Bücher von Lisa M Hess

Paradox and surprise face those who pursue deeper spiritual practice, theological wisdom, and even a religious calling ""into the ministry."" Unbeknownst to incoming students, the pursuit of theological education in established institutions today furthers a faith that is recognizable in delight and compassion, even as it may just as easily deform it into a moral duty and autonomous professionalism so divisive in today''s religious ecology. How may those drawn into ministry formation today receive its deep theological treasures and sustain a vibrant faith with a theologically expressive delight able to companion the suffering of self and others? Artisanal Theology explores the paradoxes and surprises that await those walking in the worlds of theological education--the local congregation, the academy, the tradition/denomination. Part handbook, part witness, it offers guidance for the path of intentional formation within contemporary institutions of theological education, whose riches may be mined in a disciplined spiritual stewardship and grounded in radically covenantal companionship. Just like artisanal bread blends the classical methods of bread-baking with modern conveniences, so an artisanal theology relies upon the personal and communal touch of human relationship amidst the contemporary forms of programmatic theological education. An artisanal theology offers an articulate and traditionally-rooted faith perspective grounded in covenantal companionships sustained in contexts of church, tradition, and, most importantly, practice. Ultimately, an artisanal theology witnesses beyond the anticipated political divides to the Triune God-among-us, known in a theologically expressive delight, able to companion the suffering of self and others.""A conundrum faced by many undertaking theological education is that the development of contextual spiritual formation is somehow assumed--as if it were some by-product of years of rigorous study. The truth, however, is that this is almost never the case, a truth to which growing numbers of former clergy stand in testament. In Artisanal Theology Lisa Hess explores the practice of this formation: its richness, its nourishment, and its value for both the outward and inward orientations of God''s gifts in ministry.""--Dennis H. Piermont, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of the Miami Valley ""Lisa Hess is a fresh and wonderfully home-grown voice in the world of theological education. Reading Artisanal Theology is an experience of what Hess calls ''expressive theological delight.'' Anyone aspiring to be a faithful Christian in the seminary context--students and teachers alike--will appreciate the deep wisdom in this book.""--Arthur Holder, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley""Those who teach and write in the areas of Christian education, spiritual formation, practical theology, and theological education often suffer from the dual problem of articulating a clear intellectual identity and a clear theological voice. Not only does Hess not suffer from either of these problems, her work is a powerful antidote for them. Clear, insightful, and creatively orthodox, this treatment of theological formation announces a powerful step forward for those laboring in those disciplines within a sometimes unresponsive theological academy. Lisa Hess must be heard!""--Willie Jennings, Duke Divinity School""This is the book I was looking for last year when I taught a contextual education discussion section! Lisa Hess''s focus on the sharing of craft and wisdom is a poetic and helpful guide for groups, communities, and institutions seeking intentional yet also unpredictable formation. Artisanal theology joins practical theology, systematic theology, and historical theology as another important form of theological wisdom.""--Carol Lakey Hess, Emory UniversityLisa M. Hess is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Contextual Ministries at United Theological Seminary. She is Word & Sacrament minister in

Learning in a Musical Key examines the multidimensional problem of the relationship between music and theological education. Lisa Hess argues that, in a delightful and baffling way, musical learning has the potential to significantly alter and inform our conception of the nature and process of theological learning. In exploring this exciting intersection of musical learning and theological training, Hess asks two probing questions. First, What does learning from music in a performative mode require? Classical modes of theological education often founder on a dichotomy between theologically musical and educational discourses. It is extremely difficult for many to see how the perceivedly nonmusical learn from music. Is musicality a universally human potential? In exploring this question Hess turns to the music-learning theory of Edwin Gordon, which explores music's unique mode of teaching/learning, its primarily aural-oral mode.This challenge leads to the study's second question: How does a theologian, in the disciplinary sense, integrate a performative mode into critical discourse? Tracking the critical movements of this problem, Hess provides an inherited, transformational logic as a feasible path for integrating a performative mode into multidimensional learning. This approach emerges as a distinctly relational, embodied, multidimensional, and non-correlational performative-mode theology that breaks new ground in the contemporary theological landscape. As an implicitly trinitarian method, rooted in the relationality of God, this non-correlational method offers a practical theological contribution to the discipline of Christian spirituality, newly claimed here as a discipline of transformative teaching/learning through the highly contextualized and self-implicated scholar into relationally formed communities, and ultimately into the world.

Description:Learning in a Musical Key examines the multidimensional problem of the relationship between music and theological education. Lisa Hess argues that, in a delightful and baffling way, musical learning has the potential to significantly alter and inform our conception of the nature and process of theological learning. In exploring this exciting intersection of musical learning and theological training, Hess asks two probing questions. First, What does learning from music in a performative mode require? Classical modes of theological education often founder on a dichotomy between theologically musical and educational discourses. It is extremely difficult for many to see how the perceivedly nonmusical learn from music. Is musicality a universally human potential? In exploring this question Hess turns to the music-learning theory of Edwin Gordon, which explores music''s unique mode of teaching/learning, its primarily aural-oral mode.This challenge leads to the study''s second question: How does a theologian, in the disciplinary sense, integrate a performative mode into critical discourse? Tracking the critical movements of this problem, Hess provides an inherited, transformational logic as a feasible path for integrating a performative mode into multidimensional learning. This approach emerges as a distinctly relational, embodied, multidimensional, and non-correlational performative-mode theology that breaks new ground in the contemporary theological landscape. As an implicitly trinitarian method, rooted in the relationality of God, this non-correlational method offers a practical theological contribution to the discipline of Christian spirituality, newly claimed here as a discipline of transformative teaching/learning through the highly contextualized and self-implicated scholar into relationally formed communities, and ultimately into the world.Endorsements:""This book tackles a vitally important field-the relation between music and theological education. Hess pushes us to think hard about what theology in a ''performative'' mode might look like. An adventurous and bold book.""--Jeremy BegbieDuke University ""Lisa Hess challenges us to ponder how music and learning actually work to transform our lives. This provocative study draws on diverse sources from history, philosophy, education, and music theory to construct a promising new approach to doing theology in a performative mode. What Hess offers us in this symphonic masterpiece is nothing less than insight, which she identifies as ''music''s primary gift.''""--Arthur HolderGraduate Theological Union""Lisa Hess introduces her book with three significant questions: how do we learn, do theology, and build a unified community of diverse peoples through music? These questions are intriguing and urgent in a world where the process of knowing and the work of theology both demand full participation of all our human senses. Hess dives deeply into these questions, and she surfaces with a vibrant picture of music as a living, embodied, relational set of practices that simultaneously express, question, and illumine theology. Her presentation is richly textured and integrative, drawing deeply on the fields of history, ethnomusicology, education, music, spirituality, and aesthetics. What lingers after reading Hess''s book is a bounty of knowledge composed into the performative mode of music, beckoning readers back into the pages to sing and play with the harmonies until we truly understand the new possibilities that she presents.""--Mary Elizabeth MooreBoston University""Christian theology, like musicology, uses words to describe realities and experiences that resist explanation. Lisa Hess explores how theologians could better attend to the performative, embodied nature of spirituality in all its various forms. This book is a helpful reminder of how elusive the subject of theology is, and points readers to a variety of voices and questions that are often neglected in th

Description:Paradox and surprise face those who pursue deeper spiritual practice, theological wisdom, and even a religious calling ""into the ministry."" Unbeknownst to incoming students, the pursuit of theological education in established institutions today furthers a faith that is recognizable in delight and compassion, even as it may just as easily deform it into a moral duty and autonomous professionalism so divisive in today''s religious ecology. How may those drawn into ministry formation today receive its deep theological treasures and sustain a vibrant faith with a theologically expressive delight able to companion the suffering of self and others? Artisanal Theology explores the paradoxes and surprises that await those walking in the worlds of theological education--the local congregation, the academy, the tradition/denomination. Part handbook, part witness, it offers guidance for the path of intentional formation within contemporary institutions of theological education, whose riches may be mined in a disciplined spiritual stewardship and grounded in radically covenantal companionship. Just like artisanal bread blends the classical methods of bread-baking with modern conveniences, so an artisanal theology relies upon the personal and communal touch of human relationship amidst the contemporary forms of programmatic theological education. An artisanal theology offers an articulate and traditionally-rooted faith perspective grounded in covenantal companionships sustained in contexts of church, tradition, and, most importantly, practice. Ultimately, an artisanal theology witnesses beyond the anticipated political divides to the Triune God-among-us, known in a theologically expressive delight, able to companion the suffering of self and others.Endorsements:""A conundrum faced by many undertaking theological education is that the development of contextual spiritual formation is somehow assumed--as if it were some by-product of years of rigorous study. The truth, however, is that this is almost never the case, a truth to which growing numbers of former clergy stand in testament. In Artisanal Theology Lisa Hess explores the practice of this formation: its richness, its nourishment, and its value for both the outward and inward orientations of God''s gifts in ministry.""--Dennis H. Piermont, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of the Miami Valley ""Lisa Hess is a fresh and wonderfully home-grown voice in the world of theological education. Reading Artisanal Theology is an experience of what Hess calls ''expressive theological delight.'' Anyone aspiring to be a faithful Christian in the seminary context--students and teachers alike--will appreciate the deep wisdom in this book.""--Arthur Holder, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley""Those who teach and write in the areas of Christian education, spiritual formation, practical theology, and theological education often suffer from the dual problem of articulating a clear intellectual identity and a clear theological voice. Not only does Hess not suffer from either of these problems, her work is a powerful antidote for them. Clear, insightful, and creatively orthodox, this treatment of theological formation announces a powerful step forward for those laboring in those disciplines within a sometimes unresponsive theological academy. Lisa Hess must be heard!""--Willie Jennings, Duke Divinity School""This is the book I was looking for last year when I taught a contextual education discussion section! Lisa Hess''s focus on the sharing of craft and wisdom is a poetic and helpful guide for groups, communities, and institutions seeking intentional yet also unpredictable formation. Artisanal theology joins practical theology, systematic theology, and historical theology as another important form of theological wisdom.""--Carol Lakey Hess, Emory UniversityAbout the Contributor(s):Lisa M. Hess is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Contextual Ministries at United Theo