Multiplying Laborers for the Urban Harvest

M u l t i p l y i n g L a b o r e r s f o r t h e U r b a n H a r v e s t M u l t i p l y i n g L a b o r e r s f o r t h e U r b a n H a r v e s t

Conscious effort is directed toward spiritual formation and ministry skills development, sometimes with deliberate attenuation of academic stress. Although none of the schools in this study has discounted the need for sound academic training, the relative emphasis on spiritual and ministerial skills development in some cases gives that impression. The principal source of stress in traditional theological education is academic. When spiritual and ministry skills development are accorded higher priority, new sources of stress are introduced. To avoid student overload and burnout, some schools have taken the bold (but reasonable) step of deliberately reapportioning stress. ➢ The teaching model of The Urban Ministry Institute emphasizes not just education in concepts, but education in wisdom. In the Hebraic sense, this means that growth in character and skills must necessarily accompany growth in knowledge and insight. This is the unavoidable implication of seeing our learners not only as students but as those who are currently practicing Christian leadership and who come to us as leaders in their own right. Conclusion Selecting students who are already engaged in some form of ministry leadership, helping them apply their learning in those contexts, and taking the elements of spiritual formation seriously during the process is a key part of a successful extension program.

➢ Robert W. Ferris, Renewal in Theological Education: Strategies for Change, A BGC Monograph, (Wheaton, IL: Billy Graham Center -Wheaton College, 1990), p. 129- 130.

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