Director of Contextual Education faculty position open at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is seeking applicants for a new full-time Director of Contextual Education for a five-year renewable term.

In recent years, the position was part-time. A contextual education advisory committee was formed to update the job description, and responsibility for supervising Public Church Fellows was added.

Asked about the new position, Erik Christensen, chair of the Contextual Education Advisory Committee, said, “The move from part-time to full-time, with renewed attention to our wide range of degree emphases and deeper integration with the public church fellows program, positons LSTC to take full advantage of the city of Chicago as a crucial partner in the preparation of ministerial leaders who are being called to serve in diverse and challenging contexts.”

Primary responsibilities include focused attention to the contextual education and formation of master degree students in collaboration with congregations, synods and other faith-based organizations.

The Director of Contextual Education is considered an appointed member of the regular faculty and will work collaboratively with the faculty and staff to administer and integrate with LSTC’s public church curriculum and be responsive to the rapidly changing nature of ministerial leadership in the local church.

Responsibilities include:

  • Supervising the Contextual Education programs: Ministry in Context,
  • Clinical Pastoral Education, the Public Church Fellows program, and internship year and related contextual requirements for the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Ministry programs.
  • Working with faculty and staff to cultivate, equip and monitor contextual education sites and supervisors, with particular attention to developing new sites that will support defined areas of emphasis in the curriculum (environmental ministry, interfaith studies, religion and science, urban ministry, and the African Descent, Hispanic/Latino/a, Asian American/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Native Alaskan ministry emphases).
  • Teaching in collaboration with others the seminar “Ministerial Leadership II,” which incorporates and further develops skills students learn at their contextual education sites, and collaborating with other faculty on integrating contextual education across the curriculum.

Active involvement in the church is an essential criterion, with preferential consideration given to rostered ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its ecumenical partners. LSTC seeks to foster gender, racial-ethnic and international diversity within its faculty. Women and representatives of historically underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply. Candidates must hold an MDiv or master’s degree; preference will be given to those holding a doctorate. Spanish-speaking
ability will be considered an asset.

Application deadline is Jan. 31, 2019. Details on the position and how to apply are found here.

About LSTC
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is dedicated to bearing witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. Based in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, it is the leading urban Lutheran seminary training students for purposeful vocations in the global community. Aligned with its Lutheran heritage and built on a foundation of intellectual rigor, LSTC’s innovative, nationally recognized curriculum gives students skills for visionary Christian leadership in the public sphere. To learn more visit www.lstc.edu.


Contacts:

Erik Christensen
Chair of the Contextual Education Advisory Search Committee
ConEd.searach@lstc.edu

Jan Boden
Director of Communications and Marketing
773.256.0744
janet.boden@lstc.edu