Cultural Literacy for Responding to Contemporary Needs

Northeastern Seminary seeks to equip students for ministry relevant to contemporary culture through theological and biblical reflection on life and ministry. By learning about God’s involvement with humankind along a historic continuum, students come to grasp the questions that fill people’s minds. They learn how to address the questions the culture is asking and how to engage their current contexts. As students internalize, process, and synthesize all that they can know of the deep roots and cultural currency of the Christian faith, they learn how to respond with grace and effectiveness.

Between the multiple placements offered through field education experiences, the social ethics curriculum, and a variety of elective courses students learn to speak in ways the culture understands. They learn how to relate to others while respecting values and being compelling enough to justify the attention of those in the culture. A sampling of relevant courses follows:

• Prison Ministries
• Evangelism in a Postmodern Culture
• Ministry to the Dying and Bereaved
• Fundamentalism and Modernism
• The Gospel and Our Culture
• Disability Awareness for Christian Ministers & Laypersons
• Faith-Based Community and Economic Development
• Celtic History & Spirituality
• Globalization and Local Church Missions
• Pastoral Intervention in Marital and Family Conflict

Being Fully Prepared to Share in the Mission of God