Pacific School of Religion

TEL Courses & Seminars

The TEL program includes courses and seminars in a variety of lengths and formats. All courses are open to any learner, and are available entirely online. They may be taken individually, or as part of a certificate. Because courses are not taught at graduate-level intensity, TEL courses do not count toward graduate-level academic credit (see CTEL below for exception).

Courses

Printable Course Schedule

For the Bible Tells Me So? An Intro to Christian Ethics

with Dr. Erwin Barron
May 8-15, 2012
 

Course Description
“For the Bible Tells Me So?: an Introduction to Christian Ethics” will introduce learners to the theories and practical applications of the field of Christian Ethics.  While “ethics” is notoriously hard to define, most people have a perception of “right from wrong” and therefore, in a sense, are familiar with Ethics.  However, Christian ethics is profoundly influenced by the Bible and our Christian communities.  This course will allow participants to step back and examine the processes of ethical decision-making, taking into consideration their own social location(s) to see how their lives, and those of their communities, become part of their ethical understandings.  We will also specifically listen to the voices of some long-silenced communities to better understand how they affect our ethical perspectives and processes.  Throughout the course, we will look at foundational principles and theories and apply them to specific, real-life situations.   By the end of the course, students will better understand ethical decision-making and have some tools for helping members of their congregations work through moral and ethical issues in their lives. Required Text: "Christian Ethics: An Essential Guide" by Robin W. Lovin, Abingdon Press, 2000.

Schedule
This is a course.
Tuesday, May 8, 5:00 - 8:00 pm PDT, opening live seminar;
Tuesday, May 15, 5:00 - 8:00 pm PDT, closing live seminar;
The interim section of the course is self-paced (May 9-14).

Cost
$120 CTEL certificate students and PSR students / $200 general public.

About the Instructor
Erwin Barron is an ordained Presbyterian pastor with a PhD in social ethics from the Graduate Theological Union.  He has taught at the Pacific School of Religion, University of San Francisco, Chabot College, and is currently on the faculty at City College of San Francisco.  He comes to the TEL program after teaching Christian Ethics in  PSR's Certificate of Ministry Program for six years.  He is actively involved in the life of a small, Presbyterian congregation in San Francisco and wants to apply ethical theory to lived life in congregations. 

Text and Culture: A Survey of the Old Testament

with Dr. Steed Davdison
June 5-12, 2012
 

Course Description
This course examines the Old Testament in the context of the ancient near east as a product of its time.  Attention will be paid to the historical, social and cultural forces that shaped the texts and the ways Jews and Christians have read these texts.  Coming to an appreciation of the content of selected books and their relevance for contemporary culture will also be a focus of this course.

This is a course.
Tuesday, June 5, 5:30 - 8:30 pm PDT, opening live seminar;
Tuesday, June 12, 5:30 - 8:30 pm PDT, closing live seminar;
The interim section of the course is self-paced (June 6-11).

Cost
$120 CTEL certificate students and PSR students / $200 general public.

About the Instructor
Steed V. Davidson is associate professor of Old Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. His research interests center on Israelite prophetic literature and postcolonial studies. His book Empire and Exile offers a postcolonial treatment of the book of Jeremiah. As well as contributing to other publications on the issue of postcolonial readings, he teaches contextual readings of the Bible. In his classes he pays critical attention to reader and text as they interact in varying contexts as a means of developing competencies in reading from multiple contexts. Dr. Davidson received his PhD from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.

New Testament Survey

with Dr. Tat-siong Benny Liew
July 7-14, 2012
registration coming soon 

Course Description
Coming soon

Schedule
This is a course.
Saturday, July 7, 6:00 - 8:00 pm PST, opening live seminar;
Saturday, July 14, 6:00 - 8:00 pm PST, closing live seminar;
The interim section of the course is self-paced (July 8-13).

Cost
$120 CTEL certificate students and PSR students / $200 general public.

About the Instructor
Tat-siong Benny Liew is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean and Professor of New Testament at Pacific School of Religion. Dr. Liew is most interested and invested in transdisciplinary study of the New Testament. Alongside New Testament studies, his scholarly interests include literary theory, postcolonial studies, gender/sexuality studies, and ethnic studies (particularly Asian American history and literature). Dr. Liew is the author of What Is Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics? Reading the New Testament (2008), and Politics of Parousia: Reading Mark Inter(con)textually (1999). He also edited Reading Ideologies:  Essays on the Bible and Interpretation In Honor of Mary Ann Tolbert (2011), Postcolonial Interventions: Essays in Honor of R. S. Sugirtharajah (2009), They Were All Together in One Place? Toward Minority Biblical Criticism with Randall Bailey and Fernando Segovia (2009), and the last issue of the journal, Semeia, with Gale Yee on "The Bible in Asian America" (2002). Dr. Liew also serves on several international editorial boards, and is currently the book review editor of the journal, Biblical Interpretation.

Theological Thinking:  God-Talk for Community Building

with the Rev. Dr. Jay E. Johnson
October, 2012

Registration will open closer to the start date of the course.

Course Description
Theology invites us deeper into an adventure with God and with each other. Theology also provides tools for that adventure as we explore the mystery of our own lives in relationship to the God who creates, redeems, and sustains us. In this course, we’ll consider the many forms of theological language – expressed with songs, poetry, prayer, arguments, laughter, tears, sermons, laments, intimate conversations, and so much more. We’ll also consider how such “God-talk” can help us build communities of faith, hope, and love in the world. We’ll do this through interactive exercises with Scripture, multi-media “lectures” on Christian traditions, engagements with various art forms, and shared investigations of the many questions each of us has about who God is and who we are in relationship with God.

Schedule
This is a course.
Dates & schedule to be determined.

Cost
$120 CTEL certificate students / $200 general public.

About the Instructor
Jay Emerson Johnson, a theologian and Episcopal priest, is a member of the core doctoral faculty of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) and teaches courses at Pacific School of Religion and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, both member schools of the GTU. He is senior Director, Academic Research & Resources at PSR's Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies in Religion and Ministry CLGS).

Since 2006 Dr. Johnson has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Theology and Sexuality. He has also served as a parish priest in the Episcopal Dioceses of Chicago and California and is currently a clergy associate at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Berkeley. Jay's first book, Dancing with God: Anglican Christianity and the Practice of Hope, was published in 2005.

His current research and writing interests involve the intersections of critical social theory and Christian traditions. Jay is a popular retreat leader and facilitator of adult education programs, both in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the country. Jay also maintains a blogging site: Peculiar Faith.

Called to Lead: Embracing a Theology of Church Management

with the Rev. Kim Smith
February, 2013

Registration will open closer to the start date of the course.

Course Description
Every religious community or church requires management and administration.  Management that is deeply rooted in the church's vision of ministry and the church's understanding of its own calling, moves beyond paper and numbers becomes a ministry itself.  This course is designed to help participants discern their own community's vision and how it directs and impacts the various acts of administration, including finances, personnel, planning, volunteer management and leadership.  Sensitivity to culture and context are critical as pastors and leaders create a theological and spiritual basis for the work of church management.

Schedule
This is a seminar.
Dates & schedule to be determined.

Cost
$30 CTEL certificate students / $60 general public.

About the Instructor
Kim Smith arrived at PSR in 1978 to study, and went on to work for the school while in the M.Div program, and later served for nine years on the PSR Board of Trustees. She currently serves as PSR's representative on the GTU Board of Trustees.  An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, she has served a wide range of churches, from small rural congregations to large membership congregations and inner city ministries.  She is now the senior pastor of Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church in Mill Valley, Marin County.  Kim holds a Master of Divinity from PSR, a Master of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco and is a candidate for a Doctor of Ministry from SFTS.  A great believer in life-time learning, her latest learning goal is as an enrolled student in the Certificate of Artisan Cheesemaking through the College of Marin. 

Wells of Living Water: Spiritual Practices for the Journey of Life

with the Rev. Dr. Christy Newton
March, 2013

Registration will open closer to the start date of the course.

Course Description
All around us, there are messages of scarcity that claim there is simply not enough. Not enough time, energy, or money. Not enough creativity, intelligence, beauty, hope,  wonder… Not enough to share.  These messages deplete our spirits on multiple levels and leave many of us as faith leaders trying to quench our spiritual thirsts with the dust of dry wells. This course will introduce a selection of spiritual practices capable of replenishing dry wells and quenching the deep spiritual thirsts of individuals and communities of faith. Students will engage in experiential spiritual practices and critical reflection on those practices. Together we will explore why certain spiritual practices resonate with us and how these spiritual practices might be incorporated into the life of a community of faith.

Schedule
This is a course.
Dates & schedule to be determined.

Cost
$120 CTEL certificate students / $200 general public.

About the Instructor
Christy Newton is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who has served local Disciples and United Church of Christ congregations in Arkansas and California and worked in campus ministry/church relations at Chapman University in Orange, California. An alumna of Texas Christian University (B.A.), Nanzan University (Nagoya, Japan), Monash University (Melbourne, Australia—M.A. Art History/Film), and Pacific School of Religion (M.Div.), Christy also received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Graduate Theological in May 2011. Her soon-to-be-published dissertation, entitled Saving at Wal-Mart: Theology and Relationships in Consumer Culture, reflects her sincere passion for connecting the world of ideas with the everyday lives that people lead. Currently, Christy serves as the Interim Senior Minister at Northbrae Community Church in Berkeley, California, and teaches courses for San Francisco Theological Seminary and Lexington Theological Seminary, as well as Pacific School of Religion.

Still Waters and Streams: Care of the Soul in Turbulent Times 

with the Rev. Dr. Horace Griffin
April, 2013
 

Course Description
This course is a brief introduction to pastoral care.  Students will be introduced to the history of pastoral care and the Church’s tradition regarding the “cure of the soul.”  Drawing from readings, class lectures and case studies, students will develop skills for pastoral conversations and spiritual care.  This course will provide a special focus on assisting others in crises, such as illness, troubled relationships, loss, death and dying.  Students will understand and observe pastoral care as a spiritual undertaking involving lay members as well as clergy within a faith community.  Pastoral care will be explored in the context of theological issues such as theodicy (problem of evil in a "good" world), benevolence and sin .  Spiritual healing and palliative care will also be examined in relationship to hospital and hospice settings for chaplaincy.  Required Textbook: "Grief, Transition and Loss: A Pastor's Practical Guide" by Wayne E. Oates (read through Chapter 2 before Opening Live Seminar)

Schedule (Please note time change for the live seminars)
This is a course.
Dates & schedule to be determined;
The interim section of the course is self-pace.

Cost
$120 CTEL certificate students and PSR students / $200 general public.

About the Instructor 
Horace L. Griffin is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.  He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion from Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia in 1983; the Master of Divinity in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Boston University School of Theology, Boston, Massachusetts in 1988; and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Religion and Personality from Vanderbilt University Graduate Department of Religion, Nashville, Tennessee in 1995.

As a pastoral theologian, Griffin  teaches courses in pastoral care, counseling, leadership and gender and sexuality.  His scholarship uses narrative pastoral care and contemporary theological discourse to explore issues of race, gender and sexuality.  An ordained Episcopal priest and author of Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians and Gays in Black Churches (2006 Lambda Literary award winner), Griffin is involved in progressive Christian conversations on race and homosexuality currently taking place in the Church and society.  In addition to this work, he is writing his second book, Dishonor, which explores the abusive power of Jim Jones and the race dynamics in the Peoples Temple and Jonestown. 

Formats

Courses
Courses provide in-depth, introductory explorations of topics that comprise the core of theological understanding and ministerial competence. Each course includes twelve hours of learning over eight days, including two live online seminars surrounding a week of self-paced online learning.

For professionals seeking certification of continuing education, CEUs are available.

Courses offered annually:

• June: Old Testament Survey
• July: New Testament Survey
• August: Church History & Theology
• September: Christian Education
• September: Christian Worship
• October: Thinking Theologically (2012: also offered in January)
• November: Biblical Interpretation
• December: Preaching
• January: Christian Ethic
• March: Christian Spirituality
• April: Pastoral Care

Seminars
Seminars address a wide variety of topics in one- to three-hour live interactive sessions. Some seminars are offered occasionally, some annually. For professionals seeking certification of continuing education, CEUs are available.

Seminars offered annually:

• September: Christian Education (3 hour seminar)
• February: Theology of Church Management (3 hour seminar)

Certificates

Return to TEL home page