MSF: Unifying Doctrine and Practice
Jun 03, 2009
Go into any Christian bookstore and you'll find a shelf containing "Theology" and another designated "Spirituality." This unhappy division was not always the case. A thousand years ago, a text on prayer was no less a work of theology than a book on the Trinity. This unity of spirituality and theology, of experience and belief, is the basis of a new degree, the Masters of Arts in Spiritual Formation (MSF), offered through the Center for Christian Ministry and Vocation at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.
Replacing the popular MAPM degree, the new program builds on the older degree by bringing together study of Christian "spirituality" with engagement in its practice and reflection upon the theology that permeates it. The term "formation" in the name of the degree signals this unity of doctrine and practice, of learning and living, a unity that effects personal change.
Intended as a three-year, part-time program, the MSF is taught by full-time and associated seminary faculty. Classes are scheduled on alternate weekends. The program has a distinctly innovative structure in which students literally practice what they are learning by adopting spiritual practices of their own choosing; these practices are various, ranging from Scripture meditation to implementing a "green" lifestyle to volunteering in an agency that serves the homeless.
Course topics include the meaning of "holiness," Biblical ideas of "vocation," the theology of revelation, and the nature of mission. During their final year students undertake a project in an area of special interest. For students who seek a more limited course of study, the first two years of the MSF may be taken as a "Diploma in Spiritual Formation."
This curriculum in spiritual formation attends to the active, as well as the contemplative; the individual, but also the body of Christ, gathered for worship and sent out into the world. The program is ideal for those seeking a personal renewal of faith and practice and for those interested in teaching in a Church community, guiding people in prayer, or leading groups for Bible study or discipleship. The MSF provides what is so often lacking: the opportunity to go deeper in faith, with the help of dedicated teachers, experienced guides, and in a community of Christian formation.
--The Rev. Dr. Alan Gregory, Academic Dean
--Ellen Jockusch, Director, Center for Christian Ministry and Vocation
