Mission (continued)

The seminary is a center of the church's intellectual life, and as such, shares responsibility for the intellectual integrity, spiritual power, and prophetic service of the church. Its programs are designed to develop a ministry called to Christian discipleship, grounded in scripture and tradition, skilled in personal and social relations, and dedicated to the church's missions in the contemporary world. The seminary is ecumenical in its approach to theological education and in the composition of both faculty and student body.

A creative community of learning, the seminary also draws students and faculty together in common worship and mission as together its members seek to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The following four core values undergird the seminary's mission, programs, and ethos.

accountable to God for the formation of responsible Christian leaders;
rooted in the ecumenical heritage of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ);
committed to academic excellence;
dedicated to student-centered education.

The seminary offers a Certificate in Graduate Theological Studies (18 semester-hours) and three master's degrees:

Master of Arts in Ministry and Culture (M.A.M.C.): 48 hours
Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.): 57 hours
Master of Divinity (M.Div.): 87 hours

In addition, the seminary offers a 32 semester-hour Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree with three professional tracks: Practices of Ministry, Parish Ministry, and Pastoral Counseling.

Men and women of all theological backgrounds who are academically qualified for admission are sought and welcomed for study at Phillips Theological Seminary.

Perspective on Theological Education

Phillips Theological Seminary has a longstanding commitment to provide theological studies that address the church's need for an educated ministry. The following statements represent the perspective on theological education that shape the Seminary's programs of study.

The church is called into being by God to witness in word and deed to the gospel of Jesus Christ for the benefit of the world.
The seminary exists fundamentally to serve the church and its witness. The seminary's distinctive purpose is educating women and men for varied Christian ministries in church and society. Churches, however, retain the exclusive right and responsibility to determine the appropriate qualifications for ordained and licensed ministry, to assess the fitness for ministry of individual candidates, and to credential persons for ministerial leadership.
The primary, but not exclusive, focus of the Seminary's work is the leadership needs of the individual congregation.
Adequate church leadership must be grounded in the study of the biblical witness and the historical traditions of the church. Study must also appropriate a critical theological perspective in order that the church may present a truthful and luminous witness to the world.
Adequate church leadership also requires balancing theological reflection relating Gospel and world with a practical understanding and competence relating self and ministerial practice.
The Seminary affirms the interdependence of theological reflection and practical ministry. Accordingly, it affirms the importance of contextual education and supervised ministry for those students enrolled in professional degree programs.
The primary fields of study in the seminary are biblical studies, historical studies, theology and ethics, Christianity and culture, and practical theology.
The primary foci in practical theology are preaching, Christian education, church administration and leadership development, pastoral care and counseling, and worship.
The curriculum presupposes the baccalaureate degree as a sign of previous study and encounter with human culture. The curriculum provides opportunities for extending the study of culture and joining the conversation between theological and non-theological disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives.
The faculty and curriculum properly manifest individual and specialized fields of competence, while the entire faculty and curriculum are oriented toward the goal of educating students for a variety of ministries in church and society.
Given the complexity of processes involved in theological education, plurality of teaching methods and class formats are available and used. No one method or format is sufficient for the entire curriculum.
The seminary community can properly sustain its pursuit of theological education only insofar as its common life regularly involves opportunities for personal encounters, spirited dialogue, corporate activities, and worship.