The Masters of Arts in Public and Pastoral Leadership recognizes the kinds of leaders that are needed for the changing nature of Christian communities and supports persons engaged in various forms of leadership, such as social entrepreneurship, faith-based social services, NGOs, community-based development, mediation services and community-based justice initiatives. The MA PPL seeks to live out of a theological vision where love is linked to a passion for justice, in which the agenda of theology is that of the hurts and hopes of the world. This means that we place ourselves at the service of the world, offering to the world religious reflection and/or faith-based practices (such as non-violence, love of the neighbor, sacrificial livelihood, simplicity, forgiveness). The vocation to love God in the world is a wide work that does not discriminate between pastoral and public spheres. We recognize the longing for truth, identity, purpose and belonging at the heart of human life and community as religious work—work at the depth of the human soul.
For this degree, attention will be placed in the core curriculum on action-reflection models of learning and contextual analysis. The theological intellect is honed towards the skills needed for public theologians and leaders — with special attention to the religious literacy needed to take one’s place as a leader in a multi-religious (including secular) context; to the visionary capacities of organizers and ecclesial change agents; to ritual, spiritual, rhetorical and communitarian skills needed for engaging the public sphere and individual citizens. Courses attend to spiritual practice as the practice of everyday life, as a street-based attention to faithfulness and therefore disciplined attention to developing a life that makes a difference in the world.
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