Current Course Offerings

PSR DMin students use this course number for registering during terms when they are not registering for coursework. This course indicates continuation in the program and carries a fee per semester. (This number is also used during a term while the student is engaged in coursework away from PSR.) Pass/Fail only.

Credit hours for preparation of dissertation units.

This course provides a cohort pedagogy for DMin students to participate regularly throughout the term in a continuous online platform where they share what they are learning and experiencing in their other coursework and in their research, and where they engage the learning journeys and evolving projects of their doctoral colleagues. Regular interactions every month are guided by the rubric provided for the course.

TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP: PROPHETS, HERETICS, AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS Transformational leadership entails a dynamic relationship between the leader and the community of which the leader is a part. It entails developing strategies that enhance the probability of achieving shared goals and visions. Essential to transformational leadership is inspiration that lifts one from common place existing to living beyond the norm. In the quest for a more just and compassion world transformational leadership challenges dominant systems and other forms of oppression. This course will explore various expressions of transformational leadership including those resulting from prophetic imagination and social entrepreneurship.

Using interactive presentations, case studies, readings, thick descriptions, online tools, short writing assignments, and guest presentations from a variety of church leaders, this course sur-veys the history, polity, theological beliefs, and ethos of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), from its historical beginnings to its contemporary manifestations. Paying particular at-tention to the cultural context in which it emerged, we will examine the church’s roots. And focusing on the ongoing relationship between church and culture, we will examine how the church continues to develop and respond to social, ethical, and theological needs today. We will explore Disciples church governance and the ways congregational, regional, and general manifestations of the church function and relate to one another. And we will consider ways our Disciples history, polity, and theological commitments all contribute to the formation of a dy-namic Disciples ethos that is expressed practically in the structure and development of church leadership, in the implementation of mission and service, and in performing important church rituals, including communion, baptism, baby dedications, weddings, and funerals.
*This course fulfills the Disciples history and polity requirement set forth by the Christian Church (DOC) Northern California-Nevada, Training & Care and Recognition & Standing committees. *

“Design Thinking” is a human-centered approach to problem-solving and new product development that emerged from the high-tech, entrepreneurial world of Silicon Valley. It has evolved over the years into a process that is rooted in community-based research, ongoing testing of assumptions, a resistance to immediate answers for the sake of deeper insights, and hypothesizing future consequences. The course is an introductory level course meant for religious leaders, non-profit leaders and leaders involved in social change initiatives.

This course invites fresh ways to imagine both congregational ministry and organizational leadership through the lens of social entrepreneurship, including modules on business operations, personnel management, and marketing strategies. Students will explore ways in which spiritual mission can align effectively with financial sustainability. The program trains emerging and established leaders to design, plan, and implement new approaches to revenue generation as they advance their congregational and/or organizational mission. The course meets in a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online sessions.

This course provides an introductory overview of Christian history with a focus on the diversity of ways in which Christians have engaged in efforts at social change for the common good in times of societal, economic, and political change — from the first century to the present. Class format will include lectures and class discussions based on the reading and interpretation of primary and secondary texts. Requirements: the writing of six analytical essays; several pop quizzes; and two take-home written exams. This course is intended primarily for MDiv, MA, and MTS students. It satisfies the basic history requirement for PSR’s degree programs.

The SAIL Project (Social Analysis for Innovative Leadership) is the capstone project for the Master of Arts in Social Transformation degree. Students choose either to write a thesis or to create an e-portfolio demonstrating effective engagement with the degree’s learning outcomes. Students meet with each other and the instructor three or four times over the course of the semester to share insights into strategies about their projects.

This is done independently with your advisor. Only MAST students should register for this course. MDIV students do not need to register for this course.

The Senior Integrative Seminar is a 1.5 credit class to be taken in the M.Div. student’s final semester at Pacific School of Religion. The purpose of the seminar is to assess your learning process: how and what have your learned while at PSR? This will occur by evaluating your learning in relationship to PSR’s Institutional Learning Outcomes and by taking account of any issues raised in your Middler Review. You will need to refer back to that review to show how you have worked on the issues raised at that time. A case study will be presented. You will then be asked to reflect on the case study by responding to a series of questions over a seven-week period. The questions are designed to evaluate your abilities in relationship to PSR’s Institutional Learning Outcomes. For more details, see the syllabus for the online section. LETTER GRADE ONLY [Faculty Consent required; Auditors excluded]

For MTS Students who wish to do a thesis rather than a synthesis essay. This must be approved by the advisor and Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Registrar.

This course gives an overview of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, with a focus on societal and religious transformations detailed in the texts and is designed primarily for 2nd year students in the stackable curriculum. Social justice issues in the ancient world of the Hebrew Bible will be discussed along with their modern applications. The geographic focus of the lectures will focus on the southern Levant (Holy Land) in its Middle Eastern contexts, the temporal range will be approximately 1200–400 BCE. Themes will be stressed that echo PSR’s core values, with special focus on leadership in its biblical forms, critical thinking, contexts (both ancient and modern), race/ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Evaluation will be based on class participation in discussion and several written assignments. (25 Max enrollment between both sections)

Throughout history and across cultures, people have turned to ritual to mark significant life transitions, to honor and explore moments of importance individually, communally and societally, and to place the everyday experiences of their lives into a more deeply meaningful frame.  These rituals have played a significant role in religious traditions and spiritual communities where transcendence or ultimacy provide the sacred frame and the deeper meaning.  In this course, we will explore the roles, functions and dynamics of ritual and develop skills for creating, facilitating, and evaluating these practices. While focused on communal ritualization, with particular attention to Christian worship, we will also consider individual and communal practices within a breadth of spiritual traditions and beyond the confines of religious communities.  Part design lab, part writing workshop, part experimental theater, this course will investigate the ways in which ritual combines actions, gestures, and activities to embody themes and ideas that foster resilience and hope and set apart an experience as sacred and meaningful. This is one part of a 3 module class of 1 credit unit each. You must also register for Empathy and Communication to complete the course. As a required course in the Stackable Curriculum for MDiv students in their first year, it provides an introductory and hands-on approach to leading religious communities. Each class will meet on Thursday afternoons for a total engagement of 4-5 weeks per module. This one-unit module introduces the basic principles of Communication for first-year stackable curriculum students through an extended reflection on practices of “Communication” as a spiritual trait for leaders of communities involved with social justice and transformation.  The course is organized around lectures and discussions, with the expectation of a  research paper at the end. Students will engage with readings through personal reflections and regular writing and discussion exercises.

This is one part of a 3 module class of 1 credit units each. You must also register for Ritual Design and Communication to complete the course. As a required course in the Stackable Curriculum for MDiv students in their first year, it provides an introductory and hands on approach to leading religious communities. Each class will meet on Thursday afternoons for a total engagement of 4-5 weeks per module. This one unit module introduces the basic principles of Communication for first-year stackable curriculum students through an extended reflection on practices of “Communication” as a spiritual trait for leaders of communities involved with social justice and transformation. The course is organized around lectures and discussions, with the expectation of a research paper at the end. Students will engage with readings through personal reflections and regular writing and discussion exercises.

This is one part of a 3 module class of 1 credit units each. You must also register for Ritual Design and Communication to complete the course. As a required course in the Stackable Curriculum for MDiv students in their first year, it provides an introductory and hands-on approach to leading religious communities. Each class will meet on Thursday afternoons for a total engagement of 4-5 weeks per module. This one unit module introduces the basic principles of Pastoral Care and Theology for first-year stackable curriculum students through an extended reflection on “Empathy” as a spiritual trait for leaders of communities involved with social justice and transformation. The course is organized around lectures and discussions, with the expectation of a research paper at the end. Students will engage with readings through personal reflections and regular writing and discussion exercises. .

Theology concerns words, wordings, the Word, or speech about the divine. In the 11th century, Anselm of Canterbury defined theology as “faith seeking understanding.” This course invites a continuation of that perennial human quest, and especially in Christian faith traditions. We will explore and learn from both the wisdom and shortcomings of those who have preceded us in trying to give meaningful and responsible expression to theological topics. We will likewise engage in contemporary forms of that same quest as we attend carefully to the contribution theological ideas can make to social change and transformation. (Lectures, small groups, short papers, and a “credo project.”)