Peter Gilmour

Leadership and Religion in the 21 st Century

The change of leadership personnel from clergy to laity represents a seismic shift in the Roman Catholic Church. This ongoing phenomenon is brought most sharply into focus when the priest pastor of a Catholic parish is succeeded by a nonordained pastor. This article applies Joseph Rosts postindustrial model of leadership to nonordained people who lead Catholic parishes. The influence, success, and ultimate impact of this movement is examined and reflected upon through the lens of Rosts leadership model. Organized religion, by paying close attention to Rosts leadership model, allows the world to evangelize the church in a variety of venues: how it develops its theology, how it functions as an ecclesial entity, how it relates to people, how it relates to other institutions, and how it conducts its business.

Educating the Educators: A Fifty-Year Retrospective of Religious Education in the Catholic Context

Abstract The progressive spirit of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) spawned a myriad of graduate departments of religious education in American Catholic colleges and universities. These departments evolved to include other master degrees (e.g., pastoral studies, pastoral counseling, divinity, spirituality, and social justice). As the numbers of students in religious education degree programs significantly diminished, the degree designation in religious education was often terminated. Today, an ever increasing number of religious education practitioners in the Catholic context do not have graduate degrees in religious education. This ongoing reality significantly alters the field of religious education and its practice in the Catholic context.

Text and Context: the Passion of the Christ and Other Jesus Films

Abstract This article approaches the immense popularity of Mel Gibsons 2004 film, The Passion of the Christas a significant artifact in the contemporary public, cultural curriculum, and a unique opportunity for religious educators to build on its notoriety. Five interrelated contexts are identified and explored to assist religious educators more deeply understand and better interpret the significance of this film and all Jesus films. These five contexts are: (1) narrative theology, (2) scripture, (3) midrash, (4) the early film industry, and (5) the Jesus film canon.

THE POETRY, PROPHECY, AND POWER OF LIFE'S SACRED TEXTS

The focus of this article is that contemporary memoirs are sacred texts brimming with poetry, prophecy, and power. These memoirs share the dynamics found in the section of the Hebrew Scriptures known as The Writings, also known as the Wisdom Tradition in the Christian Scriptures. Contemporary memoir is more than theological expression; it is theology itself.

Reading and Writing Life's Sacred Texts: A Memoir

What are the proper and useful identities and roles of religions in a pluralistic world? What curricula in religious education will best facilitate such religious identities and roles in todays an...

The Film Son of Man: An Artistic Revelation of Jesus the Christ

Abstract The 2006 film, Son of Man, a significant contribution to the Jesus film canon, presents a Christ contextualized in a contemporary African setting. The artistry of this film, the author argues, is best appreciated through the genre of Neo-HooDoo which privileges the local, the spontaneous, and the democratic over the universal, the classical, and the official. This film through its artistry re-inscribes understandings of Incarnation, Redemption, Resurrection, and Revelation. Son of Man is a unique artistic contemporary vehicle for theological education.

THE HEALING DIMENSION OF CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY TEXTS 1

1 This paper was presented at the Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education Conference in Ft. Worth, November 1993.