Posts Tagged authority
LEAD! C.7 Silence and Solitude
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on May 20, 2009
In Which We Withdraw From The World To Draw Near To God
The modern world considers solitary confinement and enforced silence as among the worst long-term punishments — with good reason; it is a terrifying thing to be cut off from the consolations and diversions of society. And yet, the very severity of that terror hints at the fertile spiritual soil to be uncovered when we deliberately cultivate time away from the distractions of ordinary human life…
Memory Verse: “Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.’ “ — Luke 4:42-43 (NKJV)
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Richard Foster: Celebration of Discipline
- 7. Solitude
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Donald Whitney: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
- 10. Silence and Solitude
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Eugene Peterson: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
- 7. Security: “God Encircles His People”
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Ruth Haley Barton: Sacred Rhythms
- 2. Solitude: Creating Space for God
LEAD! A.6 Father’s Kingdom
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on October 2, 2008
In Which We See God Creating 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…
LEAD! A.5 God’s Tri-Unity
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on September 16, 2008
In Which We Discover The Persons Who Make up the Godhead, and How They Relate to Us
We believe in one God, consisting of one substance — one name, one identity, and one character — sometimes called the Godhead. Yet, that name is expressed through three distinct persons, as illustrated by the classic diagram on the left. Theologians use the term “Trinity” to describe this paradoxical mystery, which is explicitly described in the New Testament and often alluded to in the Old.
In this lesson, we will be focusing primarily on the Economic Trinity (“How God Acts”) rather than the Essential Trinity (“What God is”). See the “Explore” section for other perspectives.
LEAD! A.4 God’s Character
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on September 10, 2008
[Renumbering so we can start at 1, instead of 0]
In Which We Discover What God Looks Like, And Why Moses Wants to See More of Him
Continuing our discussion of God’s name — which we are supposed to be baptized into — we turn from the incommunicable aspects of His identity to the communicable aspects of His character.
LEAD! Syllabus for “Theological Foundations”
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership, Transformation on August 26, 2008
[NOTE: the official syllabus is now on the "Lead" page; this post is obsolete, but kept for the sake of historical continuity].
[Yes, I should probably have written this before the first lesson, but better late than never...]
In thinking about it, I ought to take my Curriculum one step further, and actually identify the passages and key learnings for each lesson. Not only will this help ensure I’m on the same page as my pastor, but it would enable others to write some of the lessons (since class starts on September 4th!).
I’ve also cross-referenced these lessons against two common systematic theology books:
- Wayne Grudem‘s condensed Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings (under “Doctrine“)
- R. C. Sproul‘s classic of Reformed systematic theology, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (pdf) (under “Essentials“).
In addition to providing a sort index to the topics covered, this allows students and teachers to use those as supplementary textbooks.
- Draft 1 – Sunday, 24th August
- Draft 2 – Tuesday, 26th August: Added “Doctrine” “Essentials” chapters for each lesson
- Draft 3 – Friday, 29th August: Added “Doctrines” chapters for each lesson
LEAD! Curriculum Reset for “Theological Foundations”
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership, Transformation on August 15, 2008
So, the good news is that our church is gearing up to start LEAD! on September 4th, and already taking applications! That’s also the bad news, since I’ve only finished three classes. :-(
Still, it only takes me about four hours per class, which is two late night waiting-to-feed-Rohan sessions (assuming he behaves), so I should be able to keep up.
The real problem is that my lesson topics have gone in a completely different direction that originally envisioned. More, my pastor has a slightly different vision for how things should fit together. Given the time timeframes, it is essential we get on the same page (and stick to it, if possible).
Here’s my current vision for what is now being called “Theological Foundations”. Hopefully my pastor and I can converge on this syllabus soon (once he’s no longer busy with his new grandson :-)
[Updated and ratified 8/19 with John Isaacs]
LEAD! A.1 God’s Word
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on July 29, 2008
[Based on feedback, this study will actually become the first lesson, prior to God's Commission]
In Which We Discover How God Speaks to Us, and Why We Ought to Listen to Him
[Updated Sunday, August 3rd]
LEAD! A.2 God’s Commission
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on July 1, 2008
In Which We Discover God’s Call For Us As Leaders, And What Theology Has To Do With It
LEAD! Underlying Assumptions
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on June 14, 2008
The LEAD! Bible Study is supposed to focus specifically on the training of leaders, as opposed to merely general-purpose discipleship. To accomplish that, I’m planning on observing several fairly strong constraints — listed below — as I develop this material.
TELL: Theological Essentials for Lay Leaders
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on May 28, 2008
As a counterpart (or even prequel) to my previous article about “safety skills“, I wanted to identify those theological topics essential for lay leaders to understand. In particular, I believe lay leaders need a more concise and practical “boot camp”, in contrast to the multi-year “officer’s training school” provided in seminaries.
Another difference in focus is that I believe (along with the writer of Proverbs) that the goal of theological education is wisdom, not mere knowledge. That is, the goal is to cover a small number of essential issue in sufficient depth to enable people to make more godly decisions — not simply provide an intellectual overview of traditional topics.
Given all that, here is my best attempt at a minimal 12-week course that covers the heart issues of contemporary theology. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
Twelve Steps to Arrow-Proof Your Ministry
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on May 28, 2008
Apologies for the pretentious title, but I wanted to challenge myself to identify and reorganize the lessons we covered in last year’s leadership class into a coherent prescription for facing down “Ministry Killers”. The idea is that each of these “steps” would be a single “life lesson”, but that together they provide the “full armor of God.“
What do you think? Did I miss anything important?
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