The class portion of the credo course, titled “Congregational Ministry in Theological Perspective,” scheduled for June 25 – 28 in Holland, Michigan, has been cancelled. This means the credo course is exclusively a distance (DL) offering during the 2006 – 2007 year. There will not be credit allotted for the course in this format. There are also plans to adjust the cost.
The course remains valuable in that it allows candidates in the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry process to complete the credo, receive feedback from the professor and peers, and meet the RCA requirement if a “B” or higher is earned. The students in the course are asked to write seven draft chapters – each chapter takes approximately two weeks. The chapter topics are: 1) Method (Introduction), 2) Doctrine of God, 3) Creation [including humanity], Fall and Sin, 4) Christology, 5) Soteriology, 6) Ecclesiology, 7) New Creation (Eschatology). With the input from the professor and other students, the participant collects the seven evaluated chapters and produces a full credo. The whole process takes approximately 18 weeks.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Listening, Learning and Leading
Leonard Sweet in his book Summoned to Lead writes “I am convinced we spend too much time making noise rather than listening to the vibrations of the very people we are called to lead.” (Pg. 61) This comment resonates within me as just this past week I found myself doing a mental check while I was visiting with a new candidate and saying to myself – “this meeting is not going well because I am talking too much and filling in the silence with unimportant chatter.” By intentionally staying quiet and truly listening to what the candidate was saying I soon discovered that our time together was going much better and I was able to get an accurate sense of what was on this candidate’s heart and mind.
Notice I did not say I liked what I heard the candidate saying. Many of the things I heard were contradictory to what was the norm for a first time meeting and I left our time together without presenting all the details of supervised ministry, RCA courses, Clinical Pastoral Education and the options for the credo. Nonetheless, I had a sense of what brought the individual to a point where ordination in the RCA was one of a number of options and there was the possibility that my listening could assist the individual in discerning whether or not a decision to move forward in the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry process was wise or not.
I have learned over time, especially as I work with new age groups and generations of leaders that the priorities, values and expectations of those called to ministry change. By listening carefully I have learned to tell myself not to present my way of doing things as the norm, but rather, I have learned it is important to allow each person their own method and style of doing ministry and that there are more areas of negotiation in how we do ministry than most of us are willing to recognize at face value. Yes, there are non-negotiables in our process, especially where it comes to faith and practice of the Christian life; but those are seldom the points where I hear people struggling. Most individuals bring a strong faith and commitment to the gospel to ministry. Many of them are already convinced about the value of the Reformed faith and its foundational merits. What often appears negotiable to them are practices and methods of communicating the gospel message.
The other day I decided to attend a new church start in. I knew the location where the church was gathering since I had lunch there a few days prior… it was a local restaurant. The church service was held before the restaurant opened on Sunday and the gathering place was the area of the restaurant that served as a bar during business hours (the only area that had moveable tables and chairs). The pastor was dressed in blue jeans, a golf shirt and sneakers. He always had his coffee cup close at hand as did most of those gathered. People who showed up late for the service found themselves sitting at the bar and the service ended with communion. The communion was not introduced by liturgy but only by an invitation to come up to the front because it was available. Everyone appeared to participate and my observation was that it was extremely meaningful to most.
The message for the morning was well preached in a casual manner. It was clear that the pastor had spent much time preparing the sermon and that he had gone out of his way to use the biblical text properly and make it relevant for those attending. Although my first reaction to communion being served without liturgical introduction was one of “this is wrong,” I quickly came to the realization that it was right for the situation and it would be wrong to confront the pastor and the leadership team on their approach to the sacrament. In other words, by listening and observing, one could very quickly conclude that it might be right to be different in this situation.
There are many things that I hear when I listen carefully, things that at first cause me to be defensive. And yet, by not reacting I often discover that there is room for negotiation and there are solutions that are acceptable to all parties. Many times I encounter individuals who see no purpose in becoming part of a denomination. Most of the candidates in our program were introduced to faith and their call through parachurch organizations and find that model of the Christian life suits them better than the “institutionalized” church model. More and more individuals are already in ministry and identify immediate needs for themselves and these needs do not always line up with how the MFCA programs are set up. Many have specialized interests such as new church development, church revitalization, youth ministry or chaplaincy and desire to prepare exclusively for such a role. Their initial posture is one that excludes all those other areas of study that are not specific to their particular area of ministry.
I have discovered that by listening to individuals it usually does not take long before flexible options are identified and there is room for adaptation and negotiation. I have also discovered that in a climate where gracious listening occurs, there are opportunities for growth and success. Therefore, if we are experiencing “noise” in our relationship together, please remind me that it is better to listen and be sensitive to the vibrations of the individual and the times we live in.
Cor
Notice I did not say I liked what I heard the candidate saying. Many of the things I heard were contradictory to what was the norm for a first time meeting and I left our time together without presenting all the details of supervised ministry, RCA courses, Clinical Pastoral Education and the options for the credo. Nonetheless, I had a sense of what brought the individual to a point where ordination in the RCA was one of a number of options and there was the possibility that my listening could assist the individual in discerning whether or not a decision to move forward in the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry process was wise or not.
I have learned over time, especially as I work with new age groups and generations of leaders that the priorities, values and expectations of those called to ministry change. By listening carefully I have learned to tell myself not to present my way of doing things as the norm, but rather, I have learned it is important to allow each person their own method and style of doing ministry and that there are more areas of negotiation in how we do ministry than most of us are willing to recognize at face value. Yes, there are non-negotiables in our process, especially where it comes to faith and practice of the Christian life; but those are seldom the points where I hear people struggling. Most individuals bring a strong faith and commitment to the gospel to ministry. Many of them are already convinced about the value of the Reformed faith and its foundational merits. What often appears negotiable to them are practices and methods of communicating the gospel message.
The other day I decided to attend a new church start in. I knew the location where the church was gathering since I had lunch there a few days prior… it was a local restaurant. The church service was held before the restaurant opened on Sunday and the gathering place was the area of the restaurant that served as a bar during business hours (the only area that had moveable tables and chairs). The pastor was dressed in blue jeans, a golf shirt and sneakers. He always had his coffee cup close at hand as did most of those gathered. People who showed up late for the service found themselves sitting at the bar and the service ended with communion. The communion was not introduced by liturgy but only by an invitation to come up to the front because it was available. Everyone appeared to participate and my observation was that it was extremely meaningful to most.
The message for the morning was well preached in a casual manner. It was clear that the pastor had spent much time preparing the sermon and that he had gone out of his way to use the biblical text properly and make it relevant for those attending. Although my first reaction to communion being served without liturgical introduction was one of “this is wrong,” I quickly came to the realization that it was right for the situation and it would be wrong to confront the pastor and the leadership team on their approach to the sacrament. In other words, by listening and observing, one could very quickly conclude that it might be right to be different in this situation.
There are many things that I hear when I listen carefully, things that at first cause me to be defensive. And yet, by not reacting I often discover that there is room for negotiation and there are solutions that are acceptable to all parties. Many times I encounter individuals who see no purpose in becoming part of a denomination. Most of the candidates in our program were introduced to faith and their call through parachurch organizations and find that model of the Christian life suits them better than the “institutionalized” church model. More and more individuals are already in ministry and identify immediate needs for themselves and these needs do not always line up with how the MFCA programs are set up. Many have specialized interests such as new church development, church revitalization, youth ministry or chaplaincy and desire to prepare exclusively for such a role. Their initial posture is one that excludes all those other areas of study that are not specific to their particular area of ministry.
I have discovered that by listening to individuals it usually does not take long before flexible options are identified and there is room for adaptation and negotiation. I have also discovered that in a climate where gracious listening occurs, there are opportunities for growth and success. Therefore, if we are experiencing “noise” in our relationship together, please remind me that it is better to listen and be sensitive to the vibrations of the individual and the times we live in.
Cor
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