Transformative Teaching and Learning in Practical Theology: Creative Approaches, Global Conversations, and Contextual Practices

Drawing on insights from a Scandinavian study on novice clergy, this paper presents an undergraduate course in urban practical ecclesiology designed to bridge the gap between seminary and ministry. This objective is pursued through the integration of interdisciplinary academic learning with field-based experiences, fostering what we term pastoral assembling, which both complements and challenges the notion of pastoral imagination. Students engage in lectures, field visits, and hands-on ethnographic research, collaboratively interpreting diverse socio-economic urban ministry contexts. This embodied learning approach enhances students’ capacity to integrate academic insights with pastoral praxis, thereby transcending a linear theory-to-practice model. Grounded in Aristotelian distinctions between episteme (theoretical knowledge), techne (practical skill), and phronesis (practical wisdom), we analyze the pedagogical design and learning outcomes of the course. The presentation will feature interactive examples from the course alongside student video reflections, illustrating the pedagogical impact of this approach.

The Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) at Princeton Theological Seminary launched an online certificate program in lived theology and world Christianity in the 2022-23 academic year.  This year-long academic course introduces scholars and church leaders from around the world to practical theology and qualitative research with a focus on applying these methods to their own unique contexts. This presentation will provide an evaluation and exposition of the program’s most recent innovation: the use of “learning hubs” based in specific geographic locations where select students can meet in person to discuss what they are learning and their application.  In this way, the shared uniform content that learners engage in online is grounded in a local context and community.

This creative presentation of original qualitative research conducted at a divinity school at an R1 university offers insight and engagement with best practices for trauma-informed teaching and learning, with special attention to dynamics of race and socioeconomic status. This presentation by a multicultural and multigenerational team of practical theologians, including an experienced faculty member, a postdoctoral associate, and a doctoral student will model trauma-informed teaching practices while facilitating interactive case studies that demonstrate data-informed teaching practices. We will further engage attendees by helping them envision contextualizing such practices in their setting. 

This paper introduces “Fabricandi Divina,” an innovative pedagogical method positioning the embodied practice of ceramics-making as a primary site for theological reflection and spiritual formation. Moving beyond traditional theological aesthetics (von Balthasar), hermeneutical analyses (Begbie, Morgan), and elite-oriented art theologies (Fujimura), this approach emphasizes accessible, democratic forms of creativity rooted in the theological anthropology of Dorothy Sayers and the aesthetic philosophy of Soetsu Yanagi. Structured around a ceramics-adapted lectio divina—formatio, conformatio, ornatum, contemplatio, traditio—this method uses embodied, communal creativity to overcome Cartesian subjectivity, fostering holistic spiritual integration. Especially transformative is the final act of ritualized offering, symbolically entrusting clay pieces to the kiln’s unpredictable firing process, embodying trust, surrender, and grace. Student reflections underscore profound spiritual insights, aligning human and divine creativity. Ultimately, this paper argues that embodied creativity offers practical theology classrooms a deeply formative pedagogical innovation, reconnecting mind, body, and spirit.

Neoliberalism, as a political theology and corresponding spirituality, shapes the white progressive church’s engagement with radical justice movements, often inhibiting action. Drawing on experiences from organizing progressive Christians to resist the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, this paper examines how neoliberal ideologies—rooted in myths of peace, progress, and unity—foster a preference for decorum and charity over solidarity and risk. These formations weaken church people’s capacity for conflict, endurance, and deep relationality. To disrupt neoliberalism’s hold, we propose three moves: recognizing its presence, fostering disorientation, and cultivating alternative spiritual formations. Turning to the radical Black humanism of Ella Baker, we explore how her relational, power-conscious spiritual pedagogy denaturalizes neoliberal myths. The Christian tradition of Advent, particularly John the Baptist, offers a re-formation towards resilience and anticipation of a different world. Ultimately, we advocate for practices of vulnerability and mutuality to prepare the progressive church to encounter collective liberation.

Pastoral and ministerial leaders encounter new contexts and practices regularly in their pastoral responsibilities. While classical methods of theological reflection can be helpful, the rigorous monastic practice of lectio divina offers a centuries-tested method for "reading" a context or practice appreciatively and prayerfully. Participants will be invited to "read" a context or practice and reflect on it for transformative insights using a four-mode method expanding on the traditional lectio divina moments: read, meditate, pray, and contemplate. Approaching contexts and practices in this way avoids objectifying contexts and practices, missing their unfathomable riches. It invites the "reader" to experience an integration between immersive self-implication and scholarly investigation, invoking a stance of humility before all that we don't know, yet seek.

This paper addresses a central pedagogical conundrum confronting theological educators who seek to bring theology and religious studies to bear on the seemingly insurmountable challenges of climate change linked with predatory capitalism and white supremacy. The pedagogical conundrum stems from a paradox. On-the-one-hand, humans cannot address climate injustice without seeing “what is going on,” including the magnitude of climate disaster and the power structures and attendant worldviews that maintain “the way things are.” On-the-other-hand, the more one sees, the more powerless one may feel. The pedagogical challenge is to enable seeing reality for what it is and – despite that – instilling hope and agency. This paper offers insights on participatory teaching that empowers moral agency in relation to climate injustice and fosters social equity. The authors engage audience participation and discussion of case studies that embody the hope of communities embracing their moral-spiritual agency in collaborative work for transformative change.