Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2023-2024 (archived)

Module TMMC3111: Leadership and Theology for Ministry and Mission

Department: Theology, Ministry and Mission

TMMC3111: Leadership and Theology for Ministry and Mission

Type Tied Level 3 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2023/24 Module Cap None. Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • L5-20 Leadership and Theology for Ministry and Mission

Aims

  • To enable students to apply a range of appropriate theological disciplines to inform leadership in the church and the workplace.
  • To encourage students to integrate biblical, theological, pastoral, ethical and liturgical approaches to leadership with their prior experience, formulating their own coherent personal response and practice in the light of the church’s ministry and mission.
  • To introduce students to an understanding of group and team processes and dynamics, reflecting specifically on the nature of the church as a voluntary organisation and on the use and abuse of authority and power.
  • To equip students with practical skills of leadership including managing meetings, time management, vision building, managing change and conflict.
  • To enable students to think laterally about issues concerning leadership and to how they might apply them as reflective practitioners who are able to identify and implement principles of collaborative working to servant leadership.
  • To develop students’ capacity and disposition for servant leadership that is informed by profound listening to the world, to others, to self and to God.

Content

  • Biblical and theological understandings of leadership, authority, service and collaboration within the perspective of the church’s ministry and mission.
  • A study of the relationship between spirituality and servant leadership.
  • An overview of theories and approaches to working in teams including models of collaborative ministry and the skills of facilitation.
  • Learning about, and applying a theological perspective to, theories and skills of leadership, management, vision building, change and conflict.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • Offer a coherent, critical and detailed analysis of key theological and biblical principles underpinning leadership and collaboration in the context of the church’s ministry and mission.
  • Give a systematic account of the principles and skills that contribute to effective team working.
  • Engage in detail with influential ideas about leadership and management and critically evaluate them from a theological perspective in a range of contexts in and beyond the church.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • Apply and critically evaluate a range of principles for collaborative servant leadership and teamwork in a range of complex and unpredictable contexts, devising appropriate and effective processes to achieve this.
  • Reflect critically and theologically on their own experience and exercise of leadership, identifying strengths, weaknesses and areas for development, and applying their insights to new and complex contexts.
Key Skills:
  • Take responsibility for an extended task that involves the exercise of initiative, independent inquiry, and the effective management of time, resources and use of IT; engaging with others in planning and decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts; meeting deadlines; evaluating the task and learning from it.
  • Take responsibility for their own personal and professional development.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Teaching methods to be specified by each TEI, selecting from the following:
  • Lectures provide content, a conceptual framework and a survey of approaches within a subject area that enable students to locate their learning in a wider context, to make connections with other disciplines, and to evaluate and apply their learning to different contexts.
  • Seminars offer students an opportunity to present, evaluate and apply their knowledge to specific contexts, and to engage with teaching staff and peers in debate and reflection.
  • Guided reading in conjunction with lectures encourages independent learning and underpins the knowledge and understanding gained in lectures and seminars.
  • Small group learning creates an environment where students learn to articulate their knowledge and understanding effectively and in a way that is relevant to the group and its context.
  • Case studies offer students the opportunity to apply their knowledge, analytical and problem-solving skills to the kinds of complex, realistic and often ambiguous situations they are likely to encounter in their profession / ministry/ vocation.
  • Tutorials enhance learning by offering feedback and encouraging students to reflect on their own response to the knowledge and skills they have acquired.
  • Placements and/or work-based learning ensures that students make habitual connections between knowledge, understanding, skills, professional practice and the reality of a specific context, under the supervision of an experienced practitioner.
  • Programmed online learning materials guide students through knowledge content, its wider framework and different approaches to its application.
  • Virtual discussion forums offer students the opportunity to articulate the knowledge and understanding they have acquired to others and to engage in informed debate.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Lectures 16 1.75 hours 28
Personal Study 172
Total 200

Summative Assessment

Component: Written Theological Reflection Component Weighting: 50%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Written Theological Reflection 2500 words 100%
Component: Review Component Weighting: 50%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Book Review 1000 words 40%
Oral Presentation 20 minutes 60%

Formative Assessment:

Students will be expected to demonstrate engagement with the subject matter and the learning outcomes throughout the module by suitable formative assessments that encourage integrative and reflective skills.


Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University