Tag Archives: clergy

Some thoughts on bivocational ministry

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Back then (almost 15 years ago),
we weren’t talking much about bivocational ministries.

Bivocational chuck lawless (2)I came across this blog from Chuck Lawless on Tom Rainer’s site. He provides some compelling reasons for promoting bivocational ministry. BVM is nothing new to pastors among racial/ethnic and poorer communities, along with certain streams of pentecostal and charismatic churches.

For me the most telling sentence is the one quoted above. Something dramatic has happened in the last 15-20 years. The landscape of the historic mainline and mainstream evangelical churches has shifted dramatically, as a part of the much larger and broader changes taking place across our modern/postmodern world. Those are too many to catalog here. What we do need to recognize is how significant the shift has been and how it impacts clergy incomes and relationships to congregations.

I graduated with my Master of Divinity in 1996, and it never occurred to any of us (at least not straight white guys – no, there’s also not room to unpack all of that here) that we would struggle to find a life giving and meaningful ministry staff position where we could support ourselves and our families. Only a few years later and the majority of seminary students ought to be thinking seriously about a parallel or alternative source of income, and one preferably that they can also see as a meaningful contribution to the world and God’s reign.

Questions:

  • How are we helping current and prospective seminary students prepare themselves for this new reality with hope and expectation, not a defeatist “well, if I have to…” attitude?
  • How are we helping congregations think differently about their expectations visavis the roles of clergy and laity in ministry leadership?
  • How are we helping current clergy adjust who, like myself, were not trained or prepared for any career options outside of a local congregation?

 

Exploring the bounds of truth

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May God give us strength…

“There is no class of people upon earth who can less afford to let the development of truth run ahead of them than you. You cannot wrap yourselves in professional mystery…you cannot go back and become apostles of the dead past, driveling after ceremonies, and letting the world do the thinking and studying. There must be a new spirit infused into the ministry….We must be more industrious in investigation, more honest in dedication, and more willing to take the truth in its new fullness.” Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Yale, 1871. (Niebuhr, Williams, Ahlstrom 1980, 257-8)

Interesting how the arguments of our own day often mirror those of earlier ages – in this case the period between 1860 and 1900. This debate is nothing new. One could argue that a similar struggle existed between the Sadducees and Pharisees who believed that the cannon of truth was tightly proscribed (in the case of the Sadducees) and more open to continuing revelation (in the case of the Pharisees). Of course, even the Pharisees wanted to place a limit on that revelation that found Jesus’ own teachings distinctly on the outside.

The challenge becomes, as it has always been, how to hold to and honor truths of the past while also remaining open to new and continually unfolding insights and receptions of revelation from beyond human intellect and creativity. And for clergy and congregational leaders, how to stand in the midst of that tension, with it also existing internally in the heart and mind of the individual leader, and facilitate a process of dialogue, mutual appreciation and growth in maturity toward wholeness. May God give us strength.

 

Ministry Training Program Courses

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Download pdf flyer here: Ministry Training Program – Fall 2013
Introduction to Leadership Development & Spiritual Formation
(Two courses – Offered in Dallas)

Leadership Development – September 6-7
Click here to visit the course home page.

This survey course provides an overview of congregational leadership, including both organizational systems and dynamics as well as reflection on the person and functioning of the leader. Participants will reflect upon their own leadership style and how to best leverage it in the places where they serve. Students will also have opportunity to practice and discuss different approaches to situations. By the end of the course students should be able to articulate how they lead and identify areas for future study and growth. Session Topics:
Biblical Leadership Models; Leadership Theory; The Person of the Leader; Transformation Principles; Crisis and Conflict; Faith Formation as Leadership Development: Teaching as Leading; Leading Children and Youth; Sharing Leadership & Equipping; Missional Church Leadership; Where do you lead?; Strategic Planning; Becoming the Leader God made you to be. (SL MTP – Leadership Development Introduction – Course Outline)

Leadership Development – September 6-7
Click here to visit the course home page.

This is a foundational course in Christian spiritual formation. The primary goal is to help participants develop a deeper spiritual life by exploring these practices, their roots, and the interconnections among them. Students will have opportunity to experience, individually and in groups, various practices of prayer and other spiritual disciplines. This course lays the ground work for a series of future courses that will explore in greater depth various aspects of spiritual formation, for both the participants’ personal lives as well as their ability to nurture and guide the spiritual formation of others. Session topics: Finding Your Heart’s True Home; The Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament; Eastern Wisdom, Western Wisdom; Reformation, Reformed and Restoration Insights; Charismatic and Pentecostal Insights; Receiving the gifts of global spirituality; The New Monasticism and Missional Spiritualities; Spiritual Formation throughout the Ministries of the Church; Spiritual Direction as a part of your ministry; Psychology and Spirituality; Spirituality and Health; We are in God and God is in us; Spiritual Discernment. (SL MTP – Spiritual Formation Introduction – Course Outline)

Training events will be held at Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Cost is $229 including lunch, refreshments and course workbook.
For out-of-town students, we have arranged a special group rate at a local hotel.
Schedule for both will be: Friday 6-9 and Saturday 8:30-4:30
followed by 4 weekly conference calls with all participants
(Discounts available for registering for both courses at once,
and for 3+ registrations from the same organization)

Additionally, a retreat will be scheduled at Disciples Crossing in Athens in mid fall to include practice of spiritual disciplines and reflection on leadership planning for 2014. Cost tbd will include room and board.
TO REGISTER – CONTACT:

Rev. Ken G. Crawford, ordained minister and leadership development coach and consultant.
Ken@SynchronousLife.com ~ 214-288-1663 Linkedin, Facebook & Twitter: KenGCrawford.
Additional resources @ http://www.SynchronousLife.com and KenGCrawfordCoaching on Facebook.

Please visit http://www.TransformingTheChurch.org for details on these and other courses offered by Christian College and the Atlanta United Divinity Center

http://www.TheDisciplesCollege.org ~ http://www.DisciplesDivinityCenter.org

Ministry Training Program
About the course and instructor

Rev. Ken G. Crawford has spent more than 20 years as a ministry leader in congregations, non-profits, hospitals and colleges. Originally from Philadelphia, he was raised in Texas, where he now lives with his wife Laura and their two children. He has been active in Disciples, Presbyterian and UMC churches, and has served as a Disciples of Christ minister for 20 years. He plays guitar well enough to lead worship at camp, where he first received his call to ministry. His favorite place is at the beach with his family. He loves sailing and hiking, and writes poetry as a spiritual practice.

Ken’s passion in ministry is to support leaders as they pursue the deepest and fullest expressions of who they are in Christ, for the sake of the church as a vessel and vehicle for God’s transforming love. He is currently pursuing a DMin at Perkins, SMU, in Missional Church Leadership and Spiritual Formation. His MDiv is from Brite, TCU, and his bachelors from Texas Tech. Synchronous Life is a leadership development organization rooted in a tri-fold approach that integrates best practices in organizational leadership with emotional and relational vitality and grounds these on a deeply formative spiritual foundation.

These courses will satisfy, in part, educational requirements for non-seminary trained candidates under the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Apprenticeship Path to Ordination and for those seeking to be Commissioned in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  All courses are developed and delivered with the intent of preparing candidates for standing in the area of competency set forth.  The courses will be taught in a way that makes them accessible and valuable to individuals from other Christian traditions as well. Future courses will expand on these themes by narrowing the focus to particular aspects of the field.  All courses utilize the ONLINE Learning Platform of http://www.TransformingTheChurch.org  and are provided through a “blended” format of onsite learning (one intensive class session of a Friday evening and all day Saturday) and online learning (weekly class meetings through conference calls/webinars following the weekend intensive). More information about the curriculum can be found at http://www.disciplesdivinitycenter.org

Our guarantee being offered by this program is that students will engage with the instructor and peers around a variety of topics vital to healthy and fruitful ministry. We make no other guarantees related to other ordaining or certifying bodies. Students are encouraged to request a copy of the course prospectus if they wish it to be reviewed by such a body in advance.

Please note: Courses are intended to serve a diverse ecumenical audience. Content is not specific to one denominational perspective or experience. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own tradition and experience, articulate that in the group, and engage in fruitful dialogue for mutual benefit.
Please contact Rev. Crawford for further conversation about these or other programs.
214-288-1663 ~ Ken@SynchronousLife.com ~ http://www.SynchronousLife.com