I. Course Description
This course addresses the important question: What constitutes a biblical call to the work of the ministry? Topics include: six wrong reasons to enter the gospel ministry, four essential elements of the call, and the mental, spiritual and practical gifts required for the pastoral office. Pastor Al Martin has served as elder at Trinity Baptist Church of Montville, NJ since 1967.
II. Course Mentor
This is a mentor led course. If you are taking this course as directed studies, you must have a mentor to successfully complete the course requirements. A list of available mentors for this course and their contact information is posted in the Student Area. If you have any difficulty arranging for a mentor, please contact the Study Center Director.
III. Attendance and Participation
This course meets for 10 sessions. Students will have 14 weeks to complete all the sessions (from October 13, 2008 to January 31, 2009).
Your participation in the course will be determined largely by your contact time with your mentor. You may work through the course material online at your own pace, but to fulfill the attendance requirement for the course, you must stay in contact with your mentor and log at least 10 meetings with your mentor (one for each session of the course). If you meet long enough to sufficiently cover two sessions, your mentor may give you credit for two meetings. It will be up to your mentor to determine at the end of the course if you have fulfilled the attendance requirement and sufficiently covered the course material.
If extenuating circumstances arise and you will not be able to complete the course in the allotted time, please contact the Study Center Director.
IV. Required Texts
One text is required for this course:
• Lectures to My Students by C. H. Spurgeon
One additional text is recommended for this course:
• The Christian Ministry by Charles Bridges
Additional reading assignments will be provided online.
V. Outline of Sessions
The 10 sessions of this course are as follows:
1. Introduction to the Pastoral Ministry
2. Three Principles and Three Errors
3. Wrong Reasons for Entering the Pastoral Ministry
4. Desire for the Office
5. Spiritual Experience
6. Spiritual and Mental Gifts
7. Gifts of Utterance (Part 1)
8. Gifts of Utterance (Part 2)
9. Gifts of Leadership
10. Providential Opportunity
VI. Method of Instruction
Teaching methods will include:
• Listening to audio lectures with power point slides online
• Study Guides for each Session (covering the material from the reading and lecture)
• Discussion of course material with your mentor
• Feedback from your mentor on course assignments
VII. Course Assignments
All assignments for the course are outlined on the session pages and in the study guides.
Weekly Assignments:
Each session will include the following:
1) Reading Assignments
2) Discussion Questions over the Reading Assignments
3) Discussion Questions over the Lecture
4) Major Project: Elder Examination (See below)
Please complete all the readings for the session and print out a hard copy of your answers to the discussion questions so you are prepared for your meetings with your mentor. You will receive credit for doing your weekly assignments once you have met and covered the material with your mentor.
Major Project:
Your Major Project for this course will be completing an Examination for the Office of Elder:
In each session you will answer questions that might be asked of an elder candidate by a congregation or a church nominating committee. The questionaire is in 10 parts (one for each session). The questions in the 10-part examination were compiled over the course of 15 years from elder examinations given at Heritage Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas. Questions came from Nominating Committee meetings as well as Congregational meetings to interview candidates for office. More detailed instructions will be provided in the course Study Guides.
Your mentor will assign specific due dates for your projects. All course work must be complete to the satisfaction of your mentor by January 31, 2009.