Certificate in Church Conflict and Peacemaking - Courses

This certificate consists of 15 semester units of coursework. Certificates in the PACS program may be completed independently or may constitute a portion of the master's degree program.

MBS 706: Violence and Non-Violence (3 units)

MBS 718: Interpersonal Communication: Person, Family and Community (2 units)

PACS 700: Basic Institute in Conflict Management and Mediation (2 units)

• This course is ann introduction to conflict management and mediation. Includes basic theory and methodologies as well as the opportunity to develop skills in such areas as listening and mediation through role playing. This course is offered as a one week intensive institute or as an eight-night course primarily focused on students in the leadership and organizational studies MA program.

PACS 702: Theological Ethics of Conflict and Peacemaking (3 units)

• A study of the biblical teaching on conflict, peace and justice, including questions raised on historical and theological levels. Crucial aspects of the study will include the Old Testament teachings on covenant and peace, justice and war; Jesus as exemplar of peacemaking; and the church's responsibility in conflict and peacemaking arenas.

PACS 708: Conflict Analysis (3 units)

• This course is foundational focusing on the basic concepts and dynamics present in conflict. Topics include strategies, cycles and the history, theory and practice of approaches to conflict.

PACS 716: Group Dynamics and Processes (3 units)

• This course examines such themes as group cohesiveness, goals, norms, pressures, structures, power, leadership and problem-solving processes. Includes analysis and reflections on actual cases.

PACS 718: Interpersonal Communication: Person, Family and Community (3 units)

PACS 748: Discipline that Restores (3 units)

• Participants of this course examine punitive and restorative paradigms for discipline in classrooms, schools and families. Participants identify and analyze the thought and behavior changes required as a discipline system changes its paradigm. Special attention is given to working with difficult situations. Changes in roles and expectations of students, parents, teachers and administrators are clarified. A range of implementation strategies are studied.

PACS 752: Church Conflict Management and Leadership (3 units)

• This course will focus on the special complexity of conflict in churches and the options for responding constructively. Special attention will be given to the role of structures and leadership in managing and resolving conflict. Reading will include a wide survey of approaches and models that have been developed for churches. Primary attention will be directed to comparing and contrasting options with biblical material.

PACS 756: Introductory Practicum in Mediation (1 unit)

• This practicum includes intensive training and a supervised practical experience in mediating actual conflicts. The practical component may be arranged through the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), other approved mediation program or the student may arrange to mediate a conflict situation approved by the instructor.

PACS 758: Advanced Mediation (3 units)

• This course includes a careful analysis of the role of a mediator, the options regarding a mediation process and each phase of mediation process in actual cases with a range of complexity and intensity. Theoretical perspectives and models are compared and contrasted with actual case histories to understand the opportunities, options, ethics and limitations of mediation in a variety of settings: serious victim/offender cases, public policy, racial an other discrimination, business and construction cases, various group settings, etc.