CPE and Chaplaincy MDiv

I was inspired by Regent College's summer announcement that they have started a chaplaincy focused MDiv. They are giving twelve transfer credits for 2 units of Clinical Psychospiritual Education (CPE). If you are not familiar with CPE units, they are 400 hours of immersive education in a clinical setting (usually a healthcare setting like a hospital) meant to prepare spiritual care practitioners and religious leaders for ministry.

Chaplaincy education, with an integrated CPE program, is something I am interested in exploring. I think it could be a good fit for Briercrest Seminary, especially with my work in military chaplaincy and we have a CPE teaching centre located just down the road in Regina. I am hoping to teach an introductory course on spiritual care and chaplaincy this fall, as a way to educate those who many be interested and gauge interest levels in a possible degree program. If you are interested in Saskatchwan's CPE programs, you can read more here. If you want to know more about the Briercrest chaplaincy course, be sure to check the Seminary website. The course schedule should be posted in the coming weeks.

New Year's Goals

Every year our family looks back at some of the most significant moments. We each write our most meaningful or important memories on pieces of paper and slip them into a jar. Every year we fill a new container and reflect back at the jars of former years. We also set some goals for the year ahead.

Three years ago I set a goal to get a book review published. It happened. In 2021 I wanted to get an article published. It happened in early 2022. In 2022 I wanted to get my dissertation published. I signed the contract the past fall. This coming year I want to see my dissertation published and I want to have another book project proposal accepted. It's amazing how small, incremental goals lead toward larger ones that seem unattainable at the beginning.

Here are some of my other goals in no particular order:

Run 10km (not every day, just once).

Open my prayer journal every day.

Drive to the mountains with my wife.

Write two book chapters.

I am grateful that I have been able to see so many goals accomplished. I am looking forward to digging in again this year.

 

Doug Moo

Ever have a flash of inspiration that leads to rejection? It happens to me fairly regularly. The inspiration and rejection. Yet, sometimes inspiration leads to a breakthrough.

One of my roles as Dean of the Seminary entails finding course instructors. This is quite a task for a school that relies heavily on adjuncts to teach courses. Since most of our courses are week-long modular intensives, it is not as daunting as it would be if I had to find locals in small town Saskatchewan to teach specialized graduate level courses. 

Since I have only been on the job five months, I am still figuring out how things work. In this case, I decided to reach out to some of the best educators I could think of. Douglas Moo was my first choice for Pauline Epistles. If you don't know Doug Moo, here's what Wikipedia says about him:

Douglas J. Moo (born March 15, 1950) is a Reformed New Testament scholar who, after teaching for more than twenty years at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, has served as Blanchard Professor of New Testament at the Wheaton College Graduate School since 2000. He received his Ph.D. at the University of St. Andrews, in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Moo has published several theological works and commentaries on the Bible; notable among them are An Introduction to the New Testament (with D.A. Carson and Leon Morris) and The Epistle to the Romans (part of the New International Commentary on the New Testament series). His current research interests are Romans, Pauline theology (and exegesis) and environmental theology. He has been a member of the translation committee that produced the NIV and TNIV since 1996, and is its current Chair. He previously edited Trinity Journal.

In 2014, a Festschrift was published in his honour. Studies in the Pauline Epistles: Essays in Honor of Douglas J. Moo included contributions from G. K. Beale, Craig Blomberg, James Dunn, Grant R. Osborne, Thomas R. Schreiner, and N. T. Wright. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_J._Moo)

Now that you know a bit more about him, you might appreciate how this "flash of inspiration" would almost certainly result in rejection. I emailed him asking him to consider coming to southern Saskatchewan to teach. In the subject line I wrote "Shot in the Dark". 

Doug emailed back and accepted my offer. Yes, you read that correctly. He's in. So, Doug Moo is coming to teach a one-week Pauline Epistles course at Briercrest Seminary. Please join us in October 2023 to learn from one of foremost New Testament scholars. Stay tuned for more details.