David Tomlinson 
Professor of Ministry, Emeritus
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Biographical Information
The Rev. Dr. David Tomlinson is Professor of Ministry, emeritus and continues to teach regularly in both the M. Div. and D. Min. programs especially on the Pasadena Campus. For ten years, prior to his retirement he served as the Vice-President for SFTS/Southern CA. Following his “formal” retirement, Dr. Tomlinson also served one term as Acting President of the seminary during the sabbatical period of the president. Dave has often described his career in theological education as “book-ends”. He began his ordained ministry as Associate Dean of Field Education and then Director of Admissions at Princeton Theological Seminary. Between that time, and his last ten years at SFTS; he served as an executive in both state and federal public welfare programs, was called to a series of rural and urban pastorates, and spent the twenty yearsimmediately prior to his work with SFTS as a PC(USA) middle governing body executive at both Presbytery and Synod levels. Dr. Tomlinson holds a B.A. degree in speech and Communications from Augustana College in Rock Island Illinois. He holds both a B.D. and a Th.M. from Princeton Theological seminary with concentrations in homiletics and liturgics. His D. Min. degree is from McCormick Theological Seminary focusing on Leadership in the Church. Dr. Tomlinson is an ordained Presbyterian pastor and currently a retired member of the Presbytery of Los Ranchos.
Teaching Philosophy
At this stage of my life, ministry and teaching there are three foci that inform how and what I teach. First, whether it is in the teaching of church governance, church administration or any of the related fields; I see my role as helping the students to first understand the theological and historical background of these disciplines. Only then do we move to look, together, at how these play out in practical terms in the church of today. The second foci of my teaching relates to HOW I teach. I rely heavily on a broad cross section of current texts, the shared experience of those in the class through open discussion, and the testing of theory with actual field experience. I am convinced that we learn best when we learn from each other! Finally, my teaching has taken on a new and not always “comfortable” direction. In behalf of SFTS I am exploring the use of a range of electronic teaching enhancements, including on-line instruction. It is hoped that such enhancements may assist us in jointly serving the students on both the San Anselmo and Pasadena campuses into the future.
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