Past Projects

Please visit the following links to read more about former CPT projects:

Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence

The SUPE project originally ran from 2003-2007 and offered urban pastors across the nation an opportunity to sustain excellent ministry by strengthening practices of spiritual renewal, urban study and reflection, and peer community through (a) forming partnerships of four pastors each within their particular urban contexts; (b) defining and studying together a question, problem, or issue related to urban pastoral ministry; and (c) participating together in a six-month program of study, reflection, and spiritual renewal that including meeting for two hours every other week. The co-principal investigators were Dr. Bryan Stone and Dr. Claire Wolfteich.

Faculty Research Grants:

By building upon the various connections that individual faculty and projects have established with local congregations, denominational offices, and religious centers, the Center for Practical Theology aimed to conserve and expand these important relationships so that they may be more integrally incorporated into the teaching and research of the faculty as a whole.

Clergy and Clinician Interface Project

This project would allow for the application of previous studies by examining the manner in which a minister’s psychological well-being affects his/her theological perspective and vice versa. Dr. James P. Burns was the project P.I.

Exploring Interdisciplinary Paradigms for Theological Education: Preaching and Theology from a Womanist Perspective

This project introduced students and the Boston University School of Theology community to an interdisciplinary theological method and perspective that reflects the discipline of practical theology. Dr. Shelly Rambo and Dr. Dale Andrews were the project co-principal investigators.

Feminist and Womanist Practical Theology 

The Feminist and Womanist Practical Theology project sponsored a series of seminars and lectures featuring: research in developmental stages; new publications; and special interest forums on such themes as teaching and culture-crossing. The co-principal investigators were Dr. Courtney Goto, Dr. Pamela Lightsey, Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore, and Dr. Shelly Rambo.

Field Education Programs in the Korean Context

The goal of this proposal is to provide the needed research to establish a Field Education program that re-evaluates and integrates both Korean and Euro-American theological, pedagogical, and methodological systems. The co-principal investigators were Rev. Dr. Hee An Choi and Rev. Samuel M. Johnson.

Moderate Christians with Liberal and Evangelical Instincts

This project involves creating a web-based method for investigating how best to support the faith and learning of moderate Christians with both liberal and evangelical instincts. The Principal Co-Investigators were Rev. Dr. Wesley J. Wildman and Rev. Dr. S. Chapin Garner.

Missiology as a Practical Theological Discipline

A new era of engagement of the Christian church with the world seems to be emerging. The fundamental question this raises for us as scholars is how to make the past experience of the church with the world speak to the current situation. The Principal Co-Investigators were Dr. Dana Robert and Dr. Nancy Ammerman.

Parish Transitions Archive

This project developed an archive of the lived experience of people of faith during one historical moment of major, if not cataclysmic, congregational change. The Principal Investigator: Dr. Brian McCorkle, the Co-Investigators: Dr. Nancy Ammerman and Dr. Shelly Rambo

Relating Pastoral and Prophetic Ministry in Congregational Life and Theological Ethics

This project was designed to introduce students at the Boston University School of Theology community to various models sustaining an important dialectic between pastoral and prophetic ministry, and how those models are vital to the life of our congregations. The Co-Principal Investigators were Dr. Dale P. Andrews and Dr. Norman Faramelli.

Religiosity and Health Related Risks in Adolescence

One of the greatest challenges presently facing churches and other religious communities is how to address the increasing number of adolescents and youths who engage in risky behavior, especially in regard to health.  Can congregations mitigate this risky behavior for their own youth, and for those in the neighborhood? The principal co-investigators were Dr. Bob Neville and Dr. James Burns.

Theologizing in the Aftermath

This project aims to develop resources for religious leaders who are confronting situations of trauma. The field of trauma studies has exploded in the past two decades, and the research on the psychological, physical, social, and spiritual effects of trauma is critical in discerning fitting responses. Principal Investigator: Dr. Shelly Rambo

Past Events:

Social Justice Institute: Poverty, Race and Sexuality

The Social Justice Institute aims to reclaim the role of the prophetic voices in public life, pulpits and sacred spaces that are essential to continue to move forward issues of social justices.

Theology as a Living Discourse

A forum of leading feminist voices in theology about the future of feminist practical theology.