Starr King’s Eight Thresholds engage M.Div. candidates in developing their abilities to perform the classic roles of ministry and religious leadership (such as ritual and worship leader, preacher, teacher, prophetic activist, spiritual care giver, congregational leader, religious scholar and thea/ologian) as reflective practitioners who integrate into their work the knowledge and skills gained through the classic disciplines and fields of theological and religious studies (such as study of sacred scriptures, history of global religious traditions, theological methods and approaches, social ethics, psychology of religion, ritual and liturgical studies, spirituality studies, organization theory and systems theory, educational philosophies, and more). Starr King emphasizes engagement with the Thresholds through a multi-religious, counter-oppressive lens, inspiring new insights and generating new forms of ministry and spiritual leadership. Engaging with each threshold also requires you to deepen personal qualities and habits for successful spiritual leadership and/or ministry, such as mature judgment, self-awareness, spiritual practice, integrity, responsibility, sensitivity and ethical discernment. The Thresholds overlap and intersect with one another in multiple ways. As you work with them, in dynamic interaction with one another, you develop a matrix of knowledge and skill that will enable you to move forward in the world equipped to offer ministry, serve as a chaplain or spiritual leader in ways that will
- Create just and sustainable communities that counter oppressions
- Call forth healing, wholeness, compassion and liberation
- Cultivate multi-religious life and learning