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Citation: Draper, Marilyn, Yau Man Siew, Lisa Pak, and Michael Krause. “Vocational
Discernment and the Nurture of Pastoral Imagination in Female Interns at Tyndale
Seminary.” Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry 43 (2023): 189-
201.

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TYNDALE
UNIVERSITY

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Note: This Work has been made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely
for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced
except as permitted by the copyright laws of Canada without the written authority from
the copyright owner.

Draper, Marilyn, Yau Man Siew, Lisa Pak, and Michael Krause. “Vocational
Discernment and the Nurture of Pastoral Imagination in Female Interns at Tyndale
Seminary.” Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry 43 (2023): 189-
201.

[ Citation Page ] 




[ Page ] 189

Vocational Discernment and the Nurture of Pastoral Imagination in
Female Interns at Tyndale Seminary

Marilyn Draper, Yau Man Siew, Lisa Pak, and Michael Krause1

INTRODUCTION

As a trans denominational school, Tyndale Seminary supports women in pastoral roles
and ministry leadership positions. The Academic Calendar states the faculty “are fully
committed to supporting women who sense God’s calling into the full scope of ministry
responsibilities, including the ordained ministries of the church.”1 Support is particularly
necessary due to the growing number of female students applying and enrolling; in
January 2021, 58% of the student body was female.2 With this growth, there is a pressing
need to provide opportunities for female pastoral interns to discern their vocational call
and be equipped with practical ministry skills through the Tyndale Seminary Internship
Program (TSIP), the capstone course in field education.

	A Lilly Foundation Grant enabled three Tyndale professors and a DMin candidate,
who served as project manager, to explore how the TSIP could better support and
encourage female pastoral interns as they engaged in and reflected upon ministry
practice.3 To this end, we interviewed five female pastoral interns who reported a positive
field experience, along with their supervisors, to better understand what encouraged
those seminarians to flourish and discern their vocational call. We explored five
relationships essential for the cultivation of the craft of pastoral ministry: knowledge
formation - student/classroom; leadership formation - student/supervisor; ministry
formation - student/congregation; theological reflection formation - student/Spirit; and
vocational formation - student/self.4 We reflected on these specific areas to gain insight
into what made the internship experiences meaningful. The broader goal is to devise a
plan for continued development of the TSIP, ensuring that future female seminarians will
develop vocational discernment and nurture pastoral imagination.

_______________________

Marilyn Draper is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Yau Man Siew is Associate Professor of
Practical Theology, Lisa Pak is Project Manager of Tyndale Nurturing Pastoral Imagination Study 2021,
and Michael Krause is RJ Bernardo Family Chair of Leadership, Doctor of Ministry Leadership Track
Coordinator, and Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Tyndale Seminary of Tyndale University,
Toronto, Ontario. Email: mdraper@tyndale.ca.

Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry
ISSN 2325-2847 (print)* ISSN 2325-2855 (online)
© Copyright 2023 Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry
All Rights Reserved

[ Page 189 ]




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PASTORAL IMAGINATION

	Field education is formative in the vocational discernment and pastoral
imagination of seminarians because the experience encourages students to question their
own assumptions, reflect deeply on their tradition, and develop new ways of thinking
and responding within ministry situations as they gain insight into their own call to
ministry.5 Craig Dykstra developed the concept of pastoral imagination, describing a “set
of sensibilities, virtues, and skills that characteristically belongs to good pastors.”6
Pastoral imagination is the embodiment of the pastoral leadership gift given by God’s
Spirit, honed into the life rhythms and ministry practices of the congregational minister.

	In 2008, Eileen Campbell-Reid and Christopher Scharen started a longitudinal
study on the cultivation of pastoral imagination, describing pastoral imagination as “the
intangible qualities of pastors who know their work well, embody habits of mind, and
enact wisdom through pastoral practices that nurture community and sustain vocational
life.”7 Campbell-Reid’s Pastoral Imagination also highlights significant struggle, or
“interruptions to the birth of pastoral imagination,” noting that women across all
denominations face challenges finding ministry employment and dealing with
traditional expectations.8 We wanted to discover how the TSIP developed the vocational
call of female seminarians and nurtured their pastoral imagination. As well, we looked
for indications of challenges they encountered.

TYNDALE SEMINARY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The TSIP is required of seminarians in the master of divinity (MDiv) program. While our
counselling and spiritual direction students take internships specific to their
qualifications, other seminarians are invited to apply for CPE, a placement in their own
congregational setting, or a placement through the TSIP network. The site can be in a
congregation, Christian organization, or a chaplaincy setting. When students complete a
minimum 15 of the 27 courses in the MDiv program, they enroll in the eight-month, two
semester TSIP internship, which includes 10 hours each week for a total of 260-plus hours
of hands-on ministry experience. The interns meet once a week for an hour with a
ministry supervisor, basing their conversations and activities on an individual learning
covenant created in partnership with their site leader and course professor. Interns
accompany their supervisors to meetings and watch them in a variety of tasks. As well,
students undertake appropriate leadership roles within the setting. Approximately once
a month, the interns meet in small groups with the course professor to reflect
theologically on the internship experience through presentation, discussion, and creation
of case studies emerging from the internship setting. The course ends with the students
writing a substantial reflective paper on their philosophy of ministry to integrate the
internship with their classroom and seminary experience.




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	Tyndale is diverse in its denominational composition, with over forty
denominations represented. Situated in Toronto, one of the most ethnically diverse cities
in the world, Tyndale has students from over sixty cultural groups. Further, the age range
includes students in their early twenties to those in their seventies. While this study does
not focus on this diversity, the variety of internships and the variety of students remain
an important factor in the background of the study. Participants in the study were
Chinese, Black, and White.

RESEARCH: PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY

	Theoretical paradigms framed our research method. We used appreciative
inquiry, a cooperative methodology that embeds storytelling as part of the research
journey, because we wanted to learn from positive cases, including why they were
successful.9 We also employed qualitative research, adopting “inductive reasoning to
seek meaning, understanding or explanation from the data.”10 To this end, we selected
five female pastoral interns who offered information-rich cases.11 The women in this
study were all moving toward a second career; four were in congregational settings and
one was in a chaplaincy context. Two sites involved economically challenged
communities.

	While these five cases cannot be generalized to larger populations, “case study
research” remains a valid method to gain in-depth understanding into a given
phenomenon.12 Thomas notes that a case is not selected based upon a representative
sample but rather because it is interesting, unusual, and striking.13 Yin highlights that a
case study assists when we are eager to answer the questions of “how” and “why” in
circumstances where we cannot influence the behavior of those involved in a study and
when we want to cover contextual conditions that may be relevant to the phenomenon
under study.14 The data from this research study provides insight into what made these
internships fulfilling for our female pastoral interns.

	After a successful review by the Research Ethics Board of Tyndale Seminary, we
proceeded with the interviews, which were carried out over a video conferencing
platform and recorded with the permission of the participants. All interviews began with
a review of the purpose of the study, an assurance of confidentiality, and a reminder that
the data would be stored for three years. The 45-minute interviews were semi-structured
and narrative in style to create a comfortable dynamic where the participants could share
honestly and openly, allowing us to pursue and probe areas for clarification.

	Throughout the research process, we sought to strengthen the internal validity of
the study. First, during our numerous research team meetings, we discussed design,
research questions, analysis, potential codes, and emerging themes; all have potential to
generate more reliable results.15 Questions were designed around the five formational
areas already mentioned: knowledge formation - student/classroom; leadership
formation - student/supervisor; ministry formation - student/congregation; theological




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reflection formation - student/Spirit; and vocational formation - student/self. Second, we
implemented a data audit, grounding the findings in the breadth and depth of the
transcript data as the transcripts were reviewed independently by each member of the
research team. This reduces misinterpretations or biases by providing diverse
perspectives on the data.16 Third, we used low inference descriptors in our report by
inserting periodic accounts in participants’ own words rather than rephrasing their
thoughts and opinions.17 In our assessment, we also include a section on acceptance of
women in leadership because the topic emerged in discussions concerning leadership
and congregational interaction but did not fall neatly into one of our designated areas.

	As a further note, we conducted the research during the COVID-19 pandemic. One
internship finished just before the pandemic. Three of the internships began prior to but
ended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two other internships were completed in their
entirety during the pandemic. While this certainly affected the internship experience, we
were still able to address the purpose of our study.

Knowledge Formation - Student/Classroom

Interns told us that practical courses preparing them for “real-life ministry experiences”
(including leadership development, administration, and curriculum planning) were
particularly beneficial in bridging the gap between the classroom and the ministry
context. Biblical studies and exegesis courses were important for teaching and preaching
experiences.

	Supervisors, understandably, had limited knowledge of the Tyndale curriculum;
however, they all recognized that the students strove to make the connection from the
classroom to the ministry context. They were all grateful for the TSIP, and some
supervisors had their own additional internship curriculum to complement the program.
Both interns and supervisors identified gaps where the classroom and church ministry
could more closely connect. One intern stated that “[r]eal life and theory in class don’t
[match up]” and wished she had taken more courses on the practical side of ministry. She
named needed skills such as organizing one’s day, bookkeeping, running a meeting, and
budgeting. Another intern remarked that she would “love to see” more panel
discussions, in and outside the classroom on subjects that focused on working in a
congregation. Other interns echoed desires for practical courses that prepared students
for church ceremonies (weddings and funerals) and how better to connect preaching to
contemporary life. They also called for courses that introduced them to different models
of ministries, traditions, and theologies, hinting that Tyndale, with its diversity, is well
positioned to expose students to a broad range of models and traditions. Interns also
mentioned their desire to discuss “heated topics,” such as pastoral care in the LGBTQ+
community, women in ministry, and mental health. They wanted to be equipped to
minister beyond their own contextual paradigms.




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	On the specific subject of women in ministry, one supervisor strongly suggested
that all students, not only female students, be thoroughly equipped with an apologetic to
enable them to intelligently and confidently articulate support for women in leadership
when facing opposition. This supervisor encouraged “a clear opportunity to study the
literature related to the interpretation of biblical texts” because “an apologetic would give
women ammunition” in what the supervisor observed was becoming a more hostile
environment for women leaders in many congregations. Although Tyndale offers a
course titled Women and Men in Ministry, few males enroll.

	Other supervisors also suggested exposure to a wider variety of models of
ministry and ecumenical traditions. One supervisor urged a broader spectrum of
internship opportunities and exposure to the larger family of Christian ministry outside
evangelical sites. In one chaplaincy internship, both the intern and the supervisor
highlighted that nontraditional sites offer a broad, unexpected, and full ministry
experience.

	Finally, in light of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, one
supervisor suggested TSIP professors create a toolkit for supervisors on how to navigate
online mentoring. Currently, Tyndale offers a short training workshop for the
supervisors. More thorough training, or additional resources, might assist supervisors,
particularly in the development of online internship possibilities.

Leadership Formation - Student/Supervisor

	Interns who thrived in their pastoral internship found that their supervisors were
welcoming, supportive, honest, encouraging, and intentional. One intern said: “There
was an openness, vulnerability, encouragement, and [the supervisor] was very
affirming.” She also added that a very poignant moment for her was when her supervisor
unequivocally stated, “I’d love for you to bring [intern’s name] to the team.” The
supervisor was extending a bold invitation for the student to be fully present and
engaged in ministry, claiming her role as pastoral intern.

	Similarly, all the interns, without exception, were encouraged to be themselves,
and they were given much room to grow. Another intern said: “I really appreciate the
fact that [the supervisor] really made me feel welcome and appreciated and that my voice
meant something.” One supervisor commented about how they were very intentional
about encouraging, even pushing, the intern to claim her own internal authority and
capacity, recognizing that the Holy Spirit works differently in new situations.

	The supervisors opened doors for the interns to gain access to aspects of church
life. When asked about opportunities offered, one intern replied, “Everything, which
surprised me, but it was awesome. I attended every meeting and I still do.” Another
intern confirmed that her internship opportunities were broad and all-encompassing,
sharing that she was given “the breadth of experience ... I was not held back from any
department or any facet.” She added: “The internship itself was wide open, and I think




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that’s awesome that I wasn’t pigeonholed as a woman.” In fact, all the female pastoral
interns expressed that they had full access and felt welcomed. One intern commented
that her ministry context was “an inclusive environment where your gifts and talents are
celebrated and [you’re] encouraged to stretch.” The supervisors opened doors. The
interns took the opportunity to explore and fully engage.

	Supervisors also provided opportunities to ask and even challenge. One intern
described her relationship with her supervisor, saying that the supervisor “shared
leadership space,” adding that it was a “learning partnership.” To this end, all the interns
found that they could speak openly, ask questions, and even offer candid feedback to
their supervisors without fear or concern for any negative repercussions or consequences.
One supervisor shared a personal internship philosophy: “I’ll teach you everything I
know; I’ll take you everywhere I go.” In other words, the internship was a place where
the intern could ask questions, fail forward, improve, “get their hands and feet dirty,”
and jump right into the world of ministry. The TSIP offered a prime opportunity for
students to experience first-hand the “ministry of presence.” The supervisors
unanimously agreed that TSIP experiences are extremely significant in the leadership
formation of pastor-ministers and the nurture of pastoral imagination.

	Supervisors were available and open to conversations with their interns and
welcomed the discussion of hard topics, leading to deepening friendships. A significant
note is that all the relationships between intern and their supervisor extended beyond the
duration of the official internship. Through the TSIP, a real and authentic friendship was
forged to provide a helpful resource and friend for the future.

Ministry Formation - Student/Congregation

	Two of the five internship experiences occurred entirely during the global COVID-
19 pandemic, severely curtailing the interns’ opportunity to interact directly with the
congregations. Still, interactions over online platforms were formative. Fortunately, both
interns had been part of these congregations prior to the pandemic. Pre-existing
relationships prevented potential awkwardness that could have occurred if students
interned online at a previously unknown site.

	The community clearly had a positive and formative impact on one intern, who
shared that she had found her “people” and “purpose” in her internship experience. Also
of note, another intern (who started her internship before the pandemic) took the
initiative to introduce herself to the community several months before her internship
began. This really set the stage for her to “hit the ground running” when the internship
officially began. She was already known and welcomed by the community as an
involved, kind, and sincere person and a familiar face. This particular intern also had the
foresight to exit the congregation in a phasing-out process, which her supervisor
considered as gracious and kind and reflective of her servant heart for the community
she had served.




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	All supervisors agreed that the role and presence of the community/congregation
is important for interns. The two supervisors mentoring the interns whose experiences
were couched in the global COVID-19 pandemic lamented that there were limited
opportunities for irreplaceable in-person interactions. One supervisor aptly observed:
“It’s the congregation, always, that draws out and then affirms the gifting of individuals,”
supporting Dykstra’s emphasis on the value of the ministry context in nurturing pastoral
imagination.18

	The supervisors observed that the congregations where these interns served were
encouraging, affirming, and accepting, adding how grateful the congregation was to the
intern for journeying with them. An insightful comment from one of the interns
encapsulates the importance of the community in the internship experience: “I am being
discipled by my congregation.” Clearly, the formative experience went both ways: the
congregation was served by the intern and the intern was shaped by the congregation.19

Historical Acceptance of Women in the Interns’ Ministry Contexts

	Supervisors provided historical context regarding acceptance of women as
spiritual leaders and/or pastors in their congregations. Three of the five ministry contexts
had historically not welcomed women as leaders in their faith community. The
chaplaincy site was the only one that had always accepted both women and men as
pastoral leaders in equal partnership.

	The second ministry site had ordained women ministers since 1934. Since the
1970s, there was increasing openness to women serving in the specific leadership roles of
deacon and pastor. However, the supervisor commented that congregations in the
denomination were permitted to have a more complementarian view, and many
congregations had always hired men for the position of senior minister.

	At the third internship site, acceptance of female pastoral leaders changed over
time. Women were not previously given any significant leadership titles though they did
the work that was expected of someone in leadership. By the time of the intern’s arrival,
women were fully accepted into leadership roles and given appropriate titles.

	At the fourth site, the denomination had moved to a more egalitarian stance.
However, members of this congregation lagged behind, continuing to adopt a soft-
complementarian view. In contrast, the lead pastor and the intern supervisor, along with
several others on staff, were advocates for women leaders, which mitigated the intern’s
potential negative experience. Knowing this history, she openly shared that she had to
wrestle with the idea of doing her internship in a church that did not recognize women
leaders, asking herself, “Do I want to be a part of a church that doesn’t actually see
women as equal?” Ultimately, the intern opted to do her internship at this church because
the lead pastor and her supervisor were supportive. She also saw this as an opportunity
to encourage change: “You have to have people like me in a church who are speaking
against those things [soft complementarianism].” However, it is important to note that




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although this intern was invited to preach, a male intern was given greater opportunity
to develop his preaching skills.

	At the final site, the denomination had left the decision of accepting and
welcoming women leaders to the individual congregation. The intern served at a
congregation that was open and welcoming of women ministers. This situation,
therefore, did not negatively affect the internship experience in any notable ways.
However, the supervisor did express concern about the dynamics female pastors
encounter at denominational gatherings.

	In short, the congregations’ histories related to women in ministry leadership can
impact interns’ experiences. While some interns were wary about their congregation’s
stance, the acceptance, support, and encouragement of their supervisors and
congregations made the greater difference and impact. One intern summed up her
experience: “So, there’s definitely resistance there [at the church polity level], but I never
felt that from anybody in my inclusion in what was going on in the church.” None of the
interns felt that their gender was a barrier because the supervisors offered them freedom
and access.

Theological Reflection Formation - Student/Spirit

	One of the key objectives of the TSIP is to develop the intern’s ability to
theologically reflect on their experiences,20 leading to integration of knowledge and also
vocational discernment.21 TSIP students write two case studies and participate in small
group discussions centered on theological reflection with professors and peers. Further
reflection takes place during the weekly discussions with their supervisors, who provide
reading material and ask reflective questions. For research participants, conversations
ranged from “hallway chats” to intentionally set appointments to debriefs with the
pastoral team. While the pandemic prevented in-person connections, opportunities for
discussion and prayer emerged through online, phone, and other channels of
communication.

	Students’ case studies for TSIP emerge from experiences that do not go as expected
or are surprising or disappointing. Such challenging moments are significant in the
development and nurturing of pastoral imagination. Campbell-Reid and Scharen
emphasize: “It is amid such seeming complications and disruptions that the pastors’ role
and soul begin to come together.”22 Reflections around challenges also result in vocational
discernment. One intern shared that theological reflection helped her confront previously
held beliefs she did not even realize she had so that she could be more aware of God’s
Spirit: “It was God’s voice. He just knew I needed that additional encouragement to build
that confidence into my calling.” For the interns, both casual and set conversations with
supervisors became significant affirmations from God regarding ministry vocation and
calling.




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	Interns also mentioned they felt God’s presence during the internship through the
ministry activities in which they engaged. A particularly beautiful portrait was painted
by an intern who shared that she distinctly felt God’s presence as she sat in the minister’s
office where so many of the past ministers of that church had studied. She could feel the
history. It was a poignant moment of reflection for her. Furthermore, the interns’
reflection times during corporate worship, as well as personal Bible reading, were
moments when they distinctly felt God’s affirmation.

	From the supervisors’ perspective, the interns were eager to reflect upon and
contemplate their ministry experience. One supervisor was particularly encouraged by
the intern’s questions and willingness for deep discussions in “very nonlinear,
philosophical-theological conversations related to ministry.” Another supervisor talked
about guiding the intern to “reflect on what it means to be a minister and come in to
claiming her own capacity and identity as a minister.” Thus, the supervisors intentionally
addressed theological reflection in relation to vocational call.

Vocational Formation - Student/Self

	An important criterion that indicated a positive formative experience for the intern
was the emergence of her sense of self in her ministry vocation and calling. This
emergence of the sense of self was also evidence of a developing pastoral imagination.
Interns expressed growth in their personal calling, self-confidence, and recognition of
their giftings. One intern shared a deeper understanding of her identity as “God’s
beloved daughter.” As a result, she emerged more confident as a female pastor serving
and using her gifts; she no longer felt a need to defend her pastoral identity. One intern
who was in a soft-complementarian ministry context was not deterred from pursing an
internship with this church but rather saw it as an opportunity to enact change by being
present and respectfully challenging the status quo. One intern confidently proclaimed
that she knew that she was “in purpose”; she found her calling through this internship
as her pastoral imagination grew.

	Overall, the internship helped identity formation and vocational discernment. One
intern admitted to being timid and shy when she started but was encouraged when her
supervisor said: “Your spiritual voice is yours.” At the end of her internship, she was
contemplating ordination, which she had not dared to consider previously. She shared:
I think I’m called. I can’t run away. Even if I say, ‘I’m not ready, I’m so timid, I can’t do
that,’ but God says, ‘I have chosen you, so you have to be a witness.’” She added, “And
then this internship really made me think this way ... they invited me to do this
internship in my own church, asking me to stay. This invitation to stay is a call.
She was encouraged to claim her calling as a good “fit.” All interns expressed a strong
sense of affirmation in their pastoral-ministry vocation and will be continuing this
vocation in some form.




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	Supervisors also observed this growth of self-confidence as the interns became
more confident and certain of their pastoral-ministry calling when their giftedness was
affirmed. One supervisor commented, “I think she came away with a clear conviction.”
Another observed that the intern developed “a self-confidence and a self-awareness; a
self-reception of her call.” Confidence in call emerged as the students gained a greater
awareness of self along with discernment of God’s direction in ministry. Female
seminarians appeared unsure of their vocational call until participating in TSIP, thus
validating the importance of field education.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

	These five cases were selected because the interns reported rich and
transformative internship experiences. Although the results are not generalizable, this in-
depth qualitative study provides important insights into vocational discernment and the
nurture of pastoral imagination of female pastoral interns as seen through the lens of
these five relationships of formation: knowledge-classroom, leadership-supervisors,
ministry-congregation, theological reflection-Spirit, and vocation-self. Possible future
steps emerge.

	First, this study affirms that the TSIP experience is a significant formative
experience that links classroom knowledge to real-life ministry situations. The potential
exists to expand the TSIP curriculum. Ten hours a week plus monthly classroom
discussions with the professor do not provide enough time for integration.23 Even though
the TSIP is a two-semester program, the students only receive one credit from the course.
Including a second semester credit could ease students’ sense of overload and provide
hours to enable further classroom reflection. Also important is that both male and female
professors across all disciplines express support for women in ministry and that the
seminary continues to validate women in leadership in all aspects of the curriculum.
Regular panel discussions that bring challenging topics to the forefront would also enable
further integration and encourage students to form pastoral responses to contemporary
needs.

	Second, the presence of strong, supportive, encouraging, and affirming
supervisors was integral in making the female student interns feel welcomed,
appreciated, and accepted. The study validated the importance of supervisors who spend
time with the students, both providing experiences and interacting with those
experiences. Expanding training for supervisors, and the creation of the planned Tyndale
Mentoring Network, will help to ensure continued development of this essential part of
the TSIP experience.

	Third, regardless of their historical position on women in pastoral leadership, the
role of the congregation was important in shaping the interns. The dynamics of the
congregation shifted with the intern’s presence in a positive and inclusive way, and the
intern was also shaped by her relationship with the congregation that welcomed her into




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their fellowship. Because the congregation has a formative impact, it is important for the
field education sites to be carefully chosen. The creation of internship placements at
welcoming and flourishing congregations where three or four interns can be placed in
community may be the next step in TSIP development. Further, to facilitate an effective
onboarding process, a pre-introduction to the ministry context could equip interns by
providing familiarity with the setting.

	Fourth, a deep connection exists between the nurture of pastoral imagination and
theological reflection. Given that there was a lack of common language about theological
reflection and pastoral imagination on the part of the interns, practical theology courses
could be re-developed to highlight and give further definition to these terms. Interns
found theological reflection emerged organically through journaling, peer discussions,
prayer times, and, for interns who started before the pandemic, accumulated “hallway”
conversations. In the future, TSIP professors might link the internship experience more
intentionally to practices students have learned in other courses, such as journaling or
communal discernment. The case study model could be expanded to include other
courses. Finally, as the students develop their philosophy of ministry for the TSIP final
paper, there could be a requirement to theologically reflect on how men and women can
work in partnership in congregational leadership.

	Fifth, TSIP can continue to support the wider curriculum by highlighting the
students’ sense of self and vocational discernment in ministry, helping students to
articulate a theology of ministry and how their own strengths fit that participation.
Further, students are encouraged to meet with a spiritual director and a counsellor.
Insights from these meetings could be more intentionally included in TSIP to assist
students in integrating self-awareness into vocational calling.

	Professors in the TSIP imagine this study is only a beginning. Discussions are
underway to expand the study to more students and engage more diversity of age,
denomination, racial context, and program majors. A larger research group would
provide opportunities to highlight distinctives and overlapping themes. One possible
future study is to interview women pastors and ministry leaders who have been in the
ministry for five to ten years. Since the interns in the study were only in the congregations
for a short time, it will be important to monitor resistance they might encounter in the
future; more seasoned leaders can provide this input. Key questions can also be asked
about foundational courses to better prepare female leaders to face the challenges of
ministry so that the TSIP will continue to encourage the vocational discernment,
flourishing, and nurturing of pastoral imagination.




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_______________________

1 Tyndale Seminary, Office of the Registrar, Academic Calendars 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

2 Marilyn Draper, Responding to God’s Call: Tyndale Sees Upward Trend in Female Seminarians,
2021, https://www.tyndale.ca/news/responding-to-gods-call-tyndale-sees-upward-trend-in-
female-seminarians.

3 Coauthor and DMin candidate Lisa Pak successfully completed her program and graduated
with a DMin in leadership in 2022.

4 These five relationships emerged as we interacted with field education literature. See Craig
Dykstra, “Pastoral and Ecclesial Imagination,” in For Life Abundant: Practical Theology, Theological
Education, and Christian Ministry, ed. Dorothy C. Bass and Craig Dykstra (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2008), 41-61; Kathleen Cahalan, Introducing the Practice of Ministry (Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical, 2010), x-xi; Eileen Campbell-Reid and Christopher Sharen, “‘Holy cow! This stuff is
real!’ From Imagining Ministry to Pastoral Imagination,” Teaching Theology and Religion 14, no. 4
(2011): 325; Sung Hee Chung and Matthew Floding (eds.), Enlighten: Formational Learning in
Theological Field Education (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020), 14; Eileen Campbell-Reid,
Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2021), 7-10.

5 Chung and Floding, Enlighten, 14.

6 Dykstra, “Pastoral and Ecclesial Imagination,” 50.

7 Campbell-Reid and Sharen, “Holy cow!” 325.

8 “Women across all the denominations struggled in particular ways regarding gender. They
ran into roadblocks, poor assumptions, stereotypes, and implicit and explicit bias.” Campbell-
Reid, Pastoral Imagination, 10.

9 David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney, Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change
(San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2005), 8.

10 Shirley Williams and Margo Paterson, “A Phenomenological Study of the Art of Occupational
Therapy,” The Qualitative Report 14, no. 4 (2009): 694, https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-
3715/2009.1374.

11 Michael Patton, Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 4th ed. (Newbury Park, CA: Sage,
2014), 230.

12 Patton, Qualitative Evaluation, 12-13, chapter 5, Module 31; Robert Yin, Case Study Research:
Design and Methods, 4th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009); Adrijana Biba Starman, “The Case
Study as a Type of Qualitative Research,” Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies, 1 (2013):
28-43,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265682891_The_case_study_as_a_type_of_qualitative
_research/link/54183f560cf25ebee988104c/.

13 Gary Thomas, “A Typology for the Case Study in Social Science,” Qualitative Inquiry 17, no. 6
(2011): 514.

14 Robert K. Yin, as cited in Pamela Baxter and Susan Jack, “Qualitative Case Study
Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers,” The Qualitative Report
13, no. 4 (2008): 545. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1573.

15 David Silverman and Amir Marvasti, Doing Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage,
2008).




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16 Beth Rodgers, “Audit Trail,” in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research, vol. 1, ed. Lisa
M. Given (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008), 43-44.

17 Ronald Chenail, “Conducting Qualitative Data Analysis: Managing Dynamic Tensions
Within, Part One” The Qualitative Report 17 (2012): 500-5, https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-
3715/2012.2724.

18 “As a gift fitting to the pastoral life, the pastoral imagination that comes to ministers is given
and received in the midst of a life spent in service to God’s people.” Dykstra, “Pastoral,” 42.

19 Interns benefit both from mentoring (apprenticeship to a person) and apprenticeship to a
situation. Campbell-Reid, Pastoral Imagination, 136.

20 “The element of reflection on practice is key to understanding how these moments have
come to be identified by the new ministers as significant ... the birth of pastoral imagination
was refracted explicitly through conversation with congregations, peers, and mentors.”
Campbell-Reid and Scharen, “Holy cow!” 332.

21 Campbell-Reid highlights “a kind of integration that happens between who a person is
(identity) and what that person does (skill) and what that person knows (knowledge and
understanding.” Campbell-Reid, Pastoral Imagination, 9.

22 Campbell-Reed and Scharen, “Holy cow!” 332.

23 Campbell Reid, Pastoral Imagination, 9.


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