CS251/252 "Religious Leadership, Organization, Administration and ...

CS251/252 "Religious Leadership, Organization, Administration and Finance in Context"
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Fall semester 2007
Joseph Bush, Associate Professor of Life and Leadership of the Congregation
Individual Field Instructors in Congregational Contexts
Trish Greeves, Context Coordinator
BASIC STRUCTURE
CS251 AND CS252 are taken in sequence in the same academic year. Although students must
register for them separately in the Fall and the Spring semesters respectively, and although separate
grades will be submitted for CS251 in the Fall and for CS252 in the Spring, they will be taught as a single
year-long course on the subject, "Religious Leadership, Organization, Administration and Finance in
Context." There are two main reasons for this year-long structure: (1) in order to take advantage of the
concurrent year-long congregational internship as context for learning, and (2) in order to take advantage
of the interconnections between the topics covered in the course, e.g. between leadership, organization
and finance.
FOUR FOCI
There are four foci in this course: (1) oneself as a person in ministry and leadership; (2)
congregations as organizations in ministry and as communities in worship; (3) the wider society and
environment as the context for congregations and ministry; and (4) the books that will be read on subjects
related to the course. In some ways, these four foci complement each other; in some ways they distract
attention from each other. It is important to realize that the required and recommended reading is written
about other people's experience as leaders in ministry in other congregations and in other communities.
The reading is meant as a dialog partner with us as we examine together our own experiences of ministry
in context. Our primary texts are these experiences we have of ourselves offering leadership in
congregations engaged in ministry in society. The reading should help us to focus our attention back to
our own ministry in congregations and in communities, and ultimately even our observations about our
congregations and communities should help us to zoom the focus even more directly onto ourselves as
leaders and ministers.
GOALS.
Goals for each of the foci are as follows:
a) With regard to the fourth focus (course readings and assignments)--to develop contextual
understanding of systems of congregational life, such as the financial system, the emotional system,
and dynamics of leadership and enablement.
b) With regard to the third focus (wider society as context)--to be able to describe and analyze the
social context of a congregation, e.g. with reference to demographic patterns, economic structures, and
cultural traditions.
c) With regard to the second focus (the congregation itself)--to be able to analyze a particular
congregation with reference to such areas as structures of authority, engagement in ministry, emotional
dynamics and patterns of relatedness.
d) With regard to the first focus (oneself in ministry)--to develop self-awareness of one's own
developing abilities as a leader and a minister both at the level of professional skill (that is in such areas
as leading worship, leading programs, etc.) and at the level of discernment (that is to have a better idea of
whether or not one likes ministry and whether or not congregational ministry seems a faithful response to
ones sense of call).

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e) This last matter of vocational discernment evokes a final, general goal: to be able to engage in
theological reflection about oneself and about the church involved with others in context.
METHODS
The basic method for this course is critical reflection on practice. Such practice includes the social
context as well as our personal experiences in congregations. Particular praxeological methods will vary
with the kind of personal experience or social reality being studied. Much learning will be of an inductive
nature--allowing unforeseen insight to emerge from myriad experiences and from the process itself.
Course readings, handouts, lectures and consultations with field instructors will provide various resources
for help with our praxeological reflection as practical theologians. Basic methods are especially
introduced during the first weeks of the course. In addition, particular approaches to contextual study are
given in the assignments for each week. Individualized learning is also encouraged in the field contexts,
and a worksheet for constructing an individualized learning agenda is provided in the CS251/252 packet.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
In addition to this syllabus, there is a packet of materials for CS251/252 including a Handbook for
CS251/252. The packet and the Handbook contain: (1) statements of policy; (2) additional explanation
of contextual studies and congregational internships, (3) clarification about roles, responsibilities, and
relationships between intern, field instructor, Leadership Advisory Group, and the seminary, and (4)
worksheets to facilitate the process. The worksheets relate to: (a) the initial process of establishing
learning goals and a learning agenda, and (b) a process for mid-semester and final evaluations. All these
materials are also available on the “CS251/CS252” link on the Contextual Studies website:
http://mercury.unitedseminary-mn.org/context. In addition, see the UTS Student Handbook for other
relevant policies, such as that on extensions and inclusive language [2007-2008 edition, pp. 42, 108-9]
ASSIGNMENTS
Both reading and writing assignments are detailed in the schedule below. For the Fall semester, a
brief written assignment is required each week; in the Spring semester, there will be longer assignments
but fewer in number. Students are advised to stay well ahead in the assigned reading--reading the
material as early in the week as possible (or even in advance of the week concerned). The written
assignments follow from the reading and serve to focus attention more concretely on a particular
congregation in context. In most instances, one will need to pursue the week's field work with the reading
and written assignments in mind.
SITE VISITS
Once during the year—in either the Fall semester or the Spring semester or even during the Jan.
term—students should arrange for a site visit to their congregations by Trish Greeves or Joe Bush. The
timing of these site visits can vary according to need and circumstance. Students are asked to request a
time when a site visit might be most helpful to them. Some students may want to time this site visit early
in the Fall in order to help clarify the process or to facilitate goal-setting. Other students, however, may
want someone from the seminary to be present late in the semester in order to assist with final
evaluations. Still other students may want someone from the seminary to be present at different times in
order to observe an event in ministry, e.g. the student preaching a sermon, etc. These site visits should be
planned as soon as possible, though, even if for the end of semester. Also Trish Greeves and Joe Bush are
often not able to find Sundays free if asked just one or two weeks ahead of time. Weekday and evening
invitations are encouraged. A typical site visit includes three aspects:
1) A meeting with the Leadership Advisory Group;
2) A meeting with the field instructor (sometimes simply included in the LAG meeting);
3) Observation of you as the intern engaged in some form of leadership or ministry.
This meeting is for the intern’s benefit--to facilitate supervision & feedback for the intern in the
ministerial context. Interns should take the initiative in organizing this site visit, setting the agenda and

chairing the meeting of the Leadership Advisory Group (though some field instructors take a more active
role in sharing leadership at these meetings than do others). Typically, the visitor from the seminary is
asked to help to interpret the program as a whole as well as to explain the role of the LAG in particular.
EVALUATION
CS251/252 is taken for Pass/No Credit rather than for letter grades. While particular assignments will
be evaluated and marked with either a percentage grade or a letter grade, the final grade for each semester
will be simply a Pass or No Credit. While the professor is responsible for determining and submitting the
final grade for each semester, he does so taking into account field evaluations from the field instructors,
members of a student's Leadership Advisory Group, and the students' own self-evaluations.
Approximately half (50%) of the grade for each semester will be based on a student's field evaluations;
one quarter (25%) of the grade will be based on class participation; one quarter (25%) of the grade will be
based on the written assignments described in this syllabus. For the Fall semester, there are ten small
written assignments weighted equally (2.5% per assignment). In the Spring semester, there will be five
assignments equally weighted at 5% each.
Field evaluations are due on the following dates:
October 19, 2007 Mid-semester evaluation to be mailed in by field instructor.
December 18, 2007 End-of-semester evaluations to be turned in by interns.
March 7, 2008 Mid-semester evaluation to be mailed in by field instructor.
May 9, 2008 End-of-semester evaluations to be turned in by interns.
CLASS PARTICIPATION and SMALL GROUPS
Class participation is crucial for the learning process as we discuss together our experiences in
ministry and leadership. Class participation includes: (1) being prepared to discuss reading and
assignments for the week concerned; (2) ability to offer constructive and honest feedback to one's peers in
conversation; and (3) being able to reflect honestly and openly on one's own ministry in conversation with
others--that is to receive as well as to offer feedback; (4) respect for fellow-participants and nondisruptive
patterns of interaction; and (5) punctuality with regard to beginning and ending times--
including the time allotted for breaks. Each student will be assigned to a small group to facilitate
discussion of students' case material, evaluations, and other assignments; these groups will be facilitated
by Joseph Bush and Trish Greeves.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Some of the material discussed in class is of a confidential nature and should not be discussed outside
of class. This is not so, of course, for lectures and discussion of the reading, but it is so for real-life case
studies and disclosures by fellow students of their experience in ministry and the experiences of their
congregants. Even in the context of the seminar itself, the identities of individuals mentioned in case
studies should be disguised as well as possible. It would be most troubling if an individual congregant
heard through round-about channels that she or he was being discussed as a "case." Also, we must
recognize that interns are variously vulnerable to the politics of their denominations during the road to
ordination. For this internship and concurrent seminar to be a relatively free time to explore issues of
leadership and ministry, interns need to feel confident that their putative foibles are not being displayed
behind their backs to church superiors. For these reasons, it should be assumed that all discussion of
interns' own experiences of ministry should remain confidential. Moreover, it is good practice to allow
the class time itself to be a boundary for discussing student case-studies--unless the student who has
presented the case in question raises the subject again subsequently.
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FALL SCHEDULE
GETTING STARTED
Week 1. (14 Sept.) Introduction. The four foci for the course.
Case discussion 1 Group A
Case discussion 1 Group B
Week 2 (21 Sept.) Methodology of Reflective Practice I
Carroll, ch.6
Farber-Robertson, chs. 1-3
[supplemental: Schön]
Written Assignment: Learning Agenda Worksheet
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 2 Group A:
Case discussion 2 Group B:
Week 3 (28 Sept.) Methodology of Reflective Practice II.
Farber-Robertson, chs. 4-8
[supplemental: Coll]
Written Assignment: Case Study
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 3 Group A:
Case discussion 3 Group B:
PART I. Community and Culture as CONTEXT for Congregations in Ministry
Week 4. (5 Oct.)
Studying Congregations, Introduction and Ch. 1
Congregations in Transition, Ch. 2
Crane and Angrosino, Ch. 1 “Proximics”
[supplemental: Crane and Angrosino, Ch. 2]
Written Assignment: Basic map and preliminary People map of community
Opening Devotion:
Case discussion 4 Group A:
Case discussion 4 Group B:
Week 5 (12 Oct.)
Studying Congregations, chs. 2, 7
[supplemental: Method in Ministry]
Written Assignment: Census analysis of community.
For Small Group discussion: What particular question did you bring to the census after your initial
observations from last week Were you surprised or not by the census data pertaining to this question
Opening Devotion:
Case discussion 5 Group A:
Case discussion 5 Group B:
Week 6 (19 Oct.)
Studying Congregations, ch. 3
Crane and Angrosino, ch. 4
[supplemental: Crane and Angrosino, chs. 6-11, 13-14]

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Written Assignment: Interview of a member of the community (non-member of the congregation)
Opening Devotion:
Case discussion 6 Group A:
Case discussion 6 Group B:
READING WEEK
PART II. CONGREGATIONS as Systems, Cultures and Organizations
Week 7 (2 Nov.)
Congregations in Transition, ch. 3
Crane and Angrosino, ch. 5
Understanding Your Congregation as a System. pp. 1-24, 133-135.
Congregational Systems Inventory
[supplemental: Thompson]
Written Assignment: Brief analysis of congregational culture using one of the techniques suggested
in Congregations in Transition or Field Projects
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 7 Group A:
Case discussion 7 Group B:
Week 8 (9 Nov.) Congregational Systems and Learning Organizations
Understanding Your Congregation as a System, chs. 4-6, 12
Crane and Angrosino, ch. 12
[supplemental: Hawkins; Campbell]
Written Assignment: Administer the Congregation Systems Inventory with an appropriate group in
your congregation and report your findings in class. (worth 3%)
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 8 Group A:
Case discussion 8 Group B:
Week 9 (16 Nov.) Process and organizational structure
Understanding Your Congregation as a System, ch. 9
Easum, ch. 5
Studying Congregations, ch. 4
Massey and McKinney, ch. 4
Church Administration and Finance Manual, pp. 115-130
[supplemental: Church Administration and Finance Manual, pp.158-208]
Written Assignment: Diagram and describe the committee structure in your congregation. (3%)
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 9Group A:
Case discussion 9 Group B:
THANKSGIVING
Week 10 (30 Nov.) Relatedness, Mutuality and Gifts-based ministries
Understanding Your Congregation as a System, ch. 11
Easum, ch. 6
Massey and McKinney, ch. 1
Church Administration and Finance Manual, pp. 130-157
[supplemental: Created and Called]
Guest Lecturer: Jean Morris Trumbauer

Opening devotion:
Case discussion 10 Group A:
Case discussion 10 Group B:
Written Assignment: Diagram and/or describe the important informal relationships and
communication patterns in your congregation. How do these informal relationships and patterns relate to
the formal structure
Questions for small group discussion:
1) How does this pattern of informal relationships compare with the formal organizational structure
2) How does this pattern of informal relationships compare with diagram of emotional system from
last semester
3) Given these comparisons, what are the implications for congregational functioning and
congregational leadership
Week 11 (7 Dec.) Authority in Relationship
Understanding Your Congregation as a System, ch. 8
Massey and McKinney, ch 2.
Carroll, ch. 2
Church in the Round, ch. 2
Easum, ch. 8
[supplemental: Household of Freedom]
Written Assignment: Reflect briefly on the nature of authority and leadership in your congregation.
How are authority and leadership related to the formal governing structure of the congregation, on the one
hand, and to the informal network of relationships, on the other, as discussed last week
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 11 Group A:
Case discussion 11 Group B:
Week 12 (14 Dec.) Pastoral Leadership
Understanding Your Congregation as a System, ch. 10
Massey and McKinney, ch. 3
Easum, ch. 7
Studying Congregations, ch. 6
[supplemental: remainder of Carroll]
Guest lecturer: Rev. Rick Wagner
Opening devotion:
Case discussion 12 Group A:
Case discussion 12 Group B:
Week 13 (Tues. 18 Dec.) Lay Leadership and Employment Policy
Understanding Your Congregation as a System, ch. 13
Easum, ch. 9
Church Administration and Finance Manual, pp. 209-239, 289-308.
[supplemental: Easum, chs. 1-4]
Small Group discussion of end-of-semester evaluation
Opening Devotion:
Case discussion 13 Group A:
Case discussion 13 Group B:
CHRISTMAS BREAK AND JAN. TERM. The Seminar will not meet during Jan. term, but interns are
expected to continue in ministry in their congregations in accordance with their contracts with those
congregations and their own individualized learning agendas.
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Book Order: CS251 Fall Semester 2007
"Religious Leadership, Organization, Administration and Finance in Context
Joseph Bush
REQUIRED
Ammerman, Nancy T., Jackson W. Carroll, Carl S. Dudley, and William McKinney. Studying
Congregations. Nashville: Abingdon, 1998.
Crumroy, Otto F., Jr., Stan Kukawka and Frank M. Witman. Church Administration and Finance
Manual. Harrisburg: Morehouse, 1998.
Easum, William M. Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers: Ministry Anytime, Anywhere, By Anyone.
Nashville: Abingdon, 1995.
Farber-Robertson, Anita. Learning While Leading: Increasing Your Effectiveness in Ministry. Alban
Institute, 2000.
Leas, Speed B. Discover Your Conflict Management Style. Alban, 1996.
Massey, Floyd Jr. and Samuel Berry McKinney. Church Administration in the Black Perspective.
Revised ed. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2003. ISBN 0 8170 1453 5
Parsons, George and Speed B. Leas. Understanding Your Congregation as a System. 2 Vols: Vol. 1
Congregational Systems Inventory; Vol. 2 The Manual. Alban Institute, 1993.
[Please note: the above resource from Alban Institute is in two volumes.]
RECOMMENDED
Carroll, Jackson W. As One With Authority: Reflective Leadership in Ministry. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 1991.
Coll, Regina. Supervision of Ministry Students. Liturgical Press. ISBN 081462040x.
Crane, Julia G. and Michael V. Angrosino. Field Projects in Anthropology: A Student
Handbook, 3 rd ed. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 1992.
Dudley, Carl S. and Nancy T. Ammerman. Congregations in Transition: A guide for Analyzing,
Assessing, and Adapting in Changing Communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
Russell, Letty M. Church in The Round: Feminist Interpretation of the Church. Louisville:
Westminster/John Knox, 1993.

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SUPPLEMENTAL
Ammerman, Nancy. Congregation and Community. Rutgers University Press, 1997.
Campbell, Dennis G. Congregations as Learning Communities. Alban Institute, 2000.
Hawkins, Thomas R. The Learning Congregation: A New Vision of Leadership. Lousiville:
Westminster John Knox, 1997.
Russell, Letty M. Household of Freedom: Authority in Feminist Theology. Philadelphia: Westminster,
1987.
Schön, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books, 1983. 0465068782
Thompson, George B., Jr. How to Get Along with Your Church: Creating Cultural Capital for Doing
Ministry. Cleveland: Pilgrim, 2001.
Trumbauer, Jean Morris. Created and Called. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1998
0806638990
Whitehead, James D. and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead. Method in Ministry: Theological
Reflection and Christian Ministry. Kansas City: Sheed & Wa