Bivocational and Beyond: Educating for Thriving Multivocational Ministry

Authors

Darryl W. Stephens (ed)
Lancaster Theological Seminary
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9298-9343
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31046/atlaopenpress.82

Keywords:

seminary education, Association of Theological Schools, multivocational ministry, bivocational ministry, pastoral ministry, theological education, Christian mission, Christian ministry, practical theology, congregational vitality, vocation, Christian leadership, discipleship

Synopsis

Bivocational and Beyond provides a wide range of perspectives on faith, leadership, and learning to equip pastors and theological educators for a future in which multivocational ministry may become the norm. Bivocational ministry—also called multivocational, covocational, dual career, partially funded, non-stipendiary, or tentmaking ministry—is a topic of increasing relevance to congregational vitality and the future of the church in North America. The rise of the “gig economy,” a blurring of traditional notions of sacred and secular, and missional innovation at the end of modern Christendom present challenges to received models of church and theological education. Bivocational pastors are being challenged to integrate diverse expressions of their calling, balance personal and professional obligations, overcome stigma, and achieve financial stability.

Bivocational congregations are being challenged to adapt to new leadership styles and expectations of clergy and laity alike. Theological educators, including theological librarians, are also being challenged to adapt. Degree programs designed for full-time students preparing for fully funded pastoral ministry must be reassessed in light of multivocational realities. This book addresses these challenges as an opportunity for theological education and the church. Theological librarians and educators can guide congregational leaders to imagine the church in ways that transcend the “standard” model of a fully funded, professionally trained pastor of a single congregation.

Contributors include researchers, reflective practitioners, denominational leaders, and theological educators. Appropriate to its subject matter, this book is written for multiple audiences: students and pastors as well as those who educate them—theological educators and librarians.

"Darryl W. Stephens opens a world of exposure through this edited volume that has the potential of radically reshaping theological education as we know it. This work is quite timely, considering the changing landscape of theological education—prompted by shifts in academy-denominational relationships, declining memberships in many Catholic and Protestant denominations, the browning of student populations in ATS institutions, feedback from ATS graduating student questionnaires about their expectations around ministry options, and recent pedagogical and curricular designs prompted by the impact of COVID-19."

— The Rev. Dr. Mary H. Young, Director, Leadership Education, Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada

“This book addresses a significant topic in ministry and theological education. . . . There are some books on bi/covocational ministry, but they tend to focus on congregational life. I do not know of any books that spend as much time as this one does thinking about how theological education needs to adapt to serve these ministers and their communities."

— The Rev. Dr. Ted A. Smith, The Almar H. Shatford Professor of Divinity, Candler School of Theology

Chapters

  • Introduction
    Darryl W. Stephens
    Introduction
  • Bivocational Ministry as the Congregation's Curriculum
    Darryl W. Stephens
    Chapter 1
  • British Perspectives on Bivocational Ministry
    Hartness M. Samushonga
    Chapter 2
  • Changes in Ministry and Bivocational Ministry since the 1960s
    Ralph B. Wright Jr.
    Chapter 3
  • Black and Bivocational
    Jessica Young Brown
    Chapter 4
  • Black Student Perspectives
    Jo Ann Deasy
    Chapter 5
  • Calling in Multivocational Ministry
    Mark D. Chapman, James W. Watson
    Chapter 6
  • Pitching Our Tent with Bivocational Ministry
    Kristen Plinke Bentley
    Chapter 7
  • Exploring Distributive Ministry
    Kwasi Kena
    Chapter 8
  • Incarnating Christ through Bivocational Ministry
    Steven C. Van Ostran
    Chapter 9
  • Bivocational Ministry as a Path of Unexpected Spiritual Growth
    Ben Connelly
    Chapter 10
  • The Bivocational Congregation
    Norm Faramelli, Anthony Pappas, Ed Pease
    Chapter 11
  • Bivocational Ministry and the Mentoring Relationship
    Herbert Fain
    Chapter 12
  • Empowering the Full Body of Christ
    Kathleen Owens
    Chapter 13
  • Preparing to Educate for a Thriving Bivocational Ministry
    Darryl W. Stephens
    Chapter 14
  • The Multivocational Plans of Students in Graduate Theological Education
    Jo Ann Deasy
    Chapter 15
  • Preparing to Teach a Bivocational Ministry Seminary Course
    Philip Baisley
    Chapter 16
  • A Mentored Practice Approach to Bivocational Ministry Education
    Ronald W. Baard
    Chapter 17
  • Seeking Information Mastery in Multivocational Ministry
    Susan J. Ebertz
    Chapter 18
  • Reimagining Theological Education with a Multivocational Mindset
    Darryl W. Stephens
    Chapter 19

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Published

May 5, 2022
Copyright (c) 2022 Books@Atla Open Press

License

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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978-1-949800-28-9

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Physical Dimensions

6in x 9in x .93in