Continuing Education/Study Leave for Officers
Do you know what the moderator of your session is doing for continuing education? Annually, sessions recommend terms of call for congregational approval. They include a separate budget line for continuing education expenses and usually a study leave period for each church staff person. Ideally the pastor/moderator of session consults with the elders about the continuing education experience being planned. When the session’s moderator models a well-planned continuing education experience, the church benefits. This is especially true if the elders hear the clear rationale for the planned study and adopt the model.
From Idea to Reality
The next question is seldom asked: What have the elders or deacons planned for their annual continuing education experiences? A year-round study plan for session members and an officers’ retreat or two a year is a good place to begin.
(See Continuing Study Ideas in ideas! magazine, volume 4, issue 2, Winter 2004–05)
Attending presbytery-sponsored leader development days should be a must for everyone. These events will take on more of an air of planned continuing education if the elders and deacons spend some meeting time deciding who needs to attend particular workshops to strengthen the church’s work and witness.
What are you, as an elder or deacon, planning to do to further your knowledge and ability to function as a church leader?
Course Selection
I think I heard someone ask, “How do I know what’s available out there?”
Course offerings by some of the best leaders in the denomination are available year-round at our national conference centers and as part of the continuing education departments of our seminaries. This information is a phone call or a computer click away.*
A course offering does not need to have “For Elders” or “For Deacons” in the title. The following scenario for a continuing education experience demonstrates how a course could expand a church officer’s horizons.
“Mr. Elder” is a “three familiar hymns from The Worshipbook and a biblically based sermon” kind of worshiper who is now on the worship committee. A group in the church has requested that in addition to lining up replacements during the pastor’s vacation, the session explore and experiment with an alternative worship service. Mr. Elder would be much better equipped to address this opportunity creatively had he attended the Stony Point Center event called “Jazz and the Church—Take Four.” This gathering of musicians, music fans, church leaders, choir directors, and “all creative people” experienced a Soul Jazz Festival, heard presentations from noted scholars and church musicians, and attended workshops to share ideas about jazz in worship.
This kind of learning experience provides models and ideas that not only inform good decisions, but can open Mr. Elder to new ways to enable members to worship God meaningfully in emerging and still Reformed ways.
Before It’s in the Budget
I think I heard someone say “Nice idea, but I don’t have the money or the time to go all the way to Stony Point Center in New York.” As an alternative, here are two cost-effective ideas for continuing education.
Visit the Presbytery Office and Resource Center.
•
All but a few presbyteries have a resource center. Make an appointment with the executive presbyter and/or the resource center director. Tell them that you want to develop a personal growth plan as a church officer. Your goal is to develop a reading, CD, and videotape listing of topics a church leader should see. Decide if you want to grow in general knowledge or to strengthen a particular aspect of your life as a Christian leader.
In addition to the published resources they will help you identify, you will have formed a closer relationship with governing body staff dedicated to supporting congregational ministries. These staff members also know what other officers are doing. As they put you in touch with others, you will have opportunities for mutual support, and thus avoid wasting resources and energy.
• If this is not “out of the box” continuing education, it’s at least “on the road” continuing education. When you travel and worship in a different congregation, intentionally seek out an elder or deacon. Your educational goal is to find answers to a few prepared questions. What do you need to know from other officers?
Include a how-to question such as “How are you addressing outreach to new members and their orientation and instruction?”
Include a personal growth question such as “Do you have theological discussions or Bible studies as part of your board meetings?” “What was most helpful to you?”
Ask a motivational question such as “What is the most exciting part of your work as an elder or deacon?”
|
