Spring 2012 Not for Credit Courses
Basic Spanish
Wednesdays, 5-6:30 pm, beginning the week of February 6, 2012 – offered by LTSP Prof. Nelson Rivera. For those who have taken little or no Spanish before. There are no prerequisites! Registration for the course is $220 - register online here.
Seminars on Educational Ministry in Congregations
Open to LTSP Students, Pastors and Christian Educators
LTSP is pleased to present a series of five one-day seminars/workshops exploring various facets of educational ministries in congregations in Spring Semester 2012. Each daylong seminar is taught by a qualified practitioner and aims to provide a concentrated focus on a theme. The seminars are open to students (for credit) and to interested Pastors and Christian Educators (for non-credit or continuing education credit). Each seminar will be from 9 am to 4 pm at The Brossman Center.
Friday, March 2, 2012 - 9 am to 4 pm
Technology and Adult Education in Congregations: The Rev. Keith Anderson, Pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Woburn, Massachusetts and co-author of the forthcoming book Click2Save: The Digital Ministry Bible (Morehouse 2012). 
About the seminar: Recent technological innovations, particularly with regard to social media like Facebook, YouTube, and blogs, provide congregations and ministry leaders fresh new means for adult Christian formation. But that's not all. Social media are also changing the way we learn—and, therefore, how we can teach most effectively. Today, with a world of information at our fingertips via Google and Wikipedia, people can access more than enough information. But they don't always know how best to evaluate and engage all that information. And, in the Digital Age, people expect learning, like almost everything else in their digitally-integrated lives, to be relational. This means that, to be truly formational, Christian education cannot be solely about imparting knowledge. It must be about building relationships—both between learners and information and also learners and one another. Drawing on his work as a parish pastor and his research for Click2Save: The Digital Ministry Bible, Pastor Keith Anderson will present practical advice on using social media in Christian formation and the way the recent social media explosion is changing the role of pastor as educator.
Friday, March 23, 2012 - 9 am to 4 pm
Biblical Literacy in Congregations: Dr. Erik Heen, John H. P. Reumann Professor in Biblical Studies, LTSP.
About the seminar: This seminar explores recent resources that can help congregations work toward the goal the ELCA Churchwide Assembly set in 2007, that, “The whole church become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of Scripture, in order that we might live into our calling as a people renewed, enlivened, empowered, and sent by the Word.” The session will include both presentations and opportunities to pursue hands-on Bible study. Although ELCA “Book of Faith Initiative” materials will be among those showcased, participants from all church bodies are encouraged to attend. For those who are taking the course for credit, required pre-reading is Diane Jacobson, Stanley N. Olson, Mark Alan Powell, Opening the Book of Faith: Lutheran Insights for Bible Study (Augsburg Fortress, 2008).
Friday, April 13, 2012 - 9 am to 4 pm
Education for Interreligious Engagement: The Rev. Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar, Luther D. Reed Professor of Systematic Theology and Dean, LTSP.
Friday, April 20, 2012 - 9 am to 4 pm
Sunday School and Young Adult Ministries: The Rev. Dr. Jessicah Krey-Duckworth, Assistant Professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul. MN.
About the seminar: How do we enter the Christian faith? How do we grow in faith? How do we live out our faith? Come discern, explore, and re-imagine practices of faith formation that nurture disciples through Sunday School and Young Adult Ministries.
Friday, May 4, 2012 - 9 am to 4 pm
Multicultural Religious Education in Congregations: The Rev. Dr. Nelson T. Strobert, Professor of Christian Education in the Paulssen-Hale Chair of Church and Society and Director of Multicultural Programs, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Gettysburg, PA.
Persons seeking to receive academic credit can earn a full unit of credit (3 semester hours) for taking all five seminars or a one half-unit credit for taking three seminars. Each seminar will be a stand-alone unit with its own pre-readings and assignments. Contact, Registrar@ltsp.edu for information on registration.
For those seeking non-credit or continuing education credit, a $50 registration fee per seminar applies. Non-credit/CE registration with a credit card is available online here.
For information and alternate registration details on LTSP's non-credit education, contact: Kathy Afflerbach, Coordinator for Non-Credit Education, Kafflerbach@Ltsp.edu.