Ordination Requirements
Students preparing for ordination should become aware as early as possible of any specific educational requirements their denomination or judicatory may expect them to satisfy in the course of their M.Div. work (e.g., in the biblical languages or in denominational history, doctrine, polity and evangelism). They should explore, with their academic advisers, how best to deal with these expectations.
The requirements of the current United Methodist Book of Discipline concerning work in United Methodist history, doctrine and polity may be met by satisfactorily completing the following three courses: HX 7365 - United Methodist History (three credit hours), ST 7034 - United Methodist Doctrine (1.5 credit hours) and CA 7013 - United Methodist Polity (1.5 credit hours). These courses are not required for the M.Div. degree; they are provided as a means of satisfying these requirements of the church in the context of the programs. The Book of Discipline also indicates that these requirements may be met in ways other than through regular coursework, and students may wish to explore these other options.
In the United Methodist Church, the provisions for education and preparation for all forms of professional status in ministry are expressed in detail in the books The Christian as Minister: An Exploration into the Meaning of God’s Call (2009–2012), General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, and Understanding God’s Call: A Ministry Inquiry Process (2009), GBHEM, The United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee.
Internship
The M.Div. program requires the satisfactory completion of a supervised internship carrying nine credit hours of academic credit. While the student registers for four and one-half hours of internship course credit during each of two consecutive terms, the internship degree requirement is satisfied only upon completion of the nine credit hours.
The following courses are recommended in preparation for the internship course: two courses in biblical studies, XS 6310 - The Church in Its Social Context , HX 6305 - The Christian Heritage I and HX 6306 - The Christian Heritage II , ST 6301 - Interpretation of the Christian Message I and ST 6302 - Interpretation of the Christian Message II , PR 6300 - Introduction to Preaching , WO 6313 - Introduction to Christian Worship , and participation in a spiritual formation group. United Methodist students, who are required by the Book of Discipline to take courses in United Methodist history, doctrine and polity, are advised but not required to take these courses prior to the internship. Comparable advice is given to students from other traditions.
M.Div. students may choose either a full-time or part-time internship. Both are nine months long, over the fall and spring terms of one academic year. Full-time is defined as a minimum of 35 hours per week (inclusive of the internship seminar) of work in the internship setting. Part-time is defined as a minimum of 25 hours per week (inclusive of the internship seminar) of work in the internship. A third option is a full-time Clinical Pastoral Education residency, which is 12 months long. All interns receive a stipend.
All internships are coordinated through the Perkins Intern Office. The placement process begins in September when a prospective intern is invited to apply for an internship that would begin in August of the following year. A student completes an application and interviews with the intern faculty who will determine throughout the placement process the student’s readiness for internship. If at any point during the placement process, the student exhibits patterns of behavior that suggests that the student needs further preparation prior to participating in an internship, the intern faculty may conclude that a student is not ready for an internship. The intern faculty will engage in a consultative process to determine appropriate measures to help the student become prepared for internship.
If a student declines two faculty-approved intern placements in a year, the Intern Program will remove the student from the placement process for that year. A student who is removed from the placement process is encouraged to re-apply for an internship the following year; however, the student must accept a subsequent faculty approved intern placement.
A student demonstrating readiness for an internship is encouraged to pursue placement possibilities for discussion in the initial interview with the intern faculty. Internship placements include church, agency and hospital chaplaincy settings. During the placement process serious consideration is given to the student’s denominational preference.
While interns are not prohibited from taking additional Perkins courses beyond the internship course or from holding employment outside the internship placement, the intern faculty will consult individually with students to help them make the choice between full-time and part-time internship in order to balance life and learn successfully on internship.
Students who hope to do internships outside the immediate five-state area (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma) must initiate an early conversation with an intern faculty member, preferably in the first year of their degree program.
Note: Student pastors who are appointed as the sole or senior pastor of a church may choose to apply for either the full-time or part-time internship. The student pastor’s salary replaces the required internship stipend.
The Clinical Pastoral Education internship requires completion of a CPE residency (usually four CPE units and 12 months long) at a site accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. An intern faculty supervisor will be assigned to the CPE intern and will consult with the CPE supervisor regarding satisfactory completion of the internship requirement. Students considering a CPE internship should be aware of the following:
- A student may not receive both six elective hours of credit in pastoral care for an introductory unit of CPE (PC 7639 ) and nine credit hours for a CPE residency internship.
- Many CPE programs require students to complete an introductory unit before they apply for a residency.
- Many CPE residencies begin and end in August.
During internship, students do ministry under supervision and reflect theologically on their experiences. As the interns become more competent and self-confident in carrying out the tasks of ministry and gain theological, emotional and spiritual maturity in their understanding of it, they prepare themselves to provide resourceful, faithful Christian leadership in the world.
The design of the Perkins Intern Program assumes interns to be adult learners who can assess and value their past experiences and vocational goals and build on these creatively and systematically in pursuing the learning opportunities offered at their particular internship site. To that end, the internship course curriculum specifies a set of required competencies under each of three categories: be aware, think theologically and lead faithfully.
The Perkins Intern Program faculty partners with pastoral staff and laity at congregations and agencies and with mental health professionals experienced in church family systems to provide supportive supervision for students during internship. The mentor pastor and lay teaching committee assigned to each intern receive orientation and training as part of the intern program.
A student’s internship begins with a required two-day Intern Orientation conducted in August by the intern faculty.
Fitness for Ministry
Beyond the formal academic requirements, each student is expected to show evidence of personal fitness for ministry. This fitness may be defined positively as the presence of emotional, moral and spiritual qualities requisite for the profession of ministry. A lack of fitness for ministry may be demonstrated by patterns of personal behavior that inhibit effective ministry. Examples of such patterns include irresponsibility in social and/or professional relations and emotional instability. Formally, the presence of patterns of personal behavior tending to be seriously disabling to ministry may be grounds for the faculty to disqualify a student from graduation with the M.Div. degree, or, if the prognosis justifies it, to defer awarding the degree until such time as the disabling pattern is overcome.
It should be emphasized that personal fitness for ministry is not defined narrowly in terms of a particular form of piety or style of personal behavior nor does Perkins assume the role that belongs properly to those agencies of the church that evaluate candidates for ordination. When asked, it assists such agencies in their evaluations.