What Language Shall I borrow to use in justice ministries?

Here I propose a study of spiritual entrepreneurs, who work outside of formal institutions. My goal is to point the way to a language that is useful and beautiful in these pursuits.

Justice ministry education is a step sister in theological education, both at the entry and continuing education level. Some assume that general training in ministry incorporates justice education; others find the concept itself too so-called political for direct curricular attention. Still others imagine that justice ministry education is something that is best done in an internship or experiential setting.

Here I, and an associate, study three long term funded experiments in doing justice ministry education as well as three on line ministries.

The three experiments are

Judson Church’s Community Ministry program, teaching “public ministry from a parish base.”

The Beatitudes Society, a national experiment in developing people who are early in their ministry to practice progressive ideals in the work of justice.

The Auburn Seminary Justice Ministry Program, also national and multi-sited.

The three on-line sites are

Gifts in Open hands

Prayer and Politicks

Liberating Word.

Each is fundamentally interested in justice as ministry and ministry as justice seeking -- and uses language to intrigue people about justice work.

The more formal sociological and interactive projects will be contrasted to the less formal on line spiritual projects. One is new school; the other older. Both use language to show a way to engage ministry in the pursuit of justice. They use many different kinds of language -- biblical, sociological, testimonial, whimsical, even poetic. Here I want to evaluate which kinds of language have which kinds of impacts in which settings. Surely a foundation proposal is different than an on line devotional or essay. Where is the core of the language that justice ministers can use most effectively?