How Pastors View Theological Education

Daniel Aleshire of the Association of Theological Schools

The following fifteen points are some of the statements that the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) ‘Schools and the Church’ task force heard as they carried on conversation with a wide variety of pastors and judicatory leaders over the past three years. They provided the basis for stimulating dialogue at ATS meetings and are shared here in order to begin discussions in the RCA as well.

Many of the items mentioned are not new to the RCA and some would say that both the RCA seminaries and MFCA are evaluating comments such as these and making adjustments where warranted. Others would argue that even these statements are outdated or incorrect. Let us know what you think of these comments...

• 1. The church needs pastors who can be change agents without destroying congregations.
• 2. Since we cannot foresee the future of the church for which we are preparing graduates, it is important that we educate candidates to be flexible and lifelong learners.
• 3. Seminaries should be preparing not learned ministers (an older paradigm) but missionary agents.
• 4. Seminaries cannot teach leadership or the pastoral disciplines apart from ministry settings.
• 5. Separating the practical from the theoretical is a mistake; we need reflective practitioners.
• 6. Faculty tend to talk to academic colleagues rather than practitioners.
• 7. Seminary is good for producing overeducated chaplains to minister to 50-80 people. But they are not preparing leaders to do catalytic change. They are preparing people for a dying church.
• 8. Seminaries are threatened by emerging alternate routes to ministry
• 9. Our congregations are full of anxiety and pastors so full of anxiety they cannot lead.
• 10. We need people who are passionate, who are gifted, and who know how to multiply their gifts. It is hard to find those people in ‘off the shelf’ recent seminary graduates.
• 11. Important in this whole conversation is the question of ecclesiology. There is a bigger picture here than just the local congregation. We need to see the ministry as part of a bigger picture. The localized scene alone is not just the church.
• 12. Many seminarians and recent graduates want to do church planting rather than work in an established ministry.
• 13. Seminaries have a bias against larger churches.
• 14. Denominations are going to be less of a factor. They were products of a particular set of circumstances that no longer exist.
• 15. The complexity of the Pastor’s role today.

Pastor as Person Begins Residential Intensive

Kirsten Shepler-Ross, Ina Montoya and Mark Veldt gather before the class commences.

Dr. Jaco Hamman welcomes Ann Blakeslee; Matt Schuring and Chris Cano look on.

It was a cold and gray Tuesday morning after a hot and humid Memorial Day... The participants of the inaugural MFCA Pastor as Person Seminar gathered at Geneva Shores in Holland, Michigan. The residential component, which happens after 14 weeks of interaction online, will take place Tuesday through Saturday on the shores of Lake Michigan. Participants will be sharing verbatim reports from ministry experiences and present their family genograms along with other organized learning activities.

Dalton Will Share His Story at MFCA Dinner

Howard Dalton

Each year someone is asked to speak at the MFCA dinner at General Synod. This year the dinner will be on Monday evening, June 9^th and Fr. Howard Dalton (Howie), an Approved Alternate Route (AAR) candidate, will be sharing his story. Dalton, a Roman Catholic priest for 28 years, is now the Administrator at Brick Reformed Church in Montgomery, NY. Five years after leaving the priesthood he married Patty – the two of them lead Tres Dias retreats, a ministry aimed at spiritual renewal.

Dalton writes the following:

“I was raised to attend to the poor and the needy. I grew up in a house absolutely filled with faith and prayer. I see the differences in people and their sense of self, their gifts and limitations, and I try to serve them as Jesus did.”

Everyone is invited to join the MFCA staff and alums for this special time together. The exact location will be announced at General Synod and the scheduled starting time is 5:30 PM.

Discerning Call

The first time I meet new potential candidates my question tends to be the same one, “Can you tell me about your call to ministry of Word and sacrament?” In doing so I was expecting clear testimony about God’s call on the person’s life. Admittedly, I was impatient with those who could not provide a clear account of their “call.”

After reading John Ortberg’s article in Leadership Journal entitled “God’s Call Waiting: What do you do when ‘the call’ to ministry isn’t clear?” I realized that the question I ask might not be the best one, and most certainly, my impatience was wrong altogether. Ortberg writes:

“But I never got marching orders [a clear call from God]. Partly , I think, it may have been because God knows that I will grow much more as a person if I have to figure things out and exercise judgment and make a decision and accept responsibility than if I just got a postcard and followed directions.” (Leadership, Spring 2008, pg. 20)

Ortberg suggests that it may be OK if an individual can’t give testimony to a clear “call” on their life and that it may be helpful to the individual and the church to discover God’s purpose in community as together, people identify gifts and God’s purpose for their ministry. This may well mean that individuals have to move out of their comfort zone and not equate a sense of call with a sense of fulfillment. Many candidates have told me that they discerned their call by whether or not they were happy and fulfilled in what they were doing… the restlessness for them was gone and therefore they interpreted this as being called to the new idea or what they were doing at that time. This notion could be a romanticized and altruistic concept of “call” and may well be different from what God has in mind.

“For a calling is very different than a quest for fulfillment. A calling, though we glamorize it, is not glamorous. It is a response to a summons. It is a kind of surrender. It is a willingness to die to the past and move into the future. … The future—even if it’s hard—is better than nostalgia.” (Pg. 21)

Ortberg’s article, though brief, is one of the best discussions I have read about “call.” He doesn’t pretend to know what call is, and yet, is able to warn about pitfalls that could camouflage our call. He gives permission to those struggling with their call, to be content with the ambiguity and suggests we might just have to work our way into it, or as he says, “?sail our way there”?. Almost to the point where we have to accept that we may fall into our purposed call unbeknownst to us but clearly orchestrated by the hand of God. To read the article in its entirety get a copy of the spring Leadership Journal or request a copy from the MFCA office.

Cor

Developing Vision for 2008

The MFCA board of trustees is presently at a point where the mission statement previously developed must be translated into a vision that will provide goals and action steps. Board member Bart Strong from Hamilton, Ontario has been leading the exercises to accomplish this and has taken the material from our discussions and developed some general vision statements. One statement goes as follows:
“We recognize the need to ensure our candidates are equipped with the personal tools necessary to continually renew their ministry in an ever-changing world and be faithful stewards of their time and talents for God’s kingdom. The MFCA must be intentional about reviewing and providing these tools.”
This particular vision not only recognizes the changing context of ministry and the challenge to communicate the Gospel message in a meaningful and relevant manner, but, it also suggests that there are tools that can be provided to those who are called to ministry. What are some of the tools that could possibly come from the MFCA and its efforts?
My first impulse is to think about the program itself and the material taught in our courses and the things reviewed by our certification committees; tools would include:
· Understanding of Scripture and what it is we confess as a community of faith.
· Knowledge of the traditions and practices of the Reformed Church in America and how people have been ministered to in the past.
· Understanding of the governance of the church and the ways and means for accountability that will support our life together.
· Leadership skills that are informed by an education as well as character and experience.
· Self-knowledge and awareness in order to provide leadership free of personal bias and emotional pitfalls.
· The ability to worship, both personally and corporately.
· Understanding of the mission to which God has called us and how to reach out to a wounded world that is extremely diverse.
· Understanding of spiritual disciplines that encourage growth and relational living as the people of God.
These are the things that have come to mind first and the list could be much longer. I consider these tools even though there might be individuals who would challenge whether these are tools or not. They may also challenge whether or not the MFCA is the best source for such tools.
I would suggest that together with seminaries and the classis, these are tools that can be provided to those preparing for ministry. With such tools at hand, individuals will be best equipped to face continual change and adapt to new challenges as they arise. I wish everyone a blessed 2008!

Family of Origin - Toward Healthier Ministry

It was during this time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that my counseling load was the greatest when I was Director of Counseling at Central College. The increase in counseling stemmed from students having to enter and re-enter the life of their family. Family of origin dynamics were powerful and impacted most individuals well beyond their capacity to recognize and understand. When students came in for counseling, thinking that school deadlines and pressures were the cause of anxiety and depression, it was often their family of origin pressures and scripts to which they were reacting.

I have observed some of the same in candidates enrolled in the MFCA. Excuses for missing deadlines, blaming church leaders for anxiety and their inability to perform, and struggling with continued medical problems are often the results of family of origin and people’s strongly embedded scripts that were formed there. The power of these scripts control individuals in both personal and professional life. In ministry the ability to understand and manage one’s family of origin can make a huge difference – sometimes to the point of making or breaking the ministry as a whole.
Understanding relational systems, whether in family of origin or church community, is a crucial aspect of ministerial formation. The new seminar, the Pastor as Person, will have this as a key objective. Dr. Hamman will be guiding participants in reading and reflecting on topics of self discovery and understanding relational systems. The understanding gained allows individuals to differentiate causing ingrained scripts to be recognized and managed. This is especially significant if the scripts have been dysfunctional and hazardous to the health of the person and their ministry.

This will be hard work. In one of the books used in the seminar, Ronald Richardson writes:

"In doing this work, you are breaking the patterns of generations of functioning in particular set ways. We are only the latest version of accumulated, unresolved emotional issues that we had little to do with creating but that, as members of that same emotional system, we have been perpetuating. Breaking the power of the generational patterns takes takes a tremendous act of courage and is truly heroic. People who do this work eventually (though not at first) become a kind of hero in their families and a resource for the following generations to create a new way of functioning emotionally in life. Working through the power of God’s creative Holy Spirit, they are helping to bring new life and health to themselves and their people, so that their ‘days may be long in the land.’" (Pg. 10; Becoming a Healthier Pastor; Family Systems Theory and the Pastor’s Own Family, Fortress Press, 2005).

The increased awareness of family of origin "scripts," or "generational patterns" as Richardson would say, is important for those in ministry and I am excited we are able to offer MFCA candidates the opportunity to participate in the Pastor as Person – a process of learning that will allow individuals to interrupt harmful patterns that make both personal relationships and ministry relationships difficult. If you are interested in taking the seminar, even if you have completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), I encourage you to contact our office and register. The seminar begins March 1, 2008 and will end with a week gathered on the shores of Lake Michigan at Camp Geneva Shores in May (May 27 – 31, 2008).

I wish all the readers of this newsletter a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! May 2008 be filled with joy and God’s miracles!

Cor

RCA History,Missions and Polity (Spanish) Finishes Well

Jhonny's teaching style is dynamic.

The Sheppler - Ross family made the week a time of vacation - well, at least Kai and Keith did.

The group picture.

Carlos makes a point while Salomon listens and Mario sits in disbelief.

Thanks to the wonderful efforts of Rev. Jhonny Alicea-Baez the week was a great success. Fourteen students debated and learned together while being connected to the Reformed Church in America in new ways. The fellowship among the students was extraordinary and many new friendships were formed.

Collage of RCA History, Missions & Polity (Spanish)

Lunch Time Pictures

Felix, Dario and Carlos

Tony and Mario

Kirsten

This week, the MFCA is offering its third course in Spanish - the course is RCA History, Missions and Polity as taught by Rev. Jhonny Alicea-Baez. This is the second course he is teaching for the MFCA; the first offering was also taught by him - RCA Standards. These courses have been taught annually at the Reformed Church Centre in Paramount, California.

This year's course includes six individuals from Canada, four from Toronto and two from Montreal. There are ten different countries represented among fifteen (15) individuals. Countries include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico. An eleventh country could be counted in Venezuela - Candidate Kirsten Shepler - Ross from New Jersey is taking the course because she needs it in order to meet RCA requirements in the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry process - she is able to take the course in Spanish because she grew up in Venezuela where her parents were RCA missionaries.

Among the participants are Meire and Carlos Rosa, originally from Brazil where the language is Portuguese. As MFCA candidates the Rosas find it easier to take courses in Spanish as opposed to English. The Rosas are planting a Portuguese speaking congregation in Montreal where the dominant language is French. The Rosas are members of the Classis of Ontario - exclusively English speaking.


Pictures are of Rev. Jhonny Alicea - Baez teaching the class at the Reformed Studies Centre on the campus of Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, California. Pictured behind Jhonny are Felix Lescano, Carlos Arana, Daniel Castillo, Ana Mabel Renderos, Meire Rosa and Carlos Rosa.

Learning from Alan Hirsch

The other day Alan Hirsch spoke to the gathering of the Classis of California. He is the author of The Forgotten Ways and appears to be the latest of a group that is impacting RCA evangelicals. Others would include Erwin McManus, Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren and Reggie McNiel. I personally am also reading books by Robert E. Quinn… highly recommended!

Alan Hirsch had some interesting things to say to the group at the classis meeting; below are some of my scribbles:
“The church does not have a mission, the mission has a church.”
He said the church needs both missional and incarnational people if it is going to be relevant.

MISSIONARY PEOPLE – look outward
INCARNATIONAL PEPOLE – are about deepening

We need to be about “recovering the ethos of apostolic movements.”
“Church growth has not worked in USA because we have institutionalized church growth movements.”

“Movements mobilize the people of God. Movements are reproducing and reproducible.”

“Missionary Movements employ ministerial leadership according to Ephesians 4. There is a distribution of gifts so we might mature in leadership.”

“Ephesians 4 mentions: Apostles (A), Prophets (P), Evangelists (E), Shepherds (S), Teachers (S) – How can you have a movement when you remove 3 of the 5? APE’s are exiled.”

“You must broaden out the idea of leadership if you are going to grow the church.”

“APE’s are “non status quo” people.”Ephesians 4 is genetic material for the movement of church

Apostolic movements:
“Be attractive, but don’t be attractional.”“Bring Jesus to the people and the people to Jesus.”

“Being attractional in a missionary environment is also a matter of being extractional.”

“We need to extract people out of their culture and institutions.”

For the MFCA context I heard Hirsch say that we should continue to prepare the best shepherds and teachers as we have in the past, and, that we should also legitimize and prepare apostolic leaders, prophetic leaders and evangelists. The question would be: “How do we do that; what do we need to add or do differently?” The input from others is welcome!

Cor

MFCA Challenges

David Daniels, a columnist for Christian Week states in his September 15th article: “Visionary thinking, prophetic action, courageous decision-making – these are the ingredients most likely topping the list of desirable traits in contemporary pastoral leadership.” (Pg.11) The Ministerial Formation Certification Agency (MFCA) statement of purpose mentions as its desired traits: academic preparedness, spiritual maturity, personal wholeness, ministry competence and denominational identity. Comparing the two lists the reader very quickly notices how different they are. If Daniels’ list reflects reality better than the MFCA list, then successful preparation of individuals for ministry, as we do it, may be close to impossible. Even though we encourage visionary, prophetic, and courageous leadership for our candidates, we do not claim to know how we would go about creating and monitoring such traits as Daniels suggests are at the top of the list in 2007.
It is with this knowledge and implicit tension that the newly formed MFCA faces the future. The MFCA Board of Trustees will be broaching the difficult task of shaping a program that is aware of what contemporary pastoral leadership should look like while at the same time implementing an effective strategy that has integrity -- respecting Reformed Church in America (RCA) values. Board member Bart Strong, a specialist in strategic planning from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario will be leading the discussion at the next meetings of the board and it is anticipated that he will be asking the members to answer some difficult questions. In his article in the Educause Quarterly Strong asks, “What is happening in higher education and in the world today that may affect what we do and how we do it in the next three years…?” (Strategic Planning for Technological Change, Fall 2007, Pg. 50). It is assumed that he will ask a similar question of the MFCA Board.
Being one to anticipate matters, I would venture that Strong’s question in the context of the MFCA might read as follows: “What is happening in the life of the Church and in the world today that may affect what we do and how we do it over the next three years?” The MFCA board’s considerations in answering this question might include:
~ Traditional education, usually provided by seminaries, is less valued and churches look to people in their midst who are exercising gifts and show potential for ministry and place them in leadership positions.
~ Many individuals experience a call to ministry through parachurch organizations, camps, and campus ministry efforts, entering ministry preparation with no denominational loyalty.
~ Choosing not to be part of a denomination, many individuals design their own preparation process which tends to be reactionary to individual and present needs as well as those of the ministry in which they might be serving.
~ Younger leaders tend to be relational with a bias against institutional mindsets. This causes them to make themselves accountable to local people with whom they have a relationship and thus feel no need for accountability to authorities outside of their immediate circle.
~ The internet and technology place resources at people’s fingertips – large portions of a seminary education can be found for free online – why move oneself and family to a different location at great expense when it is possible to stay put and be making a difference in ministry here and now at no financial cost.
~ Mega churches, with high visibility tend to impact people sensing a call to ministry. These same churches tend to create their own movements and programs for developing leaders which often do not include seminary level education.
~ The Reformed Church in America (RCA), like many mainline denominations, has turned to credentialing commissioned pastors. This process fast tracks people into ministry while requiring a limited education, ministry preparation and critical assessment. According to those in favor of this movement this saves time, money and energy and allows individuals to be employed in ministry expeditiously.
~ The RCA, like many others, has intentionally decided to emphasize church multiplication and to birth new churches. There are indications that some of the people who are chosen for church start assignments are chosen on the basis of their ability to produce fruit (numbers) and are not necessarily assessed on whether or not they have a seminary education; providing the ability to think critically about scripture and reflect theologically about the practice of ministry. This could limit their ultimate potential for in depth preaching and teaching.
~ There is also a tendency to bring people in from outside of the RCA in order to staff the increasing number of ministries – many of them are gifted and proven in ministry but do not meet the educational requirements stipulated by the RCA. These same individuals are committed to the mission of the RCA (Our Call) but have no other loyalty to the denomination.
~ Theological education is becoming more expensive and there are indications that a denomination such as the RCA will have to face a new reality where assessments for programs and excessive infrastructure will no longer be tolerated and thus disappear. The MFCA is very dependent on assessment money.
~ Ethnic and racial diversity is becoming more of a reality as well as a pressure point for our next generation of church leaders. Questions we are beginning to encounter include: “How will we accommodate different language groups and traditions and yet maintain collegiality in churches and classes?”
~ Being “Reformed” is no longer a priority for a significant number of our churches and leaders. How will the RCA define being “Reformed” in this day and age with pressure to be concerned about being “evangelical” and “ecumenical” in contrast to being Reformed?

Strategic planning, when there are so many variables, will be a challenge for the MFCA Board of Trustees. The encouragement for those of us involved in this challenge is that we will do this with prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Like the sons of Issachar, we will do our best to read the signs of the times and to listen and look for the leading of the Lord. Please pray for the MFCA and its board.

Mid-Life Crisis

It has been confirmed... Cor is definitely in mid-life crisis. He has buzzed his hair and purchased a motorcycle. One would think that after a number of incidents with his bicycle he would know better than to increase his time on two wheeled vehicles.

More pictures from this summer's courses... The group gathered is part of the RCA Standards class in the WTS atrium... the group was preparing for the Arminian / Calvinist debate.

Future Options for CPE Alternative

The July – August issue of Candidates' Care mentions the work I hope to do on a course proposal for the "Pastor as Person" as an alternative for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). The request for this came from the Approved Alternate Route (AAR) certification committee at the June meeting. The request came out of the recognition that the CPE sites and availability for some individuals are so limited that it will be near impossible for them to enroll in a unit. Without CPE it will become impossible for individuals to complete the requirements for the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry and subsequent ordination. The request was not meant to suggest that the "Pastor as Person" will be another choice of convenience for those who do not like the CPE option.

The committee has asked for this alternative to be looked at in order to assist those, who for compelling practical reasons, cannot complete a recognized unit of CPE. The proposal will be developed over the summer with the assistance of Rev. Dr. Jaco Hamman at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. The MFCA Board of Trustees will review the proposal at the September 21 meeting. There is no indication if the board will approve this new idea and therefore we all need to be cautious about making plans even though I have arranged with Dr. Hamman that if approved, there will be an intensive scheduled for May 27 – 31, 2008. Most likely, we will host the intensive in Holland, Michigan.

If you have questions about the proposal and how it may apply to you, please contact me at ckors@rca.org.

General Synod and Summer Intensives

Dennis Sidfrid

Frances Nelsen and Drew Yamamoto

Drew and Bob Holtrop

The Van Wyk family, Terry O'Brien and Rick Van Ravenswaay

Summer Intensives - Out of the Classroom

The Van Wyk Family

Susan Sgarlat and David Choi

More Summer Intensive Pictures

RCA History at WTS in Holland, MI

Dr. John Coakley

Ina Montoya hard at work

Jeff Kelley, Ann Blakeslee and Ina share a fun moment.

The RCA History and Missions class for 2007 was taught by Dr. John Coakley of New Brunswick Theological Seminary...

Summer Intensives Complete For 2007

RCA Worship 2007

Another summer has passed and the hours of class time, reading and studying are again over... Thanks to the instructors for this year:

RCA Polity - Dr. George Brown

RCA Standards - Dr. Paul Fries

RCA History & Missions - Dr. John Coakley

RCA Worship - Dr. Gregg Mast


The picture shows RCA Worship class - (Left to Right) Susan Sgarlat Clair Lathrop, Frances Nelson, Paul Trudeau, David Choi, Drew Yamamoto and Terry O'Brien.