Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
5-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Graduate School of Theology
Degree Name
Doctor of Ministry
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Curt Niccum
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
John Barton
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Christopher Flanders
Abstract
This doctor of ministry thesis presents the process and findings of a curriculum development project resulting in a pastor-training manual to be used in South Sudan. The project involved the staff and board members of Sudan Evangelical Alliance Partners and Christian Relief Partners in a series of sessions in the fall of 2013, bringing together various sources for theological reflection and practical in-field use. The team utilized the reconciliation theology of Ephesians 2, Miroslav Volf's theology of embrace, examples of political and social reconciliation from the African continent, and their own experience and leadership in educational settings. The sessions were designed so as to generate material that would be included as teaching modules in the evolving curriculum. A qualitative evaluation of the project involving data triangulation revealed several key insights: 1) Genuine forgiveness and lasting reconciliation comes at the cost of acknowledging truth and embracing justice. To "forgive and forget" is not helpful if justice has not been done. 2) For communal reconciliation to be lasting, the community has to be inclusive and embrace notions of equality and tolerance. 3) The church is a new community where diversity is celebrated as a gift from God and uniformity is not a prerequisite for unity. This new vision of the inherent dignity of the human person is only possible because of the cross of Christ.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
North, Charles S., "Developing a Curriculum for the Training of Pastors as Agents of Communal Reconciliation in Post-Conflict South Sudan" (2014). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 631.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/631