A program of the Institute for Applied Theology

Institute for Applied Theology

Supporting lifelong learning and spiritual formation through practical ministry training and contextual theological reflection

About the Institute

The Institute for Applied Theology is a collaborative, hospitable, bridge-building and innovative outreach of the seminary.

It bears witness to the Gospel through programs and ministry initiatives grounded in the great ecumenical tradition of the Church and seeks to be distinctively multicultural, intergenerational, and engaged in communication with a digital culture.

Institute programs seek to complement and enhance the seminary’s masters and doctoral programs by offering courses, workshops, and special events open to students, clergy and lay ministers, and the community.

Integral to the Academic Plan at United, the Institute was established in May 2003 as part of “A Tapestry of Great Potential,” the comprehensive vision and strategic plan for United Theological Seminary.

The Institute of Applied Theology (IAT) staff works collaboratively to provide learning opportunities to congregations and their leaders.

Elise Eslinger is founding Director of the Institute for Applied Theology, and also serves as Director of the United Sound Seminary Singers.

Vickie Souvé is Director of Community Services.

The Institute’s Centers of Excellence

The Kenneth H. Pohly Center for Supervision and Leadership Formation

The Kenneth H. Pohly Center for Supervision and Leadership Formation is based on over two decades of pioneering work by Emeritus Director Kenneth H. Pohly, and focuses on transformative leadership skills for lay and clergy leaders, as well as in-depth training in pastoral supervision.

Marilyn and Roger Evans are Co-Directors of Pohly Center for Supervision and Leadership Formation.

The Pohly Center works with churches and other organizations seeking to grow in effectiveness and in faithfulness to Gospel values. Special emphases include ministry in the workplace, equipping congregations, connectional leadership, and alternative models for ministry development.

The Center for Urban Ministry

The Center for Urban Ministry is actively pursuing three special Initiatives: Hispanic, African American, and Appalachian. It seeks to become a major provider of urban ministry training with classes offered multi-contextually.

Rev. Michael Johnson is Director of the Center for Urban Ministry.

Courses are offered for working pastors and lay ministers who are actively serving in urban settings, but who may not have participated in traditional degree programs; pastors and congregational leaders desiring to re-tool for ministry and outreach in urban contexts; and, seminarians interested in preparing for urban ministry through both classroom and contextual experience.

The Heinrich Center for Wellness Ministry and Education

The Heinrich Center for Wellness Ministry and Education is dedicated to preparing lay and ordained leaders for the healing ministry of the church.

Led by a roundtable of sixty-five members representing public, private, non-profit and faith-based constituents, the Heinrich Center for Wellness Ministry and Education seeks to promote the health and vitality of the church by modeling holistic approaches to health ministry, pastoral care, spiritual formation and Sabbath-keeping.

Lynda Weide is Coordinator of the Heinrich Center for Wellness Ministry and Education.

The Center provides training, connections with community health education and services partners, and physical fitness resources for students, staff, faculty and members of the community. It also sponsors the “Lunch and Learn: Fit for the Journey” series of events focused on healthy living.

The Association of Theological Schools notes this distinctive strength of United Theological Seminary through “The strong emphasis on wellness and the partnership with other organizations devoted to mental and physical health.”

The Center for Worship, Preaching and the Arts

The Center for Worship, Preaching and the Arts leads a major outreach effort of the seminary on behalf of worship renewal in congregations, while remaining integrally related to the ongoing creativity and fellowship of United’s student body, faculty, and staff.

Dr. Richard Eslinger is Professor of Worship and Homiletics at United, and is the founding Director of the Center for Worship, Preaching and the Arts.

The Center sponsors public celebrations and workshops in varied worship arts including biblical storytelling, preaching, music, dance, media and multicultural worship, as well as children’s arts mini-camps and preaching seminars.

How does the Institute do its work?

Through three vital Centers, the Office of Continuing Education, and in cooperation with its Teaching Church Network and other partners, The Institute for Applied Theology:

Initiates training opportunities in practical ministry (applied theology) as an entry point and encouragement to persons exploring ministry vocations.

Supports innovative programs of lifelong learning, skills-building, re-tooling, and spiritual formation for practicing leaders.

Offers public seminars, forums, classes, workshops, consultations and worship celebrations in which seekers and disciples, lay and clergy, children and youth, may explore Christian faith and practice in fresh, transformative ways.

Creates arts-enriched settings for theological reflection, practical training and missional outreach for cross-generational and cross-cultural audiences. Projects are undertaken in creative partnerships.

Seeks to build a network of congregations and ministry contexts committed to renewal of congregational worship, to urban outreach, to re-tooling and equipping both lay and clergy for ministry in the 21st century, and to nurturing young persons toward understanding their baptismal “vocation” and particular call to Christian ministry.