So
I am creating a new class as part of my duties as the Pastoral Ministries
chair. It is supposed to be the second of two classes dedicated to pastoral
training. That isn’t to say that we have only these two classes on the topic.
We have a couple of very good classes in leadership training in addition to
many other classes in the other biblical disciplines. My classes are more
focused on the elements exclusive to church ministers.
Having
said that the problem is, ‘What in the world do I put in this class?!’ I have a
few thoughts on the topic. First I could come up with a list of all possible
topics in the field, everything from pastoral counselling to spiritual warfare.
Then I could sort those in order of priority based on what I think is most
urgent and what is least likely to be taught in the other classes at PRBI. I
have a rough list of all the leadership topics taught at the school thanks to
my predecessor, so that will save a lot of time. Finally I would decide which
of the two pastoral classes each topic would fit and how much time it would
take.
Sounds
simple, right? Now all I have to do is come up with a huge list and give it
some kind of priority. After a number of years being a prof, I have learned
that I am not the only one to think of these sorts of things so I am looking
for help. I plan to scope out the related classes of other Bible schools, check
out the latest books on the topic and ask my pastor buddies to contribute their
thoughts.
If
you have any thoughts or suggestions, let me know. I will post my progress as I
gather more info.
