CEU News- July 2020

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

Events - Coming Soon!

FEATURED EVENT:

When Trauma Wounds: Self-Care and Compassionate Care July 28 - August 27 Online 1.0 CEUs

In this class you will learn skills to provide trauma-informed pastoral care. You will come away with tools to assist congregants who face traumatic wounding or triggered prior trauma that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic. You will learn to recognize and understand trauma you have experienced, and ways to advocate for others. Dr. McClintock’s book, When Trauma Wounds: Pathways to Healing and Hope, (Fortress Press, 2019) is required reading for workshop participants.

Online registration available now!

2020: Church Finances July 6-10 Online 1.5 CEUs Led by Dr. Lovett Weems, this course will feature an exploration of budgets, income, expenses, giving, and administration from both a theological perspective and from the best practices of financial transparency and accountability.

On Visiting the Sick: Methodist Responses to Disease and Pandemic July 13–August 23 Online 1.5 CEUs In this class we will explore the theologies of John and Charles Wesley and Methodist responses to disease outbreaks throughout modern American history.

Leading in Crisis E-Panel July 15 Online 0.1 CEUs This month’s Leading in Crisis panel discussion will feature Bishop LaTrelle Easterling of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and author Susan Beaumont.

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Events - Cont’d.

Lake Junaluska Marriage Enrichment Retreat July 19-21 Lake Junaluska 1.5 CEUs This retreat features counselor-facilitated workshop sessions designed to help you - better understand your partner and be understood, - stop rigid, negative patterns in communication that lead to frustration and disconnection.

- be more accessible, responsive and engaged in your relationship.

- share your deepest needs for support, love and affection, and respond to those same needs in your partner.

- strengthen the psychological and spiritual foundations for healthy, happy relationships.

- cultivate a warmer, more joyful and loving relationship with each other that incorporates the love and connection you have with God into your relationship.

August 2020: 2nd Corinthians Live w/N. T. Wright Auust 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.

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

CLERGY NOTES

CEU QUICKLINKS: Check & Print CEU Report Event Evaluation Form

The new July 2020 edition of The Clergy Connexion is now available. It is loaded with articles of interest to Holston clergy. Check it out here!

Also, some notes of clarification on CEU requirements and reporting…

- Although the official new quadrennium will begin after the delayed general conference next year, for CEU purposes only, we will begin it on July 1st, 2020.

- All active clergy under appointment are required to earn 3.0 CEUs per appt. year or 12 per quadrennium. If you take a COS or seminary course or are in provisional status, you are exempt for that appointment year. CEU eligibility for the current quadrennium ended on June 30tth. However you can still report classes before your charge conference via e-mail.

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Book Review Pastor on Track - by Emmanuel Cleaver III So often pastors are defined by external forces, rather than by the essential nature of the pastoral leader as modeled in scripture.

Taking positive steps to 'put pastors on track,' author Emanuel Cleaver III draws on his own experiences and from dynamic and effective pastors and churches across the country. He presents biblical models to distill his message and to recalibrate the definition of what makes the best church leaders.

Pastor on Track helps clergy re-frame their congregation's expectations and empowers them to do the work of the people, so the pastor can do the work of the pastor.

Dr. Cleaver has served as the Senior Pastor of St. James United Methodist Church In Kansas City, Missouri since 2009. A graduate of Philander Smith College, he holds a Master of Divinity from Methodist Theological School in Ohio and a Doctor of Ministry from Saint Paul School of Theology. He is excited about working to keep the United Methodist Church together.

This month we feature a guest article by Jason Dees.

The Church Is More Than a Content Producer - © ChurchLeaders, June 2020 I recently heard a church leader explaining a lesson that the church can learn from Starbucks. He said, “People value convenience over community.” He explained that for years Howard Schultz and other leaders at Starbucks sold Starbucks as a place of community, a third space, where people could meet and engage with one another. “Now,” this pastor explained, “what people really value is convenience. Starbucks has learned this, and the church is going to have to learn this as well.”

This pastor was basically saying that the church is content. To paraphrase his thoughts, he was saying that the church is the great content that church leaders provide. People used to have to “go to the store” with other customers to get this content, but now they don’t have time for that. They still want our products but with convenience.

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People used to have to “go to the store” with other customers to get this content, but now they don’t have time for that. They still want our products but with convenience.

Aggregation versus Congregation When I was growing up, churches were building big buildings, or in some cases making an idol out of their building, and people would warn, “The church is not a building.” Then came a rise of superstar pastors and cool worship bands, and people would warn, “The church is not an event.” But now, in an age of streaming media, we need to be reminded that “the church is not content.”

The Greek word ecclesia, translated “church,” is probably best understood as the assembly, gathering, or congregation of people called out by the gospel of Jesus and joined together with one another and with him. Church, or ecclesia, has more to do with the people than the building, the event, and certainly the content that people consume. The church is necessarily about community, and there is an emphasis throughout the scriptures, particularly in the New Testament, urging Christians towards one another.

I heard a pastor describe the difference between an aggregation and a congregation by comparing them to a sack of marbles and a cluster of grapes. He said that the church is not an aggregation, a group of people gathered together but disconnected like marbles, but rather a congregation, a group of people joined together organically, like a cluster of grapes, and necessarily bound with one another. The vision of our Lord for his church is that it would be a congregation, not an aggregation. The church is not made up of fellow customers who are enjoying and consuming the same kind of coffee; it is a family who, though it may be enjoying coffee together, is primarily focusing on one another.

Content Machines Before COVID-19, many “leading” churches had begun to organize themselves around content. Some had an “online campus” that you could join from anywhere in the world, complete with “online pastors.” But most churches were still oriented around their congregations. Pastors were focused on pastoring, groups were focused on community, deacons were focused on meeting the practical needs of the body, and the church members were generally focused on one another.

Then COVID hit, and churches became content-producing machines. Many churches (including my own) that had no streaming service began streaming services weekly. We launched new podcasts or lunchtime conversations, and we shared music, updates, and Bible study material all over the internet. These capabilities provided an incredible crutch for us in these hard times, and this new content was an excellent means by which church l eaders could stay connected to their people. But now, as we face re-opening, let’s remember that all of this was just a crutch.

The other night I was walking through my basement, and I saw a pair of crutches that I used after a skiing injury last year. When I hurt myself, I really needed them, but now I am well. I can walk rightly again, and the appropriate place for my crutches is in my basement. I say that to say, as the church begins to open up, we need to fight against the urge to continue to depend on our crutches. As church leaders, we need to shift our focus from merely “providing content” (though biblical truth will remain central to our ministry) to our people.

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So, as you begin to re-open the church, here are a few things to think through . . .

Connect with your Members (one another) If you are a church leader of any kind, from the Senior Pastor to a Group Leader to an involved member, this is a great time to be connecting with your church. If coming together continues to get safer, then this will be a great time to call your fellow church members, to set up a coffee or a walk, and to seek relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ that you haven’t seen in a while.

Remind Your Church about Church Membership Tim Keller recently said in an interview that every church is basically going to be a “replant” in the coming months. While this is likely a threat to the church as an institution, I think it is good for the true church of Jesus Christ. It will allow us to rethink and reprioritize what we focus on as a church, and my hope for your church is that you would be focused on people and disciple-making. This “re-opening season” would be a good time to teach on what the church is and to remind the church of the numerous and clear “one another” commands in the New Testament.

Remove the Crutches (at the appropriate time) If you really want your church to have a “full recovery,” at some point you will have to remove the crutches. While producing helpful online content for church members is valuable, it can also be a hindrance to real relationships that churches need. There are many benefits to a livestream service or Zoom Bible studies, particularly for those who are physically unable to attend, but these benefits can also be a hindrance to meaningful relationships and the necessary congregational aspect of a local church. If you are a church leader, I want to remind you that just because you started doing something during COVID-19 and just because it was a good crutch in this unprecedented time, that doesn’t mean that you have to keep doing it as life returns to normal. (To be clear, we are still not close to normal, so these crutches may be necessary for many more months.)

The church may have a thing or two to learn from Starbucks, but how we prioritize community in a local church is not one of them. There will be many voices in the coming months talking about a “new normal” for the Christian church. This could be a time when many well-meaning people who are actually more focused on goats than sheep can inadvertently lead the flock away from green pastures and towards the wolves. Make sure you are listening for the Galilean accent of our True Shepherd. He is the one who really loves his church and truly knows what is best for us.

Jason Dees is the Senior Pastor at Christ Covenant Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia. He is married to Paige, and they have three children. Jason is a graduate of Auburn University (BA 2004) and Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY (MDiv 2007; PhD 2015).

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