Birmingham
Theological Seminary
Master of Arts
Biblical Conflict Resolution
Master of Arts
Biblical Conflict Resolution
The Master of Arts in Biblical Conflict Resolution is
designed for people who do not need a professional ministry degree,
but desire to supplement the Peacemaker Ministries Certification process
(1) with a structured course of study of the Bible,
theology, counseling and church history. This degree will enhance the
ability of godly men and women to serve more effectively as peacemakers.
We anticipate that many students will take the M.A. in Biblical Conflict
Resolution via distance education. No denominational affiliation is
required for enrollment.
The M.A. in Biblical Conflict Resolution curriculum incorporates the
required courses for the Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. (2)
Consequently, a student who completes the M.A. in Biblical Conflict
Resolution will
also earn an M.A.B.S. This course of study also serves as a foundation
for other advanced degrees, including the Master of Divinity. All distance
education courses must be completed within four months from the date
the student enrolls in the course.
Each of the following courses is a 2 credit hour course. (3)
View Curriculum (.pdf)
CORE CURRICULUM (Required Credit Hours)
Old Testament (6)
OT1021-23 Old Testament Studies I, II,
III
New Testament (4)
NT2022, 23 New Testament Studies I, II
Systematic Theology (14)
ST3526-28 Systematic Theology
I, II, III
ST3550 Bible Interpretation*
Historical Theology (4)
HT4641 Church History in America
HT4721 Reformation & Modern Church
History
Practical Theology (8)
PT5527 Communications
1* or PT5621 Conflict Resolution in the Church
PT5531 The
Christian Worker's Personal Life
PT5602 Biblical
Principles of Christian Education or PT5710 Discipleship
PT5637 Personal
Evangelism* or PT5667 Biblical Principles of Evangelism
Missions (2)
MS6631 Biblical
Theology of Missions
Biblical Counseling (6)
BC7501 Introduction
to Biblical Counseling
BC7630 Marriage
and Family Counseling*
BC7735 Group
Dynamics
Apologetics (2)
AP8521 Introduction
to Apologetics
Total Credit Hours for BTS Coursework - 40
*Courses marked with an asterisk are not presently available in distance
learning format. BTS anticipates having these courses available in
distance learning format no later than July 2008 and several well in
advance of that date. Information on distance
learning courses is available by clicking here.
Peacemaker Ministries Certification Program
The Peacemaker Ministries Certification Program requires successful
completion of 58 hours of self-study , six days of live training, and
50 hours of casework under a reporting and mentoring format. Birmingham
Theological Seminary equates successful completion of the Certification
Program to 12 academic credit hours. Peacemaker Ministries requires
that the Certification Program be completed within three years of enrollment
in the Certification Program.
BTS recognizes Peacemaker Ministries Certification, but does not administer
the program or require the student to register through BTS for the
Certification Program or any components of it. The student will deal
directly with Peacemaker Ministries and present BTS with evidence of
Certification to receive credit toward the M.A. in Biblical Conflict
Resolution.
Fees for the Peacemaker Ministries Training and the Certification
Program are paid directly to Peacemaker Ministries. The following is
a brief description of the Peacemaker Ministries training and Certification
Program. More information can be found at www.Peacemaker.net/Training.
The Self-Study portion of the training includes the following:
Pre-Course Reading and Preparation.
- Read The Peacemaker by Ken Sande.
- Listen to a CD entitled Peacemaking
in the Context of the Local Church
- Read the Mediation Self-Study Manual,
and listen to the Mediation Self-Study CD’s,
- Complete a Personal
Peacemaking Self-Application Study
- Participate in a Peacemaker
Small Group Study
- Read the Guidelines for Christian Conciliation.
Live Training includes
Foundational Skills Training and Advanced Training.
TYPE OF TRAINING |
TRAINING COURSE |
METHOD OF COMPLETING |
| Foundational Skills Training |
Conflict Coaching & Mediation Training |
Three-day live training event, with pre-event self-study |
Advanced
Training |
-Certification Training and Certification Program
-Reconciling
Marital Conflict
-Walking People Redemptively Through Divorce
-Case Administration
-Reconciling Church Conflict
-Teaching Peacemaking Cross-Culturally
-Formal Arbitration
|
All courses are live training events |
FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING
Peacemaker® Ministries’ Foundational Skills training provides
the training you will need to effectively help people with most conflicts.
It incorporates two components:
- Conflict Coaching (first day) - The
purpose of the conflict coaching training is to equip you to help
others resolve conflict and reconcile
relationships without your direct involvement in the conflict.
This training will teach you how to provide encouragement, godly
advice,
prayer support, and informal instruction in basic peacemaking to
an individual who is struggling with a conflict.
- Mediation (second
and third day) – Through the mediation
portion of the training, you will learn skills and processes
for reconciling two or more people who cannot resolve a conflict
on
their own. This training is provided by experienced conciliators
and gives
special attention to communication and problem-solving skills
that are needed for effective mediation. It also addresses some
of the
problems that are most frequently encountered during mediation.
ADVANCED TRAINING
Peacemaker® Ministries’ Advanced Training includes Certification
Training and special training events. The Master of Arts in Biblical
Conflict Resolution curriculum only requires the completion of the
Certification Training and accompanying 50 hours of supervised casework.
- Certification
Training – This training is part of the Certification
Program, which leads to certification as a Certified Christian
Conciliator TM. This training event is designed to help you
provide services for
resolving conflicts in more difficult conflicts that may have
more parties and issues, with more intensity and complexity.
This training
also provides an introduction to an arbitration process that
can be used within a church setting and conducted by people
who are
not attorneys
or professional counselors. It is a three-day, live training
event, involving instruction in the form of lectures, demonstrations,
individual exercises to assist in the application of specific
skills,
and a half-day
role play. In the role play, each participant will conduct
a case that transitions from a mediation to a simple arbitration
requiring
a written
decision.
- Other Advanced Training courses, as outlined above,
are available through Peacemaker Ministries, but are not
required to be completed
for this degree program. You may find these courses, however, to
be valuable to you in your ministry. You can find more information
on
these courses at www.Peacemaker.net.
Scheduling and locations for training can be found at www.Peacemaker.net/Training.
Total Credit Hours for BTS Course Work – 40
Total Credit Hours
for ICC Certification Program – 12
Total Credit Hours for Master of Arts in Biblical Conflict
Resolution – 52
Notes:
- The Institute for Christian Conciliation is a
division of Peacemaker
Ministries. The ICC provides a Certification Program, which builds
on Levels 1 –4 of Peacemaker Ministries’ Peacemaking
Training, leading to the student being eligible for Certification
as a Christian Conciliator under Peacemaker Ministries, upon successful
completion of the Certification Program. The Certification Program
and the Peacemaker Training Levels 1 –4 are described in more
detail below.
- A note about accreditation for non-Alabama residents:
BTS is a member of the Association
of Reformed Theological Seminaries (ARTS). Because
ARTS has not yet obtained recognition from the U.S. Department of
Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA), BTS is in the process of obtaining accreditation through
the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). In response
to the proliferation of “diploma mills” around the nation,
some states have tightened their laws regarding which out-of-state
institutions can offer classes and degrees to their residents. The
tendency in those states is to exclude all institutions, which do
not have an accreditation recognized by CHEA or the U.S. Department
of Education. While BTS believes that the classes and degree programs
it offers are of a very high quality, prospective student should
be aware of this issue. If you live in a state which has adopted
restrictions on out-of-state institutions of higher education, you
should confirm that those restrictions do not affect your ability
to earn a degree through BTS before enrolling in this degree program.
- Birmingham Theological Seminary’s
credit hour fee is $80 per hour, plus a $30 application fee.
- BTS will not charge any credit hour fee for these
12 hours of credit. The student’s only expense for these hours
is the fee paid to Peacemaker
Ministries.
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