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How do I begin? Let me tell you a little about our church, the Fellowship of Christ. Our mission is to:
>>> Attract
people to come and see Jesus
>>> Baptise
and make disciples for Jesus
>>> Create
a sense of responsibility and service to Jesus
>>> Develop
thinking centred in the teaching of Jesus
That is our purpose as a fellowship. It is as simple as ABC with a D tail added!
Jesus is the centre, the focus, the inner circle and the outer circle of all our activity. We have no programmes except prayer, Bible study, meditation and fellowship. So SEAN’s Compendium of Pastoral Theology (Life of Christ, books 1-6) fits like a glove into our purpose as a fellowship. It helps us Develop thinking centred in the teaching of Jesus.
In our church no one is compelled or pressurised to take part in any activity, neither is anyone manipulated to feel guilty if they don't take part. The Sunday gathering is the crowd that comes to see Jesus and to experience his healing power. Jesus says, "Come, follow me" and the disciples respond to his call. Reluctant disciples stay with the crowd.
Jesus doesn’t manipulate or pressurise. So no one feels left out and no one feels pushed. The opportunity is there for all. That is the way the Fellowship of Christ functions. So those who take part in Pastoral Theology do so because they want to.
Leadership in the Fellowship is open to everyone because in the Kingdom of God leadership is service and everyone can serve. The one who would be chief works the hardest! It fairly cuts out the would-be stars who crave position and recognition!
So, how did we begin the great experiment with Pastoral Theology?
First, I was convinced. That is important. The one who leads the Fellowship must be enthusiastic. I was convinced that I had found in SEAN what I had been looking for, for close on 30 years – better late than never! I wanted people to be given as much knowledge and understanding as they were willing to receive. SEAN seemed to fill the bill.
Second, I studied the Leader's Manual and I took on board much of the instruction that it contained. I studied carefully the testimony of the church in Santiago, Chile (Appendix 5, Leader's Manual) and decided to structure our pastoral theology course in the same way as they had done, running for six years (1st year – Book 1, 2nd year – Book 2, 3rd year – Book 3, etc). Each ‘year’ begins at the end of August and finishes in March the following year. Tutorials are held once every two weeks.
These decisions were taken before the course even started and they have proved to be sound. December is taken as a mid-term holiday, and the fact that each course year finishes in March gives the students a break between each book and has proved beneficial for the students and tutors alike. Some students have had enough by the time the exam is over and think about giving up, but they recover during the break and are ready to carry on by August – and tutors also need the break! The duration of the course encourages people to view learning in the Kingdom of God as a lifelong activity, not as something short-term.
Third, once these parameters had been agreed, I wrote a letter to each person in the Fellowship informing them about the course and telling them that I was hoping to start the course in August. In the letter I tried to encourage each one to think about signing up for at least one year. I wrote the letter under several headings: How do I explain? Where do I begin? Who can be a student? How did I hear about SEAN? Why am I so interested? If you would like to know some of the answers to these questions, please read my article in Forum No 2, October 2001.
Fourth, after the letter had been sent out to everyone, I began talking to those whom I judged would be most interested and, having received positive feedback, set a date for an introductory meeting, with no strings attached for anyone who was interested. I did not bring any kind of pressure or manipulation to bear, either positive or negative. The offer was there – it was up to each individual to decide.
The agenda for the evening, using the Leader's Manual and a copy of the Student Book 1, was:
>>> History of
TEE (Leader’s Manual pp3-13)
>>> Why SEAN works
(Leader’s Manual Appendix 3)
>>> The discipline required
(Leader’s Manual p20)
>>> Demonstration of the
methodology,d outline of contents (using Unit 4 as a demo)
>>> Cost – What you
get in return (NIV, coloured pens, student’s book, tutoring)
No one was left in any doubt that this was not a course where the tutor did all the work while the student had his ears tickled! Some committed that same evening, others a few days later, and some who had expressed great enthusiasm backed away completely! I never asked why they changed their minds and I will not speculate. It is wise to be open and upfront before the course begins. That way no one agrees to do the course without knowing what it entails. I then ordered the books from SEAN, set a starting date for the course – and the grand experiment had begun!
When Jesus’ disciples set out on the great missionary adventure under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they did not have a carefully crafted manual with step-by-step instructions. They learned by experience. The pastor who sets out on this adventure of teaching pastoral theology also learns by experience. However, the apostles were able to pass on what they had learned to those who followed them and I hope similarly that I can pass on what I have learned.
In the first year I was both student and tutor. I had to do both the student’s work and the tutor’s work, preparing visual aids, photocopying handout materials and doing some research from time to time. I led all the tutorials. There are now a number of tutors, but I am still at the cutting edge, carving a trail for the other tutors to follow. I prepare all the visual aids and handouts for those who come after me, keeping masters for everything they will need.
I administered the exam, including marked the papers, recorded the results in the register, and sent a standard letter to each person, giving the final mark and the mark obtained in the exam. The letters were sent out within 24 hours of taking the exam.
One of the computer experts in the fellowship created Award Certificates (different coloured borders for each year after the first year), and I organised a buffet in a local hotel where we held a short graduation service in which the students were awarded certificates and encouraged to come back for the following year. Each student was able to bring a guest. There was no charge for the buffet either to students or to their guests. I also invited those who had merely expressed an interest in the next first year so that they might be encouraged. The graduation has potential as a recruiting event.
So the second year is about to begin. Where do I go from here and what do I do next? Here the Leader’s Manual is a great help.
I chose the most promising student from the first year, who happened to be my son, and I asked him if he would consider becoming tutor for the next first year, while I tutored the second year, to which he agreed.
I began recruiting for the next first year intake. Students are good recruiting agents. They are enthusiastic. They talk. They prepare the ground. I try to recruit the next year while the course is in progress. Once I have several names, I know that I will have a new first year when the time comes, and I can continue to add to the list. I have a second major recruiting drive in the summer as the next academic year approaches.
Thus a structure evolved in response to the growth of the course
from one year to two years and was simply extended to cope with the expansion
from two years to three years etc:
>>> Recruit
throughout the year.
>>> Hold an
introductory evening for potential students.
>>> Sign up
new first year students; contact second year students.
>>> Order
books required from SEAN, buy coloured pencils, NIVs.
However, it becomes more complicated! When there was one year only, it was easy. When there were two years, it was still relatively simple, especially since the new first year tutor was my eldest son. I discussed things with him on an informal basis and gave him the visual aids I had already created the previous year. But the first problem arose after my son’s first year had graduated. It was a weak year and there was no one suitable to become tutor to the next first year, and at this point an unforeseen benefit of holding tutorials once a fortnight became apparent. My son volunteered to tutor two years, but his meant that I had to stagger the tutorials because my son could not tutor two different years on the same evening!
So the system developed whereby years 1, 3 & 5 meet one week,
and years 2, 4 & 6 meet the other. And the staggered tutorials threw up
another unforeseen benefit. Although each year since has always produced someone
capable and willing to tutor the new first year, these new tutors were unwilling
to give up the class they were in. So therefore each new tutor has continued
as a student in their existing group, while tutoring the year behind (ie the
new first year tutor is also a student in the second year, and the second year
tutor is a student in the third year, etc) – and they have coped admirably.
So meeting once a fortnight has proved beneficial.
By the time there were three years up and running I recognised the need for
an administrative system to help the smooth flow of the tutorials.
For this I purchased six expanding files, one for each year. Each file now contains a copy of both the tutor’s and student’s books for that year, a master copy of the exam paper, and master copies of the visual aids and handouts (each in a pocket for the particular lesson), a master copy of the register. There is also an index for each folder so that I can see at a glance what material I need to make available for each tutorial and which acts as a double check against the material in the pockets.
Over the course of time some tutors have produced material of their own. I have included their material in the folder in the appropriate pockets. This material is labelled ‘Not required by the course’. It is given out to the tutors, and each tutor is free to use it or not. There is no compulsion. Each tutor is also free to create his or her own material.
At the start of each ‘academic’ year I began to produce a flow chart showing starting, finishing and actual meeting dates for years 1-6. It includes holiday dates, revision dates, the exam date (all years sit the exams at the same time) and the date of the graduation service. The flow chart is given to all tutors and students, so no one has any excuse for getting dates mixed up! I also announce each Sunday which years are being tutored that week. Redundancy in communication is worthwhile when you are dealing with people!
As the tutors need the visual aids and handout materials two weeks in advance, I prepare all materials a fortnight ahead.
The best way to build a structure is to see a need before developing the structure to meet that need. In this way the structure grows naturally.
On one occasion, as I sat in on a tutorial other than my own near the end of the academic year, I realised that a particular student had no idea how to revise. I listened to everything she was saying, made notes as she spoke, and that night wrote ‘A Student’s Guide to Revision’ while everything I’d heard was still fresh in my mind. Later I added ‘A Tutor’s Guide to Revision’ and ‘A Student’s Guide to Exams’. These three guides live in the appropriate pockets of the expanding files. I also keep master copies of the unit tests so that each student can have a clean copy to use as part of the revision process.
There have been one or two occasions when I have not been entirely happy with the way in which the Book has dealt with a particular subject (once in Book 4, and twice in Book 5) when I decided to prepare an alternative approach – the tutors can then decide for themselves the merits of each approach.
The Life of Christ books do contain a number of printing errors. I highlight these errors and make corrections as I go along. I then pass on the corrections to the tutors who come behind me. Sometimes later printings have slight changes made that make them different from the previous printing. This can cause confusion if you have a stock of older books, but it is not a huge problem.
I have created standard time-saving word-processed letters, for example: inviting people to the introductory evening, informing students of their performance in the exam, reminders of the starting date of the next academic year, etc.
All systems constantly evolve and, at present for instance, I need: 1) a flow chart that covers the whole year so that I can see at a glance when I need to arrange for the introductory meeting, when I need to know the total number of students who are starting the new first year and the total number who are returning for another year, when I need to order the books so that I can be sure that I have them in plenty of time, etc, and 2) to establish an ongoing record of all the students who have done at least one year of the course. There are students who drop out – though not many - after a year or so but who then pick up the course again at a later date.
The greater the number of students and the more years involved in the course, the more essential an efficient structure becomes.
The structure is a willing slave that is there to do its master’s bidding. The slave obeys the master’s instructions and relieves the master of many tasks. If the slave makes the master’s life more difficult, there is a failure in the relationship. The same is true for a structure. It must never dictate; it must always serve.
I hope it is clear from what I have written that I did not sit
down and ‘think up’ a structure – I don’t think that is
a good way to proceed. A structure is there to meet needs and needs are not
always apparent in the study. There is no need for a complex structure at the
beginning of the great adventure. You grow into the complexity. Nothing in a
structure is sacred, and any part that no longer serves a useful purpose should
be removed or allowed to die. This is as true for the structure of the church
as it is for the structure of administration for a pastoral theology course,
and all that matters is that we:
>>> Attract
people to come and see Jesus
>>> Baptise
and make disciples for Jesus
>>> Create
a sense of responsibility and service to Jesus
>>> Develop
thinking centred in the teaching of Jesus
That is the ABCD or our purpose as a fellowship and anything that helps our purpose to move forward is encouraged. SEAN’s Life of Christ compendium helps Develop thinking centred in the teaching of Jesus – it deserves every encouragement.
Roy Humphries (Pastor, Fellowship of Christ, Dunfermline)
As I re-read this, I realise that it is also essential that the person administering the course/s must possess administrative skills. I administer automatically without thinking about it, but anyone who finds administration a chore would do well to involve someone else who has those gifts.
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