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Growing Church Leaders final cover image
Posted in Editorial on November 3, 2010
I hope to approve the final galley proof later today, which means it should be available for purchase at Amazon et al within a couple weeks. Expected retail price is $25 — not bad for a 200 page bible study.
Introduction: The Road to Holiness
Posted in Editorial on October 8, 2010
“Holy, Holy, Holy”: Growing Church Leaders
Introduction: The Road to Holiness
They [the four living creatures] do not rest day or night, saying:
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!” – Revelations 4:8b
I did not intend to write about holiness. My goal was to develop a Bible study for training Christian leaders.
Read the rest of this entry »
Why Growing Church Leaders?
Posted in Editorial on October 8, 2010
It is time for a revolution in how the church nurtures new leaders.
As Jim Downing of the Navigators points out, Jesus trained his disciples by imparting:
- Knowledge, through teaching
- Character, by modeling and example
- Skills, through guided experience
While knowledge can be learned anywhere, character and skills are best developed as part of a community that lives, worships, and serves together – i.e., a church.
That is why we developed Growing Church Leaders is a way for mature leaders to train the next generation of leaders in their churches to think biblically, live wisely, and serve faithfully. We encourage pastors to meet weekly with a small group of “faithful men and women, who will in turn teach others,” to lead them in:
- Memorizing bible verses
- Reading from classic Christian books
- Leading devotions, typically from the Psalms or Proverbs
- Studying entire chapters of the Bible, verse by verse
- Exploring how Scripture applies to their lives
- Responding with repentance, action, and worship
Our prayer is that every growing church will invest in establishing future leaders on a solid foundation of biblical truth, character formation, and spiritual discipline. For that reason, this material is available as a free download at http://2transform.us/grow under a Creative Commons “share alike” license, as well as in book form. This allows you to adapt it to the needs of your church or denomination, as long as you allow others to do the same.
May God use His Word to build His Body for His Kingdom!
In Christ,
Ernest N. Prabhakar
Kingsway Community Church
San Jose, California, U.S.A.
May, 2010
Back Cover Copy for Growing Church Leaders
Posted in Editorial on October 7, 2010
Growing Church Leaders is a way for those who are mature to train the next generation of leaders in their churches to think biblically, live wisely, and serve faithfully. This course is designed to help senior leaders guide a small group of faithful men and women in:
* Memorizing Bible verses
* Reading classic Christian books
* Leading devotions, typically from Psalms or Proverbs
* Studying entire chapters of the Bible, verse by verse
* Exploring how Scripture applies to their lives
* Responding with repentance, action, and worship
Our prayer is that every growing church will invest in establishing future leaders on a solid foundation of biblical truth, Christian character, and spiritual discipline—i.e., practical holiness.
What Christian Leaders Are Saying
• “You have produced a Bible study magna cum laude.” —Luis Bush, Transform World.
• “Impressed with the quality of content and presentation … you are to be congratulated on a job well done!” —Barney Coombs, Salt and Light Ministries International
• “I really like the format, and it is well written for easy reading and good learning. I wish you well in this whole venture, which I believe will be of great benefit to the Body of Christ.” —Brian Watts, King’s Online Bible School
• “Ernie remained faithful to the teachings entrusted to him while presenting them in his own unique dialogue format. I enjoyed teaching the material in this book and look forward to our next class.” —John Isaacs, Kingsway Community Church
ERNEST PRABHAKAR is a ninth-generation Christian and second-generation immigrant from India. His ancestors converted from Hinduism in the early 1700s at the dawn of the Protestant missionary movement. His family immigrated to Chicago in 1967 a few months before he was born. He was raised and confirmed in the Lutheran Church, where his parents continue to be active in lay ministry.
Ernest holds degrees in physics from both Caltech and MIT, though for the last decade he has worked as a product manager for a large technology company in Silicon Valley. This book represents both the scientist’s desire to elegantly represent eternal truth and the marketer’s passion to communicate timely facts that engage the emotions and the will.
He and his wife Sandhya live with their two children in Santa Clara, California. They attend Kingsway Community Church in San Jose, where Ernest serves as a junior elder. You can often find him online at http://2transform.us/ and http://twitter.com/DrErnie/.
Immigrant, Physicist, Storyteller, Transformational Christian
Posted in Editorial on September 5, 2010
[Autobiographical Blurb for the book jacket of Growing Church Leaders]
Ernest Prabhakar is a ninth-generation Christian and second-generation immigrant from India. His ancestors converted from Hinduism in the early 1700′s at the dawn of the Protestant missionary movement. His family emigrated to Chicago in 1967 a few months before he was born. He was raised and confirmed in the Lutheran church, where his parents continue to be active in lay ministry.
Ernest holds degrees in Physics from both Caltech and MIT, though for the last decade he has worked as a product manager for a large technology company in Silicon Valley. This book represents both the scientist’s desire to elegantly represent eternal truth and the marketer’s passion to communicate timely facts that engage the emotions and the will.
He and his wife Sandhya live with their two children in Santa Clara, California. They attend Kingsway Community Church in San Jose, where Ernest serves as a junior elder. You can often find him online at http://2transform.us/ and http://twitter.com/DrErnie/.
Marital Dispute Resolution Process
Posted in Editorial on May 31, 2010
The goal of this process is to help you build the habits and trust necessary to safely and consistently resolve conflict in your marriage. Please review this together, then sign and date it. You are of course free to amend this by mutual consent at any time, but I encourage you to try it exactly as written at least once, to get the ball rolling.
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About Growing Church Leaders
Posted in Editorial on March 31, 2010
Growing Church Leaders is a tool for pastors and others in active ministry who want to nurture the next generation of leaders to:
- think biblically
- live wisely
- serve faithfully
Each of those three topics is covered in a separate module of twelve lessons each. Every lesson includes:
- scripture to memorize
- assigned readings from classic Christian books
- devotional time, typically from Psalms or Proverbs
- interlinear bible study covering an entire chapter
- discussion questions
- RAW (Repent, Act, Worship) challenges
The goal of all this is to teach theology, character formation, and christian disciplines in context. Specifically, in the context of:
- the whole counsel of Scripture
- existing pastoral relationships
- the local church
- loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength
Our prayer is that existing leaders will use this as a vehicle to pass their values and vision on to the next generation, by meeting on a weekly basis for nine months with “faithful men and women, who will in turn pass it on to others.”
To that end, this course is also available for free at <http://2transform.us/grow> under a Creative Commons license, allowing you to customize and adapt it as needed (as long as you allow others to do the same).
GCL A.6 Father’s Kingdom: His World, His Image
Posted in Leadership on March 3, 2010
In Which God Creates His World, and Our Place In It
The overriding theme of our journey has been exploring what it means to be “baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Having dealt (however superficially) with the ontological aspects of that “name”, we now focus on the narrative aspects.
In particular, we will focus on the arc of “creation corruption and redemption” found throughout scripture (and literature), as manifested through the persons of the Trinity. Starting with the Father, and Creation…
Memory Verse: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” — Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
GCL A.7 Man’s Rebellion: His Law, Our Sin
Posted in Leadership on March 3, 2010
In Which We Reject God’s Dominion, And Pay The Price
When God created the world, He gave us as humans dominion over all the plants and animals. But it was not an unconditional grant: rather, we have a responsibility to take His already “very good” creation to the next level, by filling the earth with His image.
And if we fail in that responsibility, the price is high…
Memory Verse: “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.” — Psalm 19:9 (NKJV)
GCL A.8 Christ’s Salvation: His Pain, Our Gain
Posted in Leadership on March 3, 2010
In Which We Receive the Gospel, And Are Saved By It
Our series so far — indeed, the first half of human history — is but a prelude to the coming of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have the word of God made flesh, the perfect revelation of God’s character, a tangible representative of the Trinity, and a reminder of what we were created to be.
Yet even more glorious than all that: Christ is Our Lord, and has become our much-needed Savior…
Memory Verse: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” — 1 Corinthians 15:22 (NKJV)
GCL A.9 Spirit’s Conviction: Connect, Chastise, Convey
Posted in Leadership on March 2, 2010
In Which Jesus Sends the Comforter, and We Are Convicted By Him
This week we move from the Father and the Son to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This also continues our theme of God restoring His Image by saving us from our rebellion. And as usual, there is a heavy price to be paid…
Memory Verse: “And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment “ — John 16:1 (NKJV)
GCL A.10 Soul’s Sanctification: His Call, Our Destiny
Posted in Leadership on February 27, 2010
In Which We Are Set Apart For Obedience And Suffering, To Become Holy
This week we round out our discussion on salvation and conviction by focusing on sanctification and holiness, words that include both being “set apart” and “made righteous.” The overall idea is forming God’s character and purpose in humanity the way He originally intended, before we rebelled against Him.
The process of sanctification is central to our calling as disciples and leaders, yet often poorly understood. Let us dig into God’s word to explore what all it involves…
Memory Verse: “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” — 1 Peter 1:15 (NKJV)
GCL A.11 Christ’s Body: The Church
Posted in Leadership on February 25, 2010
In Which We Become the Church, As We Grow Into Christ Our Head Via His Gifts
Continuing the theme of Sanctification, we explore how we are discipled into the name of Christ through His body — the Father’s principle vehicle for forming His Kingdom, by His Spirit. Specifically, we see how the fact that we serve One God requires us to worship Him as One Church.
Memory Verse: “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” — Ephesians 4:16 (NKJV)
GCL A.12 Christ’s Return: His Judgement, Our Reward
Posted in Leadership on February 24, 2010
In Which Christ Comes Back to Judge and Remake the Earth, and We Receive Our Reward
The End. Christ’s Return is the completion of our theology. Faith will be made sight, all nations will bow before Him, and we will dwell in the fulness of the Father’s eternal presence as His kingdom comes at last. Our sin will be no more, for the Spirit’s work of salvation and sanctification is finished as His bride is conformed to His character.
Though not everyone will be happy about it…
Memory Verse: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’” — Revelation 21:3 (NKJV)
Growing Church Leaders: Foundational Bible Studies for the Next Generation
Posted in Editorial on February 3, 2010
Thanks to Andrew and others for their feedback on rebranding the LEAD class.
My current best thinking is:
- Title: Growing Church Leaders
- Subtitle: Foundational Bible Studies for the Next Generation
- Volumes:
- Think Biblically
- Live Wisely
- Serve Faithfully
I like the idea that we are encouraging existing leaders to teach a new generation that is “Biblical, Wise, and Faithful.”
My only regret is that it doesn’t have a useful “short name” or acronym. “GCL: FBS-NG” isn’t nearly as clever as LEAD!, though the title is much more searchable and self-explanatory.
Anyone have any better ideas?
Rebranding the LEAD Class
Posted in Editorial on January 30, 2010
While exploring publication options, one key piece of advice that jumped out at me was to choose an appropriate title, since that influences keywords, URLs, and everything else that people will use to find a book. I’ve never been entirely happy with “Leadership Enrichment and Development” because of its extreme generic-ness, despite the catchy acronym ‘LEAD’.
The two themes that I’d like to emphasize are:
- Training Church Leaders
- Interlinear Bible Study
The challenge is finding a viable name that isn’t already taken. Here’s what I’ve found in use so far:
- Growing Church Leaders | Articles | BuildingChurchLeaders.com
- Amazon.com: Growing Church Leaders (9781931551038): Robert H. Ramey: Books
- ScholarlyCommons@AUT: Nurturing servant leaders in religious education
- Amazon.com: Building Leaders: Blueprints for Developing Leadership …
- Church Leadership Training Institute – clti.org
- Church Leadership Development International – Home
- Church Transformation Ministries – Church Leadership Development … (many uses of that term — good or bad?)
After naming the series, we also need to title the individual volumes, currently:
- Theological Foundations
- Christian Character
- Skills for Service
Not bad, but somewhat unbalanced (not fully alliterative, or evocative). For alliteration, we could change the first to “Thinking Theologically“. Conversely, to pursue the construction metaphor, we could make the last two “Constructing Character” and “Sharpened for Service.” But that might be too cheesy even for me…
Any suggestions?
Cleansing Streams Retreat Review
Posted in Editorial on January 17, 2010
On November 13th and 14th, Sandhya I attended the Retreat portion of the Cleansing Streams Seminar. Since there isn’t a lot of information about this online, I thought I should document our experience. Plus, God did some significant things in my life that I want to memorialize…
Thoughts on Sleep Training and the love of God
Posted in Editorial on January 15, 2010
LEAD! Part A, Revisited
Posted in Leadership on August 14, 2009
The LEAD! course format evolved considerably during the time I wrote it, especially in the first 3 months. We are working to publish it as a three-volume bible study, which means I need to go back and make the first few lessons consistent with the latter ones. So, I’ll try to rewrite each of the lessons from Part A at the rate of at least one per week.
The new lessons will replace the ones currently in the syllabus; links to the original lessons are archived below.
Redemption: A Vision in Many Pieces
Posted in Art on August 5, 2009
Redemption
A Vision in Many Pieces
Ernest Prabhakar
June 8th, 2001
“God, its too big for me to carry!”
“I know, my son.”
We sat at the bottom of my heart, facing the dark, concrete-like slab which was my need for love, my desire for human intimacy to the fill the void in my life and give me meaning. We had been doing some Spring Cleaning of my soul. It had been a while since I’d talked with God, and when I finally got around to it again I was surprised to discover lots of worries and fears weighing me down. The stuff on top was relatively easy – I handed over issues at work, my marriage, relations with family. But then we got down to things which had been undisturbed for years, maybe decades, and I realized I couldn’t move these myself.
“Will you carry it out?”
“Of course, but I will not do it alone. You must be a part of the process. It is yours, after all”
About Me
Physicist. Hacker. Marketer. Transformational Christian.
My Twitter Feed- DrErnie: RT @Stoosian: @benedictnelson How I think organizations should structure themselves to sustain creativity: The Innovators Restaurant ht ...
- DrErnie: “An economy of experiences is emerging in place [of consumerism]. Experiences make people happier than [mere] products” http://t.co/opA6Z2Xm
- DrErnie: "reminders of morality—at the point where people are making a decision—appear to have an outsize effect on behavior" http://t.co/kMAdSG8O
