Leadership Studio I

This class does not meet every week.  The onsite intensive is October 31 – November 2. Please check the syllabus for dates and times.

This course corresponds to the MDiv and MAPPL Degree

PT652 follows this course in Spring Term 2025 and is its required completion.

Description: Theologically trained professionals serving congregational or social ministries, agencies, organizations, and other institutions are continually presented with a changing context and the need for their organizations to respond. A key critical leadership challenge is to identify opportunities which are truly strategic and then to assist the organization to embrace the occasion.

The Studio for Strategic Leadership (The Studio-PT651/PT652)) is designed to be a crucible into which we bring ourselves – our gifts, hopes, vulnerabilities, strengths, weaknesses, uncertainties, experience – so that we may become transformed, effective leaders. It is a different kind of classroom. We will consider this question, among others: ‘How can we act from the future that is seeking to emerge?’ (Scharmer) as we also seek to engage the missio Dei (“the good news that God is a God-for-people”, Bosch).

Here there will be an opportunity for those preparing for pastoral and public leadership to combine instruction in leadership theory and theology with on-the-ground experience of discerning and developing leadership challenges and ministry opportunities. Alongside The Studio, students will be located in a ministry/leadership site, with a mentor/supervisor, where they will engage in a collaborative, creative, experiential and educational environment. A broad range of partners in church and society may become involved in the project, thus presenting learning opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. In all cases, we will understand the leadership opportunity to be one of serving the community in a specific context. The Studio mentors and instructors will assist the students to research, prepare, exercise, and evaluate their leadership in the context in which they are situated. In conversation with The Studio Instructor (in the prerequisite course PT 505 – Leadership In Context), students will have selected their learning sites and mentors on the basis of the criteria related to the promise of the best learning opportunity for their leadership.

Prerequisites: PT500 and PT505.  MDiv students must take PT551 prior or concurrent to enrollment.

This class is available both in person and online via Zoom
This class has an onsite intensive
This class must be taken synchronously