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Resources

United Methodist Seminaries in Ohio

There are 13 United Methodist seminaries forming, shaping, and training men and women for a variety of Christian ministries. These excellent schools provide the foundation for those who have responded to God’s call so that they might effectively live out their particular vocation. Two seminaries are located in Ohio.

They are: Methodist Theological School in Ohio and United Theological Seminary.

Websites

Explore Calling is a site specifically for youth and young adults who are considering ministry. It has information about UM colleges and universities as well as how to get UM scholarships and loans to assist with education.

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership is a great site for how to resource and develop local church leadership. Helpful for annual conferences considering how to develop leaders in ministry. 

The Fund for Theological Education offers resources particularly for young people who are entering ministry. Fellowships and scholarships are available as well as a host of helpful journals and articles to help people think about calling and what that means to them.

Books

Is God Calling Me? by Jeff Iorg: writing to a student and young adult audience: "God is calling out a new generation of kingdom leaders who will accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation. My goal is to cut to the heart of the matter and give you tools to work through the call process."

Call Waiting - God's Invitation to Youth, by Kay Shurden and Larry L. McSwain. What is "call"? What is the relationship between my talents and interests and God's call on my life? What is the relationship between career and calling? "Call Waiting" is designed to help older youth consider critical questions, understand the nature of call, explore personal giftedness, and identify ways to walk in faithfulness to a unique and unfolding calling.

The Christian as a Minister (Sixth Edition, 2006) by the General Board of Higher Education. This resource is a about the call to ministry and the avenue The United Methodist Church offers to embody that call. It is based on the concept of servant ministry and servant leadership.

The Crisis of Younger Clergy, by Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Ann A. Michel. What many denominational and congregational leaders have suspected for a long time has now been proven: the numbers of persons under 35 graduating from seminary and entering ordained ministry in mainline churches have declined precipitously in recent years. What does this trend mean for you? If you’re a young pastor, it means that you’ll have to create different kinds of support networks than your predecessors have done. If you’re on the administrative board of a local congregation, it means that the kinds of pastors available to you, and the character of their pastorates, will be different to what you have been used to in the past.

Writing for local congregations and their leaders, but also for judicatory and denominational leaders, Lovett Weems and Ann Michel explain the groundbreaking studies they have undertaken into the crisis of younger clergy, and chart a path forward for both younger persons considering ordained ministry, and the congregations they would serve.

The Deacon Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love by Ben L. Hartley and Paul E. Van Buren. Publication of the Board of Higher Educaion and Ministries         

A Deacon’s Heart, The New United Methodist Diaconate by Margaret Ann Crain and Jack L. Seymour. In volume offers insight and guidance regarding this new ministerial order both to those who are called into the diaconate, and those among whom they will minister. The book begins by locating the office of deacon within the larger United Methodist understanding the ministry of all God's people and of ordained ministers. Drawing on the stories of those whom God has called and ordained to the ministry of deacon, the authors portray the crucial link between the worship of the church and service to the world that is central to the office of deacon. The book concludes with answers to common questions asked by deacons and the churches in which their ministry takes place: Who pays for insurance? What about pensions? What responsibilities do deacons have to the congregations that hire them, and what to the conferences of which they are members?             

All available at Cokesbury.

New and revised resources available from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry: New and revised books are:

• The Christian as Minister, revised and updated for the 2009-2012 quadrennium;
• Understanding God’s Call: A Ministry Inquiry Process;
• and Fulfilling God’s Call: Guidelines for Candidacy.
• A booklet, Preparing for God’s Call: United Methodist Schools of Theology, provides descriptions of the 13 United Methodist schools of theology and their programs.