Fletcher’s Master of Divinity degree prepares students to serve at the highest level of vocational ministry. Students will leave the program with a wide variety of ministry skills, and having obtained one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education in addition to a Supervised Ministry (Practicum) component.
Fletcher Provides Education for Your Ministry Journey.
72 Hour Program
Flexible Class Delivery
Affordable Tuition
A Global Outlook
Purpose
The Master of Divinity degree provides professional training to individuals expressing a call to vocational ministry in service to the local church and broader ministry contexts. Students gain intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and vocational skills needed to serve successfully in religious life, either in professional ministry within local churches, denominational offices and appointments, para-church organizations or community non-profits. The Master of Divinity degree prepares graduates to pursue continued theological education at more advanced levels including terminal degree.
Master of Divinity students complete all of the course requirements for the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, in addition to 42 additional hours of advanced study and electives. This allows Master of Arts students and Master of Divinity students the benefit of peer learning as many of their classes will directly overlap.
Online Classes
Master of Divinity courses at Fletcher Seminary are synchronous (in real time) and asynchronous (go at your own pace). This allows for maximum flexibility, and means you can obtain world class ministry training no matter where you live.
Course Listings
Fletcher Seminary reserves the right to cancel a course due to low enrollment or unforeseen circumstances. The course number scheme indicates general rules regarding Master’s degree requirements:
100 level Courses which meet degree requirements (no prerequisites)
200 level Elective courses (no prerequisites)
300 level Courses which meet degree requirements (has prerequisites)
400 level Elective courses (has prerequisites)
500 level Directed Study, Independent Study, Advanced Research, Thesis Writing, etc.
Accessible From Anywhere
Master of Divinity Course Requirements
Master of Divinity course requirements include all required courses for the Master of Arts in Congregational Ministry, plus:
Christian Scriptures 18 Hours
BIB 101 Biblical Interpretation
BIB 301 Hebrew Scriptures
BIB 302 New Testament
BIB 303 Hebrew Prophets
BIB 304 Bible in the Digital Age
BIB 305 Applied Exegesis
History and Theology 18 Hours
HT 101 Christian Theology
HT 102 Christian History
HT 103 Denominational Polity
HT 301 Contemporary Issues in Theology
HT 302 The Global Church
HT 304 Applied Public Theology
Congregational Leadership 18 Hours
CL 101 Pastoral Care
CL 102 Congregation Leadership Dynamics
CL 103 Denominational Worship
CL 301 Christian Worship
CL 302 Preaching
CL 304 Applied Leadership in Ministry
Spiritual Formation 9 Hours
SPF 101 Foundations in Christian Ministry
SPF 102 Ethics as Spiritual Formation
SPF 301 Spiritual Practices
Elective Credits 9 Hours
Pastoral Ministry Concentration
PM 401 Trauma Informed Ministry
PM 402 Worship as Pastoral Care
PM 501 Ethics of Jesus
Cross-Cultural Ministry
CM 401 Sociology of Ministry
CM 402 Ministry in Latinx Communities
CM 501 Intersectionality and Scripture
Biblical Studies Concentration
BIB 401 Language I
BIB 402 Language II
BIB 501 Thesis
Advanced Ministry Supervision 6 Hours
SM 301 CPE (1 Unit)
SM 302 Ministry Supervision II
TOTAL = 78 Hours
Download Fletcher's Master of Divinity Program Info
Meet Your Master of Divinity Instructors
The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Davis serves as coach to non-profit and business leaders in North America. He is the Associate Vice President of Communications and Marketing for Fletcher Seminary in San Antonio Texas, and the founder of the Small-Town Churches Network (www.smalltownchurches.org), which is dedicated to sharing research, ideas and tools to help small-town churches.
He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Logsdon Seminary, where his research focused on equipping small-town churches for 21st century ministry and where he was the recipient of the Bratton Family Ministry Award. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and a B.S. in Communications from Howard Payne University.
Jonathan is passionate to help churches and non-profits across North America navigate the unprecedented changes brought on by postmodernity, and to train and equip faith leaders to find not only opportunity but Divine blessing in the midst of cultural and professional upheaval.
Sarah Neeley is a staff chaplain at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, TX. She has also served in community ministries, children ministry, youth ministry, and hospice chaplaincy. Sarah earned her Ph.D. in Religion and Social Change, with a focus in Social Ethics, from the Iliff School of Theology and University of Denver.
Sarah’s academic interests are liberation theologies, Christology, postcolonial thought, economic justice, spiritual care and care ethics, spiritual wholeness, and qualitative research. Sarah is currently working on a book manuscript examining outsider liberative ethics and relational solidarity in the context of unhoused women.
Sarah has a BA in Religion from Baylor University and an M.Div. with a focus on Missions and Cross-Cultural Ministry from Logsdon Seminary, Hardin-Simmons University. She is an ordained minister and endorsed chaplain in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Dr. Stiver taught Systematic Theology and Christian Philosophy at Logsdon Seminary full time from 1998 to 2019. He received his Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also taught Christian philosophy for 14 years.
His books include The Philosophy of Religious Language: Sign, Symbol, and Story (1996) Theology after Ricoeur: New Directions in Hermeneutical Theology (2001), Life Together in the Way of Jesus Christ: An Introduction to Christian Theology (2009), and Ricoeur and Theology (2012).
He is the co-series editor with Greg Johnson of the Series on the Thought of Paul Ricoeur. He has co-edited two books in that series, Paul Ricoeur and the Task of Political Philosophy (2014) and Ideology and Utopia in the Twenty-First Century: The Surplus of Meaning in Ricoeur’s Conception of the Dialectical Relationship of Ideology and Utopia (2021).
Dr. Stiver also authored chapters for numerous books and contributed articles to journals. He frequently presents scholarly papers to professional societies and organizations, serving as President of the Society for Ricoeur Studies, the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, the Southwest Region of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, and the Southwest Commission for Religious Studies.
He has also served as president of the faculty at both Southern Baptist Seminary and Hardin-Simmons University. Dr. Stiver has served as pastor in Missouri and Indiana. He enjoys teaching Sunday School, as well as speaking for other churches and organizations. He has served as chair of the board for the non-profit organization Just People.
He enjoys playing basketball, playing the saxophone, reading, movies, the Sacramento Kings, New York Yankees, and Louisville Cardinals. Most of all, he enjoys his wife, Beth, daughter, Carrie, and two grandkids, Iylan and Canyon
Master of Divinity Winter/Spring 2023 Semester Courses
SPF 101 Foundations in Christian Ministry
Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Davis
Course Day/Time: Tuesdays, 10:00-11:30 AM
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce students to basic concepts of vocational ministry, including exploring ministerial identity and calling, how to think and write theologically at the graduate level, and understanding the program objectives of Fletcher’s model for theological education. Students will complete and discuss a personal assessment tool and consider how they may use their seminary experience to build on strength and shore up growth edges. Students will utilize peer discussion to process issues of vocational call, theological reflection, self-assessment, and beginning seminary education together.
Learning Outcomes
- As a result of this class students will understand the purpose of theological education
- As a result of this class students will learn and practice basic models of theological reflection
- As a result of this class students will engage in self-assessment regarding vocational call, growth edges in ministry leadership, and embedded theology
- As a result of this class students will develop a plan for personal growth and development
SPF 102 Ethics as Spiritual Formation
Instructor: Dr. Sarah Neely
Course Day/Time: Tuesdays, 6:00-7:30PM
Course Description
This course will consider individual and corporate integrity in the ecclesial setting. Students will explore the biblical-theological expectations of character, behavior, leadership, and relationships. The course will equip students to develop their own professional codes of conduct for sustainable ministry.
Learner Outcomes
- At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to utilize ethic frameworks to examine their personal character and be moral leaders as evidenced by their reflection paper.
- At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to navigate healthy professional boundaries as evidenced by their case study.
- At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to articulate their own vision of ministerial ethics as evidenced by their written professional code of conduct.
HT 101 Applied Christian Theology
Instructor: Dr. Dan Stiver
Course Day/Time: Thursdays, 6:30-8:00PM
Course Description: This course is designed to provide an introduction to the study of Christian theology, with the aim of engaging students in biblical-warranted, critical reflection upon Christian beliefs and practices in light of the traditional maxim of faith seeking understanding, for the purpose of faithful living. Students will be encouraged to develop the capacity to articulate and evaluate thoughtfully their own understandings of Christian doctrine and to relate their study in wise and
practical ways to the life and ministry of the contemporary church and world.
Learning Outcomes
- At the conclusion of this course, students will have developed in-depth understanding of the great doctrines of the Christian faith as evidenced by articulating details of Christian doctrines.
- At the conclusion of this course, students will have practice in reflecting critically on their beliefs in developing further their own theology, which involves joining in the history of theology’s wrestling with difficult questions of faith, as evidenced by expressing their own theological views.
- At the conclusion of this course, students will have cultivated the spiritual discipline of engaging beliefs different from one’s own in an attitude of openness and respect combined with conviction as evidenced by relating their views to other views in a respectful and accurate way.
- At the conclusion of this course, students will have gained facility in using their knowledge of Christian doctrine in analyzing concrete problems of ministry as evidenced by evaluating these problems of ministry theologically.
Fletcher Seminary believes in academic freedom, which means teaching people how to think and not what to think. Our Master of Divinity program equips students as lifelong learners, and provides a diverse array of classes taught by professors from different traditions. This diversity is a deeply embedded value and a strength, because the church is stronger when it works together.
Master of Divinity classes are offered online, so students can study from anywhere in the world. From day one, student in Fletcher’s Master of Arts in Christian Leadership and Master of Divinity degree programs receive practical hands-on training. This will help students develop the skills they need to be successful in ministry, no matter their calling. The Master of Divinity degree is the most well rounded of all ministry focused degrees, helping ensure general knowledge in a wide variety of subject applicable to vocational ministry.
For student who live in the San Antonio metro area, opportunities abound to learn in partnership with other area nonprofits and faith based organizations. All students who graduate from Fletcher Seminary’s graduate programs are a part of the Fletcher Network and qualify for one free year of coaching paid for by Fletcher Seminary.