Arrow Leadership

The Partnership

Since 1992, Arrow Leadership Ministries and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary have been partners in a powerful learning opportunity: the Arrow Doctor of Ministry in Leadership. Building on the Arrow model, Gordon-Conwell faculty help you further develop your potential and the skills and practical performance needed for leadership excellence in the 21st Century.

Informing

"The Arrow Leadership DMin track built upon my initial Arrow experience and provided the opportunity to focus intentionally and deeply on living out my life ministry emphasis.  The theological framework and practical tools that emerged through the DMin process have been invaluable to my life, leadership and ministry." - Steve Brown, DMin 2006

“My involvement in and completion of the Gordon-Conwell Doctor of Ministry program via Arrow focused and expanded everything I learned in Arrow. Though it was challenging, I can look back and see God maturing and refining me through the challenge. I feel spiritually wealthier now because of the experience. There is a deeper well of confidence available for me to draw from now as a pastor. I also loved my thesis-project and am working on doing more with it.” - John Torres, DMin 2006

"I marvel at how the Arrow Leadership Doctor of Ministry degree program has consistently challenged and equipped promising young leaders to navigate the turbulent waters of contemporary ministry with clarity of biblical perspectives, enhanced self-awareness and a greater dependency upon Christ’s ample grace.  When it comes to forming men and women who can chart the course of their vocations by the internal compass of biblical values and commitments, the Arrow Leadership Track provides the needed education and mentoring." - Dr. Steve Klipowicz, mentor

Forming

As a Doctor of Ministry student, you attend the full Arrow Seminar series. Upon successful completion of this program, you attend two two-week intensive residencies which consist of lectures, case studies, participant reports and individual consultations. The classroom sessions are collegial in style and stress learning within a community context. In the first residency, you will join students from the previous residency. In the second residency, you will be joined by new students who just completed the Arrow Seminar program.

In preparation for each residency, you read between 2,000 and 3,000 pages of assigned and collateral reading. Sample reading for one of the residency includes:

--Armour, M. C., & Browning, D. (2000). Systems-sensitive leadership: Empowering diversity without polarizing the church. Joplin, MO: College Press.
--Augsburger, D. (1992). Conflict mediation across cultures. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press.
--Augsburger, D. (1996). Helping people to forgive. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press.
--Baab, L. M. (1998). Personality type in congregations. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute.
--Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Ballantine.
--Bateson, G. (1979). Mind and nature. New York: E. P. Dutton.
--Bertalanffy, L. von. (1968). General systems theory. New York: George Braziller.
--Borisoff, D., & Victor, D. A. (1997). Conflict management: A communication skills approach (2 nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
--Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
--Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1988). Getting together. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
--Friedman, E. H. (1985). Generation to generation. New York: Guilford Press.
--Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. Word Books, 1998.
--Halverstadt, H. (1991). Managing church conflict. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
--Heifetz, Ron. Leadership with No Easy Answers. Belknap Press/Harvard University Press, 1994.
--Herr, R., & Zimmerman, J. (1998). Transforming violence. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.
--Johnson, W. B., & Johnson, W. L. (2000). The pastor’s guide to psychological disorders and treatments. New York: Haworth Pastoral Press.
--Mahan, Jeffrey H., Troxell, Barbara B., Allen, Carol J. Shared Wisdom: A Guide to Case Study Reflection in Ministry. Abingdon, 1993.
--Mayer, B. (2000). The dynamics of conflict resolution: A practitioner's guide. Jossey-Bass.
--Merriam, Sharan G. Qualitative Research: Case Study Applications in Education. Jossey-Bass. 2001.
--Northouse, G., Peter. Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage, 1997
--Oates, W. E. (1991). Behind the masks: Personality disorders in religious behavior. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
--Oswald, R. M., & Kroeger, O. (1988). Personality type and religious leadership. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute.
--Reynolds, S. (1995). The rapture of Canaan. New York: Berkley.
--Richardson, R. W. (1996). Creating a healthier church: Family systems theory, leadership, and congregational life. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
--Satir, V. (1972). People making. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior.
--Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline. Currency/Doubleday, 1994.
--Stassen, G. (1998). Just peacemaking: Ten practices for abolishing war. Nashville, TN: Abingdon.
--Steinke, P. L. (1993). How your church family works: Understanding congregations as emotional systems. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute.
--Stevens, R. P. (1993). The equipping pastor: A systems approach to congregational leadership. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute.
--Tavris, C. (1983). Anger. New York: Simon and Shuster.
--Watzalwick, P. (1974). An anthology of human communication. New York: W. W. Norton.
--Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J. H., & Jackson, D. D. (1967). The pragmatics of human communication. New York: Norton.
--Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J., & Fisch, R. (1974). Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution. New York: W. W. Norton.
--Weeks, D. (1994). The eight essential steps to conflict resolution: Preserving relationships at work, at home, and in the community. Putnam.
--Wilmot, W. W., & Hocker, J. L. (2000). Interpersonal conflict (6 th ed.). Dubuque, IA: William Braun.
--Worthington, E. L. (2003). Forgiving and reconciling. InterVarsity Press.

To enroll in this Doctor of Ministry track, you must have graduated from Arrow with at least a "B" average. Current Arrow students are encouraged to enroll provisionally before completing Arrow. 

Transforming

Here is how your studies will transform you and your ministry by seeking to fulfill our general Doctor of Ministry goals in some track-specific ways:

• To resource students through a biblically-grounded educational program taught by faculty who are committed to God’s Word and the application of principles of Scripture to the issues of contemporary culture.
• To form in students a sound foundation of theological and biblical inquiry in their professional doctoral program’s specialized track that they are able to integrate into the life of Christian ministry.
• To provide students with the skill sets and understandings in a specialized area of ministry to such an extent that they can impact their congregation or community more powerfully for God.
• To create through the cohort model of the program a dimension of Christian community and spiritual nurturing so that students form strong friendships with one another and enter long-term relationships with the scholars who guide the learning experience.
• To develop in students a deeper understanding of Christ’s lordship in all areas of life for the common good of the contemporary world.
• To cultivate within students through critical reflection and careful research through the residencies and projects an enriched Christian witness in the places of society they are called to serve.
• To instill in students a refreshed view of their ministry as it relates to the proclamation of the Gospel among all people.