2021 Seminary Course Checklist

SEMINARY COURSE CHECKLIST as of Fall Semester 2013

Seminary Fall

Student Name

J Term

___ Deacon

Track:

___ Elder

Spring Summer

COURSES REQUIRED BY DISCIPLINE: Course

Completed

This section is to be completed only upon submission of the student’s final official transcript.

1. Old Testament BOM Registrar: 2. New Testament 3. Theology

Date:

4. Church History Seminary Degree:

5. Mission of the Church in the World 6. Evangelism

Date Acquired:

7. Worship/Liturgy 8. United Methodist Doctrine

NOTES:

9. United Methodist Polity 10. United Methodist History

COURSES REQUIRED BY HOLSTON CONFERENCE: Additional Courses for Deacons Course

Completed

1. Supervision/Administration 2. Education/Teaching (Unless your Undergrad degree or specialty is education. )

Additional Courses for Elders 1. Introduction to Pastoral Care 2a.—Introductory Homiletics 2b.—Advanced Homiletics

Evaluation Dates

3. Pastoral Leadership and Administration

________ _________ _________ ________ _________ _________

Guidelines You Need to Know

HOMILETICS Courses

Students are required to submit an unofficial transcript within 3 weeks of the completion of each semester so that we might verify grades and determine continued eligibility to receive MEF.

PLEASE NOTE—For the Homiletics courses, it is expected that the course will require you to:

A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least a C average (2.0) in order to receive MEF.

1.) study a text 2.) prepare a sermon(s) 3.) Deliver sermon(s) 4.) Receive critique from a professor

If you are not receiving MEF, then the submission of transcripts, other than the final transcript is optional. However, we will be unable to provide any guidance if you do not submit your transcripts for interim review.

Upon graduation, the student must submit an official transcript so that it can be determined whether or not the student has completed all of the required classes. According to the Book of Discipline, a student cannot be commissioned until this official transcript is received, reviewed, and it is certified that all required classes have been taken.

An update of this Seminary Course Checklist will be placed in each student’s People Portal on the conference website whenever an updated transcript is sent to the Office of Clergy Services.

Please review this document so that you can see the classes for which you have been given credit and plan your future classes accordingly.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have completed all the required classes prior to your becoming a Provisional Member.

If you have questions, please contact: Office of Clergy Services (865) 690-4080 ClergyServices@holston.org

Not all courses labeled as preaching require this, so please look carefully at your class description.

In a similar vein, some courses not labeled clearly as a preaching course do require these elements. You would need to provide a course description/syllabus so that these non-traditional courses could be considered as a preaching course.

On Campus Requirements GBHEM requires that at leas 1/3 of your total courses as well as 1/3 of the Basic Graduate Theological Studies Classes be conducted in an on campus setting. The other 2/3’s may be in a purely online or hybrid format.

Holston Annual Conference requires that the following courses must be on campus: 1.) Introduction to Pastoral Care 2.) At least one of the two required preaching classes

Rev. 04-2021

Guidelines for Evaluating Courses for Basic Graduate Theological Studies Requirements The United Methodist Church requires those pursuing ordination as elder or deacon to complete the following Basic Graduate Theological Studies (BGTS) courses (¶ 324.4a) as a part of the education requirements: • • • •

Old Testament New Testament Theology Church history

• • • •

Mission of the church in the world Evangelism Worship/liturgy United Methodist history, doctrine, and polity

These shall constitute a minimum of 27 semester hours (¶ 324.5c) and must be completed at a seminary listed by the University Senate (¶ 324.4b, 4c3) or through a program of study approved by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), per ¶¶ 335.3b, 3d. (For local pastors seeking ordination, refer to ¶ 324.6d).

Each of the courses listed above (excluding United Methodist history, doctrine, and polity) are to be taken as separate courses, typically for three semester hours of credit each, totaling 21 hours. United Methodist history, doctrine, and polity courses should collectively add up to six semester hours of credit (e.g., three courses at two hours each or two courses at three hours each, depending on the institution).

It is the Board of Ordained Ministry’s responsibility to determine the education and training standards for the student’s projected ministry (elder, chaplain/extension ministry, deacon, local pastor, etc.), while heeding the denominational standards in ¶¶ 324, 330, and 335.

It is the Board of Ordained Ministry’s responsibility to determine whether courses on a student’s transcript fulfill the conference’s standards for the BGTS. GBHEM is available to consult with Boards of Ordained Ministry on such assessments (¶ 324.7).

GBHEM is also available to advise Boards of Ordained Ministry on whether a student’s educational history meets the deacons’ educational requirements (¶ 324.4c).

GBHEM determines whether courses qualify for the United Methodist history, doctrine, and polity requirement (¶ 1421.3b).

Boards of Ordained Ministry in the United States should consult with GBHEM when evaluating student transcripts from schools outside of the United States, as education systems vary from nation to nation.

GBHEM assesses student transcripts for master of divinity equivalence (¶ 324.7) or for applying credit toward Course of Study or Advanced Course of Study (¶¶ 324.6c, d). Contact GBHEM to confirm equivalent hours for Course of Study and Advanced Course of Study.

Requests for GBHEM evaluation of theological school transcripts should be sent to the Course of Study Registrar (cosregistrar@gbhem.org) by the Bishop, District Superintendent, District Committee on Ordained Ministry, or an officer of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. Candidates wishing to have their educational credentials evaluated by GBHEM should make their request through the office of the Bishop, Superintendent, District Committee, or Board of Ordained Ministry.

Guiding Questions When evaluating courses for BGTS fulfillment, Boards of Ordained Ministry should review the seminary’s course descriptions. Often these can be found on the seminary’s web site. The following questions may assist with evaluation.

1. Does the course address the conference-established requirements for the area of study?

2. Does the course provide an overview of the area of study?

3. Has the student taken an undergraduate course (or course at a seminary not on the University Senate list, or a Course of Study class) in the area of study? If so, consider allowing the student to take an advanced graduatelevel course in the area of study at a seminary recognized by the University Senate. Undergraduate courses are not qualified to meet graduate requirements.

4. Has the student taken courses that the conference considers necessary for the student’s projected area of ministry (for example, pastoral care or preaching)?

5. Suggested considerations for the worship/liturgy requirement: a. Does the course teach the United Methodist theology of sacraments? b. Does the course familiarize students with United Methodist worship resources, such as The United Methodist Book of Worship, Mil Voces Para Celebrar, This Holy Mystery, By Water and the Spirit? c. Does the course familiarize students with the United Methodist theology of worship (UMBW, This Holy Mystery, By Water and the Spirit)?

6. Suggested considerations for the evangelism requirement: a. Does the course help students articulate a definition of, biblical basis for, and theology of evangelism?

Does it familiarize students with a variety of theological understandings of evangelism (e.g., Wesleyan, liberationist, narrative, revivalist, etc.)? b. Does the course teach students how to lead faith communities to practice evangelism?

7. Suggested considerations for the mission of the church in the world requirement: a. Does the course help students articulate a definition of, biblical basis for, and theology of mission? b. Does the course provide an overview of the history of Christian mission practices? c. Does the course familiarize students with mission practice and mission ethics? d. Does the course teach students critical skills in the challenges of cross-cultural engagement and the attending religious, economic, political, and other dimensions of culture? e. Does the course help students lead faith communities in the practice of mission?

8. Suggested considerations for the Old Testament, New Testament, theology, and church history requirements: a. Has the student taken an introductory survey course that provides a foundation in the subject area? b. If the student has completed an introductory course in one of these areas at a seminary that is not on the University Senate list, the Board of Ordained Ministry might ask the student to take an advanced course at a seminary on the University Senate list. For example, if the student took Introduction to New Testament at a school not on the University Senate list, the Board of Ordained Ministry might apply toward the requirement an Epistles course completed at a seminary on the University Senate list.

Rev. 04/04/2019