Abstract
The purpose of this essay is to affirm the value of experientially based leadership formation in doctor of ministry theological education, which traditionally has been the hall mark of religious leadership with the African American context. It suggests that by re-envisioning and broadening the goals of the leadership practicum as a core practice within the Doctor of Ministry Program (DMin), students may gain invaluable intercultural competencies as they carry out their ministry, regardless of the context- congregational, denominational, societal, or global. The ability to increase one’s awareness and understanding of cultural and ethnic literacy, personal formation and development, attitude and values clarification, multi-ethnic and multicultural social competence, basic ministry skills proficiency, educational equity and excellence, and empowerment for missiological (intercultural) reform are possible. Students learn best about the need to affirm ethnic identity, to be inclusive, to appreciate diversity, and how to overcome fear of human diversity, such as xenophobia, racism, and hatred toward those with different worldviews and orientations, as they intentionally engage in ministry through times of cultural disorientation. Stated differently, DMin graduates will comprehend better the journey toward intercultural competence with more clarity as they discover the truth expressed by Maya Angelou, “We are all human؛ therefore nothing human can be alien to us.”