Living Hope Community Fellowship

1. Living Hope Community Fellowship Ministerial Training July, 2012

2. The Practice of Public Ministry in the 21st Century • Christian ministry has its roots in the ministry of Jesus and his apostles; and Spirit-filled ministry, in its earliest stages , is described in the book of Acts. • The twenty-first century Church faces the challenge of determining the nature of Spirit- led ministry that is relevant to the new century. • In today’s church, pastors, ministers and leaders must be able to perform specific functions and duties; have specific knowledge competencies, and have personal characteristics that will help them be successful in ministry. • The model for the 21st century church should be the ministry recorded in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts.

3. The Practice of Public Ministry: Various Expressions & Functions • Preaching • Teaching • Evangelistic Outreach • Missions • Music, Praise & Worship, Sound • Drama/Media Ministry • Pastoral Care Ministry-counseling • Administrative Ministry- such as budgeting, office management, record keeping, and personal accountability

4. The Practice of Public Ministry: Various Expressions & Functions continued… • Ministry of Helps = acts of service in the local church and/or community; Teen Cafe’, College Ministry, After School Program, Food Pantry, Clothes Closet, Homeless Shelter, Low Income Housing for the Elderly, Free Legal Services, Substance Abuse Program • Visitation Ministry-for those in the hospital, nursing home, or who are home bound • Institutional Ministry-include military chaplaincy, health-care chaplaincies and industrial chaplaincies

5. The Practice of Public Ministry:Knowledge Competencies • Must know scripture • Must know basic theology or the doctrines of the church • Must know the history of the church • Must know church polity - Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of the church and the authority relationships between churches. • Must have good communication skills • Must have good human relations skills

6. The Practice of Public Ministry:Personal Characteristics • Self-awareness-knowing one’s own gifts for personal ministry • Openness to other people- willingness to relate to persons without regard to race, color or social status • Trustworthiness – regarding all pastoral conversations of a confidential nature as a trust between the person concerned and God • Responsible & self-controlled • Openness to growth • Loyalty and dependability • Commitment to God

7. The Practice of Public Ministry:Personal Characteristics continued… • Being an organized person • Personal relationship with Jesus Christ • Practicing spiritual disciplines • Sensitivity to human needs • Being a trustworthy person • Willingness to be held accountable • A passion for the sacredness of life • Integration of vocation with personal and family well-being, and lifestyle

8. The Practice of Public Ministry:Personal Characteristics continued… • Remember the 4 C’s – Calling, Character, Competence, and Cultural Relevance • You must have godly character - you can be called, but if you do not have godly character, you will not last long in your calling; the Fruit of the Spirit is the character base from which I exercise the Gifts of the Spirit. • Scriptures: Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:6-8;

9. Preparing for Public Ministry • You must take a holistic approach to ministry • You must develop your body, mind and spirit • Neglect in any one of these areas can cause problems in the other areas-open up vulnerable spots for the enemy to come in • You must be physically fit in order to bear under the pressures and demands of ministry • You must be mentally, emotionally and intellectually stable • You must be spiritually-filled: you cannot do ministry without the help of the Holy Spirit • Scriptures: 1 Thes 5:23; 1 Cor 6:19; 1 Cor 2:16; Rm 12:2; Phil 2:5

10. What It Means To Be A Servant Leader • (Mark 10:45) - For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.“ • To be a servant requires sacrifice – you will have to give up some things (time; money; wisdom; knowledge & skills; gifts & talents; houses & cars; jobs, positions and titles) • You may have to leave some people and some things behind in order to become the servant leader God has called you to be • Scriptures: Rm 12:1; Eph 5:2; Phil 2:17

11. Practice and Service Ministry to Families – there may be cultural misunderstandings regarding marriage and family; is marriage a contract or a covenant? Contracts run out; family life and cohabitation are the same; Childbearing and surrogate mothering are the same Ministry to Women – the may have trust issues, substance abuse issues, incest, child abuse, rape, molestation as a child or of a child, wife abuse, infidelity issues Ministry to Children – they need someone to listen to them, someone to look up to, someone to confirm and correct them, Institutional Ministry – Military, Hospitals, Hospice, Mental Health Hospitals, and Prison chaplaincies

12. Training and Equipping • (Ephesians 4:11-12) - And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13. Training and Equipping Remember the 4 C’s - Calling, Character, Competence, and Cultural Relevance You must be a lifelong learner keep up on top of things Keep reading; create your own scholarly community Volunteer- get hands on training with the benefit of having someone beside you to help lead and guide you Find a Mentor- someone who is already doing what you aspire to do

14. Training and Equipping continuation… Go back to school if it is needed for your calling Education open doors; education does matter Learn, grow, develop, mature in the things of God Degrees make a difference; degrees open nations It’s not enough to just have passion, you must be competent enough to address the issues of your day. Scriptures: 2 Timothy 2:15; Ezra 7:10; John 5:39; James 3;1

15. Christian Ethics Ministerial self awareness and congruence were important to the early church fathers. • You can’t put straight in others what is warped in yourself (Athanasius) • If a man’s deeds is not in harmony with his prayer, he labors in vain (Black Moses, a 3rd century African ascetic) • What is this harmony between practice and prayer (The Brother) • We should no longer do things against which we pray (The Old Man) • While he is obliged to speak what is good to those under his charge, he must first observe matters of which he speaks (Gregory the Great) Thomas C. Oden, Classical Pastoral Care, vols. 1-4, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987-94). Quoted by: Thomson K. Mathew, Ministry Between Miracles: Caring for Hurting People in the Power of the Holy Spirit, (Fairfax: Xulon Press, 2002).

16. Making Ethical Decisions • Gather the facts • Determine the ethical issues • What principles have a bearing on the case? • List the alternatives • Compare the alternatives with the principles • Consider the consequences • Pray, Pray, Pray- seek God’s guidance • Make a decision

17. Ethical Issues of the 21st Century • Abortion • Reproductive Technologies • Genetic Technologies and Human Cloning • Physician Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia • Capital Punishment • Sexual Ethics; Same Sex Marriages • The Morality of War