Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

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Introduction

This issue of Discernment begins with an article describing the very nature of Doctor of Ministry research. Tim Sensing pens What in the World is Research? to help readers understand the nuances of DMin research and the implications of that work for Institutional Review Boards. In A Reader’s Guide to Worship and Liturgical Studies, David Kneip presents a carefully curated guide for readers seeking to engage two thousand years of Christian literature on worship. In a continued presentation of their research on the inclusion of women in worship roles in a Church of Christ congregation, Shannon Rains, Jennifer Dabbs, and Kaley Ihfe present their paper A Oneness Study Story: The Experiences of Elders and Staff in Leading Change for the Inclusion of Women in Public Worship Roles. As an offering of a new genre for Discernment, Ron Bruner pens Field Notes: A Ministerial Community of Care Responds to a Pandemic. We encourage other authors to consider submissions for this more compact sort of article.

This is an issue in progress; one of the strengths of digital publishing is that editors have the ability to publish articles as they emerge from the peer-review process. This issue seizes those possibilities.