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.

The Net Generation (Net Gens)

The challenge for preparing the future leaders of the church usually starts with understanding the generational group and its culture. In past newsletters we attempted to describe the groups we were dealing with next and thus covered the “Baby Busters,” the “Gen Xers” and the “Millennials.” Today, on the heels of the Millennials, we find ourselves preparing the Net Generation. This generation is 24 years of age or younger and they really do not think of the world as ever having been without the internet. They are a generation with a strong preference for the visual and technology. Authors Dianna and James Oblinger, in their “e-book” Educating the Net Generation, ask the question “If the Net Generation values experiential learning, working in teams, and social networking, what are the implications for classrooms and the overall learning environment?” (Pg. 1.4)

For those of us in theological education the question remains relevant as well, and we have to add the question, “What are the implications for the church and ministerial formation?” Will the church that we minister to be a “multiuser virtual environment,” or, will it continue to include pews, organs and homilies in a building with unique architecture? Education and forming the Net Generation is going to have its challenges and it will benefit us to identify what it is we are dealing with and how we may want to adjust what we do according to our findings. The following are things we may want to keep in mind:

- Technology is going to allow individuals to learn as much as they want to about virtually any topic – the information that constitutes a masters degree at MIT is now completely available on the internet; and it’s free. It is prophesied that a masters degree in theology is not far off.

- Individuals who have been raised with the computer process information differently – “they develop hypertext minds, they leap around.” (Pg. 2.4) A linear thought process is uncommon and the Net Generation will tend to piece information together from multiple sources. How that allows for the understanding of a triune God is not certain; it may help… Sermon preparation and delivery may never flow the same again. Messages will probably rely more on Powerpoint presentations.

- The Net Generation has the ability to read visual images and they are very capable at integrating the virtual and physical (Video games…). Video clips from movies may become a necessity for clear communication to this group.

- They learn best through inductive discovery as opposed to being told. The experiential is important and doing ministry is a priority for this age group.

- Net Generation students are able to shift their attention rapidly from one task to another – known as attentional deployment.

- They are able to respond quickly and expect rapid response in return. This could create impatience with people, processes and God if response times become too slow. A lengthy program such as the M.Div. is unacceptable to many Net Gens and they are quick to get into ministry rather than committing to a classroom requirement.

- While highly mobile, moving from work to classes to recreational activities, they are also very connected by having laptops, cell phones, pagers, etc. at their disposal.

- Net Generation folks “gravitate to activities that promote and reinforce social interaction – whether IMing [Instant Messaging] old friends, teaming up in an internet game, posting Web diaries (blogging), or forwarding joke e-mails.” (Pg. 2.6) “Although technology can’t change one’s personality, introverts, for example, use the Internet as a tool to reach out.” (pg. 2.6) Churches have no problem getting people to follow up on first time visitors by asking for the first contact to be made by e-mail or IM.

- They tend to prefer to learn in teams, thus making them great candidates for small group ministries and discipleship. More and more young candidates see themselves going into discipleship ministry.

- The Net Generation is very achievement oriented and much prefer structure over ambiguity. They want to know what it will take to achieve a goal and be declared successful. For many, theological reflection is difficult since it is vague and difficult to measure.

There is much more to learn about this generation and how it will affect ministry and preparation. More will be said in future blogs.

MFCA Name Change Possible

If you take a look at the MFCA report in the workbook for this year’s General Synod you will notice that a bulk of the report involves the bylaws. New bylaws are being recommended. The old bylaws have been totally “gutted” in order to create new bylaws which will result with the approval of one simple recommendation. The recommendation is to change the word “coordinating” to “certification” in the name of the agency, thus making the MFCA the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency. This change will remove some major responsibilities from the agency’s mission, including the oversight of Standards and the coordination of theological education between MFCA, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Western Theological Seminary. It is our hope that the removal of responsibilities will also remove obstacles in the process that the denomination is attempting to employ in the identification, equipping and employment of future pastoral ordained leaders.
The General Synod Council (GSC) will be asked to create a new organization to take care of the broader responsibilities that were originally assigned to the MFCA. One of the main reasons for going in this direction has been the elimination of the tension created by having the agency responsible for coordination also being one of the components being coordinated. It provided for an awkward situation, not allowing the agency to function properly when each segment, MFCA, NBTS and WTS, had its own unique identity and mission while sharing the formation and education responsibilities for future ministers. The new structure will place each of the agents on equal footing while receiving guidance and support from the denomination around standards for preparation for ministry. The GSC will also seek to monitor and improve the relationships and mutual efforts between the agents and the classes.
The new MFCA will focus its efforts on the two programs that result in the awarding of the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry – the Reformed Candidates Supervision and Care (RCSC) and the Approved Alternate Route (AAR). The preamble of the new bylaws provides the following definition for the newly configured MFCA…
The Ministerial Formation Certification Agency of the Reformed Church in America shall serve the Reformed Church in America (“RCA”) by:
Overseeing the education of, and awarding the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry to, candidates for the ministry who are seeking the degree of Master of Divinity or its academic equivalent from a seminary not officially related to the RCA (a “Non-RCA Seminary”);

Approving means by which candidates for the ministry may meet the requirements for the receipt of a Certificate of Fitness for Ministry (as provided in the RCA Book of Church Order (“BCO”)); and

Consulting with and providing counsel to congregations and classes in the care and nurture of candidates for the ministry who are seeking the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry and who are not attending a RCA Seminary as a matriculated student.

Currently, the RCSC has approximately seventy (70) individuals enrolled, the AAR has twenty-five (25) enrolled, and there are thirty-five (35) active applicants, making for one hundred and twenty-five (125) candidates being processed at any one time. The main program of the MFCA consists of courses that are offered annually. The courses include both residential and distance offerings, covering material unique to the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Courses offered include RCA Polity, RCA Standards, RCA History & Mission, RCA Worship, and, Summary of Christian Doctrine (Credo). The assessment and interview of candidates is a continual process of the agency. Communication with each candidate’s classis takes intentional effort and the electronic data base keeping track of each candidate’s portfolio requires much attention and effort. Access to each candidate’s portfolio is available to every classis that desires to take advantage of this service.

Loyalty to a Denomination

It seems as if more and more candidates in the MFCA have not been raised in the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Dr. Paul Fries once did a quick survey of his RCA Standards class a few years ago and if I remember correctly, thirteen of the fourteen students were not raised in the RCA. My personal, and also informal survey, indicates that almost 70% of the candidates in the RCSC received their call to enter RCA ordained ministry while participating in a parachurch organization, college campus ministry, or Christian camp. In other words, many of the individuals who will be pastoral leaders in the RCA of the future do not share the RCA roots and did not initially experience their call in a local RCA congregation – they are newcomers or converts to the RCA.
Knowing this, you might ask "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Denominational loyalists might quickly say it is bad because these individuals don’t understand the tradition and do not share allegiances they expect from their clergy leaders. My experience and observation has been the opposite. In a way it is somewhat like a former smoker who is adamant about not being near smokers or smoke, becoming extremely strong advocates for not smoking. Most individuals who pursue the Certificate of Fitness for Ministry with the RCA, and who are new to the denomination, are those that have done their homework and have become convinced that the RCA and Reformed theology are definitely the denomination and theology of choice. They have determined through careful thought and research that the RCA best represents their belief and perspective.
These newcomers bring with them not only a high appreciation for the RCA, its theology and its ministries, but, they also bring fresh ideas and unique gifts. These individuals help create a leadership mosaic that will make us stronger and better able to minister to our churches and connect to others in the world to whom we are to reach out. Already we have ethnic and racial diverse congregations in our midst because leaders from these groups decided to belong to the RCA. We are no longer a church with a predominately Dutch heritage, nor are we remaining to be a church of Anglo Caucasians. We are diverse in many ways and it is my belief that we are better able to minister because of that.
This past week the Classis of Illiana welcomed a newcomer to the RCA by the name of John Armstrong. Rev. Armstrong has been raised in
Baptist circles but now has adopted the RCA as his denomination. Every once in a while I read his daily blog (http://www.johnharmstrong.com/) and recently he wrote the following, a statement I believe supports my point that those who decide to become part of the RCA of their own volition tend to be more convinced and informed about their new denomination:
"I find the RCA to be a good home for me emotionally and theologically. It is the oldest continuous church body in the United States so it didn’t begin with yesterday’s newest schism. It embraces ecumenism yet remains confessional and orthodox. It has meaningful dialog with many traditions and is truly catholic. Yet it retains some of the distinctive marks of Reformed Christianity that I find precious and biblically rooted. And it is deeply committed to church revitalization and church planting.
One thing that has particularly helped me to enter the RCA is the clear, open commitment of this Church communion to the idea of ecclesia reformata semper reformanda est. This Latin phrase refers to "the Church Reformed and always reforming." This slogan, sometimes misused and often attacked from the right, is unknown as to its particular origins but the spirit of it has clearly marked the tradition historically. It is a phrase that encourages us to retain the Reformed confessional marks but always with a charitable openness to pursue continuing reformation. Rigid conservatives reject this idea, insisting that a particular confession is virtually synonymous with the theology of the Bible. Liberals abuse the idea by having no anchor in historical Christianity, using various forms of piety and psychology to undermine the historical nature of true faith. Precious and important truths are always dangerous and open to abuse. This one, with so much to commend it historically and practically, is powerful but dangerous at the same time. It must be handled with care but it should be embraced with joy and freedom in the Holy Spirit.
My friend I. John Hesselink has spent his lifetime thinking about this matter. He is a first-rate Reformed scholar and served as president of Western Theological Seminary (RCA) in Holland, Michigan, after being a missionary in Japan for many years. John concludes that Reformed Christians have a heritage that they can be proud of, in the right sense. But they must never forget that the term Reformed "denotes a task more than an accomplishment." That says it very well. I believe a humble Reformed faith is one that celebrates the past with deep gratitude and pleasure while it remains humble and open to the present since what has been given to us is a great task and divine responsibility. My calling, as a Reformed minister, is to give myself humbly to the task of reforming and renewing churches, not to standing on a soap-box condemning other Christians and other good and valuable confessional traditions within the Church. This is precisely why I am ecumenical and explains why I am committed to the whole Christian Church; Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. The world Reformed community, beyond the narrow sectarian battles of conservative North American Christianity, understands this calling well. This is increasingly why I turn there to learn and observe the practice of "a humble Reformed faith.""

The Challenges of Ministry - Preparing for the Future

Ministry is a demanding vocation; it mixes our personal walk of faith with the occupation that has to provide a salary to sustain our life and that of our family. In ministry, we develop meaningful relationships with fellow Christians while always being aware of boundaries that are both personal and professional. Events in the lives of those we serve have ways of bonding us to those individuals. Ministers are asked to be present after the birth of a child, at the death of a loved one, at weddings, at the bedside of those who are ill, at baptisms and the life changing experience of a conversion. At times, our emotions are so entangled with our function that we are not sure whether we are the one performing the ministry or the one being ministered to. More and more I hear people say that their ministry is messy and the stress is such that they are not sure if they have the energy to go on.
Rev. Fred Harrell of City Church in San Francisco wrote some of the following regarding ministry: “… [there] are unique pressures in being a minister - the relentless nature of preachingeach week, along with the unexpected crises we deal with on a regular basis that torpedo an entire week, and thus our preparation… I spend time with ministers who work themselves to death and are on the verge of emotional exhaustion while trying to produce a life changing sermon each week and it is deadening their soul. I know the theology well of trusting a sovereign God, the power of the Scriptures clearly proclaimed, as do they, and yet, the pressure is still a reality for all of us.”
So how do we prepare future ministers to deal with the messiness and stress? Is warning an individual enough? Is it even possible to educate a person about such matters? It is my opinion that it is in supervised ministry and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) that we provide the best tools for dealing with the mess and stress of ministry. Dr. Archibald Hart offers the following advice to those encountering difficulties in dealing with the pressure of ministry:
Try to anticipate stressful events.
Resolve stressful situations quickly.
Build a strong personal support network.
Hart also suggests the following coping mechanisms:
Respond to stressors with direct action.
Learn a good relaxation exercise.
Set up internal boundaries for the work day.
Get enough sleep.
Enjoy the journey.
I have discovered personally, when the adrenaline starts to pump in my system due to emotional involvement or stressful circumstances I can feel it in my body and being. If I allow it to go on for an extended period of time without addressing it I will fall into a migraine cycle (cluster migraines). These migraines debilitate and increase the stress. This is different for each individual but I tend to think that everyone has some way in which stress negatively manifests itself. We all need to have means for dealing with the messiness in our lives. The points made by Archie Hart are practical and useful… I suggest them along with prayer and Sabbath observance as crucial survival mechanisms for those who find themselves in demanding and messy times.

Credo 2007 Class Cancelled

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.

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

Are the Requirements Unreasonable?

One would think that I would be accustomed to critical words about the MFCA program, but when an individual who I was meeting for the first time, without even being asked, said that he had a very poor impression of the MFCA I was surprised and taken aback. I thought I was in a region where the former TEA and now MFCA had a good reputation – after all, we had always served the churches there well.

This individual was somewhat new to the RCA and has responsibility for new church starts and revitalization and has faced the challenge of identifying gifted candidates to lead these ministries. For him, it was difficult to find such individuals and he believed that it discouraged good candidates when they were told about the requirements to become an ordained minister in the RCA. As a matter of fact, he implied it made his job next to impossible.

When I asked the individual what caused such a negative impression I soon realized that it is a new day and the expectations of the church continue to change and even though this person was educated with a doctoral degree, I quickly learned that he believed our requirements which were heavily steeped with academics, were too great and beyond reason. He communicated that he did not consider a masters degree necessary for a person to be qualified for ministry and that the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) requirement and the RCA courses were unnecessary “hoops and hurdles” for those who were ready to be engaged in fruitful ministry.

My response, while trying not to get too defensive, is that the MFCA and its requirements serve an important purpose. Take the CPE requirement for instance; I know very few people who would not benefit significantly from a unit of CPE. There are some people who should not enter ministry without CPE because there are issues and formational pieces they should experience before they can adequately function in ministry and CPE intentionally provides those. Although CPE does not guarantee that all the crucial issues will get dealt with, the chance for successful ministry goes up immensely when a unit has been successfully completed.

I can confidently say that 95% of those who have completed a unit of CPE have found it helpful and would not have wanted to do without it. I can also say that almost a third of the candidates report that CPE was the most important thing in their preparation and they could not imagine doing ministry without having done a unit. More and more candidates are choosing a second unit or a year long residency.

Our requirements aim to prepare the best possible ministers and in some ways they protect both the candidate and the church from disatrous ministry experiences in the future. Adding criminal background checks, requiring sexual ethics seminars, and expecting anti-racism training are all attempts to protect us from catastrophies in ministry. Providing safeguards by educating people in a good exegetical practices, acquainting them with Church history so they learn where and how the mistakes were made in the past make for better prepared and wise pastors. Placing people in systems of accountability and connecting them to solid traditions and practices avoid sects and individuals who distort reality and hurt people as oppossed to healing them.

I believe we are doing good work in the RCA and even though there is always room for improvement and change, it is also important to set standards that help raise the bar and produce qualified leaders.

Eddie Gibbs on "Dealing with Change"

This past week the Classis of California had Dr. Eddie Gibbs speak. His topic was “From Incremental to Discontinuance Change: Thriving in the midst of profound cultural transition.”

Amongst the many things Gibbs said, the following caught my attention:

“Those who are seminary trained have learned to think according to the various ‘disciplines’ in which they were taught and are not able to make the connections. We must begin to think laterally and learn across disciplines.”

“It is high time that seminaries realize that all the information they teach is free on the internet and the role of the seminary is going to change dramatically – starting with a less costly service.”

“A lot of knowledge combined with little ministry practice is a menace – seminary education spends far too much time and energy giving information.”

“There is no longer a place for strategic planning – we need to be involved in ‘strategic thinking,’ beginning every thought with the question ‘What if?’”

“We used to believe that if we got our theology right the church would grow – that was a perilous strategy that has no viable future.”

“It is important that we bridge the gap between a missionless church and churchless mission – we often seem to have one or the other.”

“Re-envisioning change in the “Church” (Ekklessia):
From noun to a verb
From a place to people
From institution to movement
From meeting to community… Organized for innovation.”

Challenges in Theological Education: Insurmountable or Inspirational?

There are numerous challenges and pressures that confront theological education today that will serve to shape it in the future. The observations I will make come from interaction with candidates, faculty and administration at various seminaries.
While working to help develop and prepare individuals to be Christian leaders in the Church and society, the following issues have been brought to my attention:

• Contextual Education: Relevant and realistic learning is demanded by those preparing for ministry – everyone seems to be pursuing a more effective means by which to connect the candidate to the local congregation and its mission.

• The “Price Tag”: The cost of providing quality education has risen dramatically. Candidates have had to incur enormous debt. Most face meager opportunity for paying off these debts without significantly lowering the quality of their lives. The candidates’ standards of living will most likely not reflect those of their parishioners. A number of the candidates in the RCA process come out with debt of $30,000 to $40,000.

• Technology and Distance Learning: The computer, advanced software applications, multi-media resources, internet, and “on demand / regionalized” accessibility to information and teachers has forced seminary and faculty to become available 24/7. The teachers therefore also need to be creatively adept with the latest technological equipment and sophisticated software.

• Packaging Education and Relating to New Values and Sensations: Mega churches, parachurch organizations, and mission organizations have offered ministerial education in new and creative ways – ways that fit the younger generations. Ways that speak the language to the heart and soul of an MTV generation. Willowcreek, Saddleback, YWAM and Young Life are examples of organizations that package education programs for target groups in such a way as to become an alternative, and at times a complement to seminary education. Seminaries have resorted to re-labeling courses such as “Church History I” with a title such as “The Agonies and Ecstasies,“ (Regent College, Vancouver) and a basic ministry course with the title “To Pray Without Ceasing“ (North American Baptist Seminary).

• Lay Commissioned Pastor movements: These movements require specialized programs from seminaries that often go beyond the normal offerings, demanding extraordinary new efforts and resources.

Why Ministry??

This is something I put together for the December Newsletter... I welcome feedback and discussion!

From Church Staffing by Todd Rhoades:

This post comes from the NakedReligion blog... I find the ten reasons that he came up with to be quite intriguing. See what you think...
There is an epidemic occurring right under the nose of church middle judicatories and no one seems to notice. Young pastors (less than five years in the ministry) are leaving in droves. The Lilly Foundation has poured millions of dollars into “Sustaining Pastoral Ministry” initiatives and it’s too soon to tell whether or not their approach is working. Aside from the obvious reasons pastors leave the ministry (sexual impropriety, financial mismanagement, and marital dissolution) here are the top ten reasons why young pastors call it quits:

1. The discontinuity between what they imagined ministry to be and what it actually is too great.
2. A life without weekends sucks.
3. The pay is too low (most pastors in my denomination make less money than a school teacher with five years experience).
4. They are tired of driving ten year old cars while their congregations trade in their cars every two years.
5. Many young pastors are called into difficult congregations that chew pastors up and spit them out because experienced pastors know better.
6. Even though the search committee told them they wanted to reach young people, they didn’t really mean it.
7. When the pastor asked the search committee if they were an “emergent church”, the members of the search committee thought he said “divergent church” and agreed.
8. Nobody told the young pastor that cleaning the toilets was part of the job description.
9. The young pastor’s student loans came due and the amount of money he/she owes on a monthly basis exceeds his/her income.
10. Working at McDonalds has much less stress.
Why do you think young pastors are leaving in the ministry in droves?

COR’S RESPONSE TO TEN REASONS

The reality of the “ten reasons” provided by Todd Rhoades is difficult to argue with. Ministry is not always “a bed of roses.” At the same time, there are many things that can be done to improve those first five years in ministry – especially as part of the preparation process. Please allow me to offer alternatives to what Mr. Rhoades says:

1. There does not have to be such a great discontinuity if the preparation has individuals immersed in ministry as part of a Teaching Church or apprenticeship. When individuals are given ministry responsibilities while being properly supervised and mentored as part of their preparation, the shock of actually ministry is minimized.

2. Those in ministry need to schedule a Sabbath into their week and if at all possible take the same day off as family members: a spouse and school age children need to be considered in what day is regularly taken off. Even if it is Saturday when most pastors experience the “pre-Sunday syndrome,” the time spent with family is crucial.

3. Granted, ministry will never produce millionaires, but, the RCA has a good reputation for being fair in the salaries and benefits it pays. Each classis establishes a minimum salary schedule that is adjusted according to the cost of living annually.

4. When it comes to the cars people drive it is often a choice of priorities – when I attend classis meetings and look at the cars in the parking lot I seldom see ten year old cars and thus surmise that in the RCA many congregations believe that the pastor has the right to live a lifestyle equal to the average congregant.

5. Although I have seen situations where new and young pastors begin ministry in difficult pastorates, there have also been numerous efforts in the RCA to support pastors, both young and old. The BCO requires that new pastors be assigned a mentor for the first two years and many are members of pastoral networks from the very beginning of their ministry.

6. Disconnects between what search committees and congregations say they are looking for in a pastor and what they are really wanting continues to be a dilemma in our system. I believe we are getting better at helping both candidates and churches discern needs and if everyone is willing to do what it takes to meet those needs.

7. Without a doubt, terms such as “emergent church” need to be identified and most of us in the RCA realize we must define what we mean when we use such terms… Then again, the RCA is also hoping to be a diverse church.

8. I am not sure if many pastors are asked to clean toilets, but, I do know that if a person goes into ministry he / she must be prepared to be a servant – those who begin ministry with a servant heart tend to be successful.

9. Student loans are definitely problem for many and there are numerous individuals in the RCA willing to investigate the possibility of improving financial support for those going into ministry. The Classis of Schenectady is leading the way by providing full tuition support for those who go to seminary from their classis (I can see the exodus to Schenectady already!)

10. Obviously, Todd has not worked at MacDonalds… every vocation has its stress and when you work with people through life and death issues the stress levels do tend to go up… But, so does the job satisfaction. When one can go to bed at night and say: “I made a difference in people’s lives,” there is a satisfaction that is hard to equal in other vocations.

In recent years the RCA seminaries and the MFCA have surveyed their graduates and discovered that only a small number have stepped out of ministry. I am not suggesting that the RCA is perfect and has it all figured out, but we are working toward preparing individuals for ministry in 2005 and providing satisfying and exciting settings to work in!

Cor

RCA Standards (Spanish) November 7 - 11, 2005

RCA Standards (Spanish) is being offered November 7 - 11, 2005 at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, California.

Instructor: Rev. Jhonny Alicea-Baez

The schedule will be:

Monday, November 7... 8:30 AM - 12:00; 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday, November 8... 8:30 AM - 12:00; 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday, November 9... 8:30 AM - 12:00; 1:30 PM
Thursday, November 10... 8:30 AM - 12:00; 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Friday, November 7... 8:30 AM - 12:00; 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Accomodations will be at the Quality Inn, Pioneer Blvd. Artesia, CA

Continental Breakfast is at the Quality Inn, Lunch provided at ERC

Tuition is $350.00