Cultivating Virtue at the Congregational Level: An Ecclesial Theology of Love, Hope, and Humility

Pastors have a vocational calling to help people and societies develop virtue, specifically the virtues of love, hope, and humility. In a world full of conflict, arrogance and despair, the capacity to move beyond the cycles of pride, violence and pain, is essential to human flourishing. We want to learn from the recent gains in the social sciences, as well as contribute a theological perspective to the social science conversations. The project will bring together the social sciences and the pastoral vocation with a view to exploring how the virtues of love, hope, and humility grow and flourish. Grant programming will answer such questions as, What preconditions create a hospitable habitat for virtues to flourish, and in what ways can pastor theologians both learn from, and contribute to, the fields of research being conducted by social scientists regarding virtue and character development? To answer these questions, we will conduct 15 theological symposia for 120 Pastoral Fellows, launch six local clergy study groups, launch 25 seminary student study groups, publish 6 editions of our print journal showcasing the scholarship from the Fellowship symposia, 24 episodes for our CPT podcast series, three salon style opinion leaders dinners, three popular writing workshops, and produce written and video content from our programming for distribution through our online platforms. This project will directly impact 200 pastors and nearly 600 divinity students who will gain insights from the social sciences, specifically with respect to how the virtues of love, hope, and humility can be nurtured and developed. This impact will be extended through their respective ministries, as well as online through our video distribution.