Meeting Minutes List

Describe the item or answer the question so that site visitors who are interested get more information. You can emphasiMinistry Higher Education Commission Meeting Notes July 20, 2026
Present: Debra Davis, Bridget Douglas, Brian Ebel, Sherry Powers, Leslie Tomlinson, Andy Miller III, Jane Finley, Diana Cabauatan, Dan Gildner, Bishop Kenneth Levingston, Andrea Schadel, Reuben Ososo
Absent: Burt Palmer, Bonface Wanyama, Margarita Todorova, Daniella Massangu Ngoy
Staff Representative: Teresa Marcus
Guests: Samuel Padgett, Leesa Judd, representatives from Heartland Conference (Ty Walkenshaw, Brad Dush, Jeff Ralston, Kevin Barron, and Jaimie Willis, BOM Chair)
Welcome
Opening Prayer
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Review and Approve Minutes of 7/06/26 meeting: Motion to approve the minutes as corrected with attendance update, Sherry Powers second Dan Gildner. Motion carried.
Bishop’s Comments-Bishop Levingston: Bishop Levingston noted the reality that this is a high season of stress for the church but God is still on the throne. He drew our attention to Philippians 6 and the reminder to be prayerful..
Discussion with Heartland Reps. re: CLM Program Requirements: The Heartland Conference wanted to lean into our connectional relationship and how we are to work together in love when questions and concerns arise. The conversation was primarily to bring awareness to the inconsistency of standards when comparing to paragraph 502 in the BoDD and the standards they see published by the MHED Commission.
Discussion on legislation moving CLM to local church section of BDD: Motion to move petition 1096 from Local Church to Ministry Legislative Committee by Dan Gildner, second by Sherry Powers, motion carries unanimously.
(9:00 CT) Visioning with Partner Institution Reps–All Commission Members o Beeson - Tom Fuller, Doug Sweeney
o Oklahoma Wesleyan University - Kevin Osborn, Keri Bostwick
o Wesley Biblical Seminary - Christ Lohrstorfer, Brian Yeich
o West Africa Theological Seminary - Gary Maxey (in person only, tried online but recognized a need to pull back and perfect it before continuing specifically for the spiritual formation area of preparation, instruction is in English)
● Conversation opened with personal introductions that included a bit of history of the university and their training of clergy
● What do you see on the horizon that the commission needs to be aware of? ○ WATS expressed a high need for funding.
○ All of the representatives noted a need for pastoral formation, not text book only education. Likewise, there is a need for distinctively Wesleyan Theology to be taught and developed into the formation of clergy.
○ There was concern for students that are receiving a push to complete their education as quickly as possible, noting that although the classes can be taken at a faster pace, the formation piece is sometimes lacking in that high speed scenario.
● How do we maintain high standards that allow for seminaries to have flexibility in how education and formation is carried out?
○ The question was restated by institutional leaders: How can we form pastors/ministers that will continue to be consistent with the Ethos, Theology, and Direction of the Global Methodist Church and what level of preparation does it take to do that?
○ It was noted that the GMC will need big broad standard statements and then let seminaries meet those as it works within their context. This was compared to how it works with accrediting bodies. Seminaries need freedom to do what they know how to do. They need to be trusted to do it well, but the standards need to be clearly communicated.
● Is there a need for education in other languages besides English? ○ There seems to be a high need for Spanish Language Learners. ○ WATS is working on developing a French Theological Degree, it has yet to be launched.
● How do our standards work for WATS?
○ Our standards are high for students that are having difficulties passing entrance exams due to poor local foundational education.
○ There is a need for the church to bring adequate education for pastors that are unable to operate at this level of education.
Updates from Subcommittees as Needed
● Committee on Approval brings forth, with full approval from COA, Mid America Christian University approval for degreed programming. Motion Carries ○ In practice, this is a full 6 year approval, with no exclusions.
● CLM Subcommittee, we have reviewed Truett and North Georgia materials and will meet tomorrow for those recommendations. We also have material from the North Carolina and Mississippi West Tennessee Annual Conferences and are in the beginning stages of reviewing their information.
Other Discussion
● It may be wise to invite Thadius Sales to our conversation on August 3 about legislation.
● Additional graphics and information have been added to the MHED webpage.
Upcoming Meetings–August 3 & 17 (Discuss proposed legislation affecting MHED and subcommittee updates)
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