Summer time, Summer time, Sum Sum Summer time

Church Leadership Center Schools often slow down in the summer time. It's as if it is okay to stop learning and to live the lyrics of the 1958 classic, "Summertime, Summertime" by the Jamies, or "In the Summer Time" by Andy Williams (1960). If you are too young to remember these or need a dose of nostalgia, for the first, click here and for the second, click here. Church Leader ship Center continues with our typical roster of courses. Check these out and forward this email to a lay leader for her or his continuing education. Many of the courses are available through distance learning. Leadership and Ministry The course provides an overview of leadership and ministry, biblical teachings on leadership, examples from Scripture pointing to leadership practices, and the New Testament call for leadership in the Church. Specific topics include: leading the faith community, calling and equipping, and accountable relationships. Meets six Thursday evenings (July 17, July 31, August 14, August 28, September 11, September 25) from 6:30-8:30pm. Location to be determined. Pastoral Care and Counseling From New Testament beginnings, "pastors" were uniquely gifted elders in congregations, functioning in the powerful tradition of shepherds who led and cared for human flocks, and taking their ecclesiastical cue from Jesus, who declared himself to the Good Shepherd. The course provides an overview of pastoral responsibilities and disciplines. Wednesday mornings (10-12 am); five discussion sessions on every other week, beginning on July 16. Online discussion group. RCA History and Missions This mini-class of three sessions is about more than a history lesson. It is about the legacy of faithfulness and struggle inherited by the Reformed Church and her ministries. The design of the class is simple; i.e. to appreciate the stories of the Reformed Church in America in the past, to see how those stories have shaped our present, and how they can inform the ministry of our churches/organizations today. This is about far more than history- it is about getting engaged in God's mission today. Monday evenings; three discussion sessions during July – August. Online discussion group. RCA Standards and Government A survey of the Constitution of the Reformed Church in America in the areas of church government and theological standards (creeds and confessions). Participants will demonstrate a functional understanding and adherence to the government and Standards of the Reformed Church in America . They should be able to show an understanding of and appropriate adherence to the creeds and confessions (Apostles' Creed, Nicene, Creed, Athanasian Creed, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort, and Belhar Confession). Meets late June – early September. Spiritual Formation This course, through selected readings and directed spiritual exercises, introduces the spiritual disciplines and the formation of Christian character. Participants are guided in reading Scripture for personal application, being attentive in prayer, and co-operating with the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification as these relate to life and ministry. Five bi-weekly discussion sessions. Meeting times and location to be determined. Participation Details -Please pre-register by June 16, 2014 by sending an email to Mark Veldt: veldtmark@gmail.com, 616-366-2954. Course meeting date and time options will be discussed with participants. Classes begin throughout the Summer. -Work load: 5 CEUs (50 hours), meeting 3 – 5  times for 1 -  2 hours each time. -Delivery: small group, phone and internet conferencing, (e.g., Skype, Google Hangout) or guided study -The cost for each course is $300 (with the exception of RCA History and Missions, which is $150), to be paid prior to the first class meeting. Send check to: RCA Synod of the Great Lakes, Attn: Alison DeBoer, 4500 60th St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512. Church Leadership Center works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here.

Dark Glasses

Why did the teacher wear dark glasses? Because her students were all so bright! For all of us who "finished" our education recently or long ago, perhaps this is the year to rethink our truancy and develop a plan for continuing education. Thomas Rollins remembers the grind of Harvard Law School and recalls being surprised by one of his professors who said that one day they would wish to be back in a place like this. As he later crammed for a Federal Rules of Evidence exam, Rollins felt woefully unprepared and managed to obtain videotaped lectures of a noted authority in the field. "I dreaded what seemed certain to be boring," Rollins said, planting himself in front of the TV and playing all 10 hours nearly non-stop. To his amazement, the lectures "were outrageously insightful, funny, and thorough." When he felt the wisp of educational nostalgia resurging, in later life, Rollins founded The Teaching Company (www.teach12.com), capturing the best university lecturers in many disciplines on audio and video recordings. My friend and I first bought "Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition" together (I think we each paid $20 to get it on sale), and I thank Rollins ever since, every time I'm in my car. These stimulating lectures have broadened my horizons and deepened my understanding of so many dimensions of human existence as I drive. Religion, history and philosophy are my draws, although I constantly dabble in all disciplines. Professor David Zarefsky's final lecture on "Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words" brought tears to my eyes. I've since added The Modern Scholar lectures of Recorded Books (www.modernscholar.com) to my ear candy collection. Though the lecturers are less consistently out-of-the-ballpark-great as those of The Teaching Company (and sometimes there are obvious editing mistakes), these on sale are also more than worth the price. Listening to Timothy Schutt recounting the "Wars That Made the Western World: The Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War, and the Punic Wars" is about as fascinating and intriguing as human communication can get. Marvelous! While these two companies are my favorites for educational stimulation, a host of resources can be found free of charge online. YouTube, the great video broadcaster, has created a separate address (www.youtube.com/edu) for college and university lectures. The sheer volume of presentations available is daunting, but any beginners will quickly find fascination simply by clicking on the "Most Viewed" videos. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is to be commended as a leader in the field of online open classrooms. While the focus is obviously largely on the sciences, the courses found at http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/are incredibly interesting, even for non-scientists. Most engaging for its truly broad diversity of scintillating presentations of all kinds on all topics, with none over 20 minutes in length, is TED.com. A dose each day will make you the most interesting conversationalist on the block. Even if you find yourself on a summer break from education, true learning never ends. That is what we know at CLC. We are in the business of training in season and out of season. Year round. Every month. In all places. Learning cannot be confined to a few classes in a few schools. It is a life discipline. Especially when it comes to learning the wisdom and ways of the Kingdom of God. Partner with us. Church Leadership Center works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here. Special thanks to Dr. Wayne Brouwer for writing the above article. He is CLC's theological editor, professor at Hope College, and adjunct professor at Western Theological Seminary.