THE biennial meeting of the American Association of Theological Schools held in St. Louis, June 10-12, 1968, authorized the appointment of a special committee to study the question as to whether there should be a change in the nomenclature of the Bachelor of Divinity degree.
This committee was later appointed, and Krister Stendahl, Dean of the Harvard Divinity School, was chosen as chairman. For nearly two years regional hearings were set up to solicit reactions not only from member schools but from denominational officials and groups of clergy. For many years there has been dissatisfaction with the granting of a Bachelor's degree in divinity since the student has already received a baccalaureate degree as a prerequisite for entrance into his course of theology.
The practice of granting Bachelor's degrees for professional training comes from colonial days. The early American universities gave such degrees at the completion of courses in medicine, law, and theology. Then degrees were designated respectively by M.B., LL.B., and B.D. Not until 1811 did these schools award the M.D. to their medical graduates to replace the M.B. Bachelor of Medicine. Many law schools now grant the Doctor of Jurisprudence. The question the committee sought to answer was, Why should not the training for the ministry be marked by a professional doctorate?
The committee reported at Claremont, California, in June of this year and expressed conviction that the nomenclature Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) should be discontinued and that professional study with a B.A. prerequisite should be followed with Master's and Doctor's degrees and not another Bachelor's degree.
The committee's report continues: "We note that such a development is consonant with the views of national educational agencies, as they have expressed a concern for consistency in degree nomenclature." The committee's Recommendation number one reads as follows: "We recommend and encourage the member schools to move toward the establishment of programs for a professional doctorate (D.Min.) provided that their academic and other educational resources warrant such a development according to the following sections on provisional guidelines, content, and standards."
Line one was amended to read, "We recommend that the Association recognize the right of member schools to work toward," et cetera.
After long and intensive discussion, it was voted that the Master of Divinity degree, or its equivalent, be the prerequisite for the Doctor of Ministry. In essence, this means that the Master of Divinity will take the place of the present Bachelor of Divinity as the first theological degree. The emphasis in the recommendations for the D.Min. was that this "degree should be structured on the basis of the needs of the ministry rather than simply on the cover age of traditional theological disciplines." The guidelines continue: "It is equally clear that such a doctorate should not be patterned on existing Ph.D.'s or other doctoral programs in religion, but rather on the emerging competencies needed for the professional practice of ministry,"
As to content, there are seven suggestions outlined with the stress being on competence in the practice of ministry in all its phases, such as preaching, pastoral care, church administration, and other professional ministerial skills.
There should be encouraged, "Experimental learning like that gained in field education and/or an internship year under the joint supervision of the theological school and adjunct professors in the field (pastors, et cetera)."
There should be set up, "Colloquia focused on the practice of ministry which would become integrative for the entire curriculum."
There should also be independent studies encouraging students to follow up their own leads from earlier curricular or field education experiences. Stress should be laid also on interdisciplinary learning. As to standards, the report states that admission to this degree should be on the basis of assessment of academic and professional qualifications showing high potential for ministry.
The curriculum for this degree will focus on developing skills in the theological student so that the practice of his ministry will be more efficient and effective.
While we recognize our greatest need is a Spirit-filled ministry, and there can be no substitute for this, yet we believe that the Lord would have us develop our talents to their full capacity and continually strive to reach our highest potential. We want to encourage all study that will make us more fruitful ministers and help to hasten the finishing of the work committed to us.
