7. Academic Curiosity

The amount of academic curiosity one brings to the tasks of both ministry and community development varies according to the personalities of the people involved. Some types of jobs within both occupations require that the incumbent be involved in a great deal of academic research. In the case of both professions, the bulk of the academic research flows from the Universities, especially when it involves pure or theoretical research, while the research done in the field is primarily of the applied type.

One minister in a highly educated congregation in Winnipeg used to have three months per year away from other duties in order to do research for his teaching and preaching load, as the demands for high quality in that area were so high. Some Community Development jobs, especially when new enterprises are being enticed to come to an area or ecological concerns emerge can find themselves involved in a great deal of research. When the Lutheran Church put a street minister into Kenora Ontario in the mid-1970's, the problem of mercury pollution and the destruction of fishing was identified as one of the main sources of "street people" in the area. He became involved in researching the problem, and by the time the issue was resolved, knew more about the problem than most of the people working in the paper plant. When he got up to speak, people listened, because they knew he had done his homework.

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