- Rooted in Scripture, faith, discernment, prayer
Anecdotally, I know that the disciple formation curriculum is forming students when it is clear from their level of engagement and journal reflections that they are not simply checking the boxes, but deeply engaged in the process; when they share more frequent experiences of listening to God, more experiences of renewal rather than exhaustion, and and more likely to set healthy boundaries around their personal/communal practices of discipleship (daily prayer, scripture study, worship, generosity, etc) as necessities to the life of ministry, not just a nice idea; when culturally acceptable addictions (e.g. tech, social media) are acknowledged for the toll they take on our lives of discipleship and students make significant changes to step away from their influence; and finally, when I see them sharing stories of connecting with others (especially difficult relationships) in God's own love.
These stories are behind the wall of confidentiality, but it is time to seek evaluation and stories that can be shared with the community, partners, and potential students.
- Move from one traditional model of "pastor" - to preparing students for multiple and missional models of church
For the MACL, now MAM, I saw that more and more students were looking for congregational ministry preparation and desiring to do their CRE commissioning training while also pursuing a MA. This points to us preparing leaders for a variety of ministry contexts and expressions; bivocational or 2nd career or post-retirement students seeking to answer God's call and use the gifts God has given for their unique context.
I also see the ongoing use of the MACL/MAM as a vocational discernment feeder into our MDiv--it is about 1/3 of students since the MACL started in 2015 that have moved to the MDiv or MAMD. The MAM can also function in the reverse, allowing a way for students to complete a degree if the MDiv is not the right path for them, or if their judicatory doesn't require an MDiv.