes. The study recommends that the relevant college conducts a mentor training workshop and compile a document in which it spells out its expectations.

Just as a potter uses a "rib" to exert pressure and give shape to clay vessels spinning on a wheel, so God has used the practice of mentoring to shape leaders from the times of ancient Israel to the modern church. This book provides a theological and historical foundation for the practice, inviting the modern supervisor and seminarian to step into the church's rich heritage of mentors and mentees by offering selected vignettes of these relationships in the lives of such influential leaders as Gregory the Great, St. Augustine, John Newton and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. By tracing out the spiritual formation of some of the most influential leaders in church history, Brian Williams shows how certain patterns of mentoring relationships have been pivotal for the people of God in ages past. He then combines the wisdom of the classical discipline of spiritual direction with the tradespractice of apprenticeship to offer us a practical model for mentoring today. The book concludes with a number of tools, forms, and practical suggestions to help shape and guide this demanding but rewarding practice. The Potter's Rib will challenge experienced pastors and seminary students alike to take seriously the role of mentoring in becoming the pastors they are called to be. Brian A. Williams, a graduate of Regent College, is involved in local ministry in Vancouver, British Columbia.