CEU News - August 2020

The CEU News Continuing Education Update August 2020 A Publication of the Wesley Leadership Institute Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church

Events - Coming Soon!

FEATURED EVENT: July/August 2020:

Adverse Childhood Experiences Training July 30-August 27 0.1 CEUs per session Children, teens, and their parents are living through COVID-19! Some children and teens have experienced the trauma of abuse, addictive parents, the threat of school shootings, violence, or other traumatic experiences. The Faith Community can be one of the most significant resources and places of healing for families who are living with high levels of stress or living in the wake of trauma.

Register today!

Harmony Family Center, a leader in trauma-responsive care in Tennessee, will present a three-part, virtual webinar to guide church leaders in how to understand the impact of stress and trauma on children, teens, and their families and how to respond on a personal level and through church’s ministries.

Free of Charge Three Thursdays ~ 3:00 to 4:30 pm

July 30 • August 13 • August 27

You may attend all three training sessions which build on one another, or choose to attend individual sessions. Note: If you wish to register for sessions II and/or III after 7/30, please email charlotteriggins@holston.org or call her at 865-293-4141.

August 2020: 2nd Corinthians Live w/N. T. Wright August 3 - 5 Online Course 0.9 CEUs In this first-ever livestreamed course with Prof. N.T. Wright, you will plumb the depths of 2nd Corinthians and discover how the power of Jesus' resurrection gave hope to the early Church and empowers us for the difficulties we’re facing today.

Rediscovering the Heart of Methodism: A Conversation with Bishops Sandra Steiner Ball, Ken Carter & Frank Reid III August 4 Online Course 0.1 CEUs

This conversation will focus on a Wesleyan vision of Christian leadership during tumultuous times; and what the multiple pandemics of systemic racism, COVID-19, and economic disruption calls for in terms of faithful and effective Christian leadership.

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Online Fresh Expressions Church Academies (0.8 CEUS each): Becoming a House Church Network - August 11-September 1 Transforming Congregations - August 12-September 2 Social Media - August 13-September 3 Navigating Change - August 13-September 3 Leading in Crisis E-Panel August 12 Online 0.1 CEUs This month’s e-panel will be presented by Rev. Dr. Doug Powe of Wesley Theological Seminary and incoming Council of Bishops President Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey.

In Perspective: Providing vital support for children and teens August 13 Online 0.1 CEUs

This Denver Seminary event focuses on parents, teachers, pastors, and other adults who are caring for youth and facing new challenges in supporting children and teens in our current culture. How can we pastor, counsel, and comfort young people? Our panelists will address ways we can respond to the spiritual and mental health needs of children and teens.

September 2020: New Room Conference September 25 Online 0.2 CEUs This year’s online version of the New Room Conference will feature a message from Jim Cymbala and an interview between Miriam Swaffield and Lo Alaman, as well as a global call to pray and sow for awakening.

CEU QUICKLINKS:

CLERGY NOTES

Check & Print CEU Report Event Evaluation Form

As we mentioned in the last newsletter, although the official new quadrennium will begin after the delayed general conference next year, for CEU purposes only, it began on July 1st, 2020. You can still report classes before your charge conference via e-mail.

If you have earned the required CEUs for the last appointment year (July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020), just submit your annual report as usual at your charge conference. If you have not met this past year’s requirement, but have earned 12 CEUs over the last quadrennium (4 years), you can submit your quadrennium CEU report to your DS to show that you earned the required continuing ed credits.

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A Message from Our Director…

I was listening to a local talk radio station this morning, and there was a guest host. He was asking the normal sidekicks about what they had done yesterday. It seems that he had agreed to guest host for a week and had not properly scheduled it on his calendar.

Yesterday he was four hours away when he got a call from the regular host. “Hey man! I thought you were filling in for me this week!” A major mistake by the guest host led to the two sidekicks winging it for two hours yesterday.

Today, the guest host wanted to know how they did it. One of them responded, “That’s like asking us to take everyone behind the scenes and explain how things are done.”

I sort of get the impression that many of us feel the same way. The regular way of doing things has slipped by, and we are like the two sidekicks trying to figure out what to do and say as we wait for the guest host and/or the real host to come back on air.

In one sense, our ministries have been laid bare for all the world to see in a different kind of way. We can’t rely on Sunday morning worship, youth meetings, fellowship suppers, and other activities to define who we are and how we engage in ministry. Instead, we are still scrambling to discern new methods to define our ministry for a world turned upside down by this pandemic.

I wonder…how are you doing? Are you holding up? Are you burning out? Are you struggling with helping your church define its present and future reality? Note that I did not ask about its past. If there is any one thing I have learned is that, in our current situation, the past doesn’t count for as much as it used to count. It is hard to rely on tradition and the old “we’ve always done it that way” statement when it is quite blatantly in our faces that it’s not so much what we did…it’s what are we going to do.

As you struggle with these kinds of questions, I invite you to look more deeply into c ontinuing education opportunities that will guide you through this season of uncertainty. I would recommend you check out the Lewis Center. It has some great learning opportunities. I would also recommend that you look at Fresh Expressions, since they have some interesting sounding classes coming up very soon. Above all, take the time to take a breath and let God’s Spirit speak in that still small voice to your spirit with words of encouragement and comfort as you continue to serve the kingdom.

- Terry Goodman

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Book Review They Smell Like Sheep: Spiritual Leadership fot the 21st Century - by Dr. Lynn Anderson What kind of leadership will effectively lead the church into the morally turbulent twenty-first century? The same kind of leadership that led it through the morally and politically chaotic first century. Shepherding.

This is the kind of leadership Jesus used, and this is the kind of leadership that will take his church where he wants it to go.

While the term "shepherd" produces warm images of love, care, and tenderness, it also describes a form of leadership that is perilously protective, dangerous, dirty, and smelly.

"Shepherd" is something that every follower of Christ, the Good Shepherd, is called to become. Lynn Anderson, in this important book, leads us backwards in time to discover and identify the biblical leader for the future needs of the Christian community. Anderson’s deep dig for truth will concern, convict, and confront us about where leadership has been, and will set a new standard for where the future leader must go.

Lynn Anderson has been in the ministry for over thirty-five years and currently serves as president of Hope Network, a ministry dedicated to coaching, mentoring, and equipping spiritual leaders for the twenty-first century. He received his doctorate from Abilene Christian University in 1990.

Anderson's lifelong career of ministry has involved speaking nationwide to thousands of audiences and authoring eight books -- including The Shepherd's Song; Navigating the Winds of Change; Heaven Came Down; They Smell like Sheep, Volume 1; and If I Really Believe, Why Do I Have These Doubts?

CONTACT INFO: Director: The Rev. Terry Goodman terrygoodman@holston.org

Phone: 865-293-4147

Admin. Asst. & Editor: Sue Weber sueweber@holston.org

Phone: (865) 293-4135 3