A recent survey of pastors conducted by Dr. Katie Day, a Lutheran scholar, revealed that pastors spend about 40 percent of their time working on conflicts in their congregations and communities, but felt that they received little if any training in seminary. Duke University Divinity School surveyed nearly 900 clergy persons in a study of pastoral leadership. Most pastors indicated a specific need for leadership skills necessary to deal with conflict. Two-thirds of the clergy interviewed reported that their congregation had experienced some form of conflict.

At Boston University School of Theology, and in concert with the schools of the Boston Theological Institute, we are convinced of the need for training in conflict transformation, including courses and other educational opportunities. We also believe that more is taking place than reported by the clergy in the surveys described above. We would like to gather this information and share it with all the schools of the ATS. We want to learn from what you are doing as we design our own program. We also want to create a network of academics who teach in these fields.

We have tried to keep the survey simple. You can respond in writing or have someone fill it out by downloading the accompanaying word document and then returning it by email or fax.

Thank you for your willingness to share this information. We hope to report on the information we receive. If you do not want the information disseminated, please let us know.

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