Reading: Historical Models of Ministry Training

Ancient Biblical Practices of Ministry Training

In the Old Testament, revival prophets were trained at the school of the prophets. A snapshot of this culture is easily seen in the life, ministry, and work of Elijah and Elisha. In those days, three thousand years ago, there were seminaries of various religions. There were schools for Baal worship where Baal leaders were raised up to promote the Baal religion. In Israel in 1,000 BC, the king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, were big supporters of the Baal religion. In fact, they were making the national religion of Israel to be the worshiping of Jezebel's god, the god of Ekron.

The minority religion was the religion of Yahweh. Elijah thought he was the only prophet left that did not worship Baal, but God still had 7,000 other than him in Israel. Elijah began a school of the prophets by calling Elisha and calling him into the service of the Lord. By the time of Elijah was taken up into heaven, Elisha was ready to take the mantle. Elisha expanded this school even more.

How were the prophets trained? They just spent time being mentored by their leaders until they were ready to be prophets themselves. This was a mentor model, where local mentorship raised up prophets. The leading prophet modeled the way of the Lord and taught it to the called, yet-to-be trained new prophet.

In the New Testament, Jesus set up a school of the prophets, whom he called disciples. The Son of God called ordinary people, usually from the working class, like fishermen and tax collectors, to be future revival leaders. We see in his ministry that Jesus knew the Old Testament and spent his time sharing and teaching insights about the kingdom of God that would be ushered in when Jesus himself would die, rise from the dead, and ascend on high.

Jesus also promoted the mentor model, where a long-term relationship accompanied by teaching prepared the disciples to be the prophets of the early church. The wisdom of this model was questioned by the religious leaders of Jesus' day, but the power and effectiveness cannot be denied. Consider how the leaders of the Jewish religion characterized Peter and John after Jesus had ascended to be with God. We find that "When they [the religious leaders] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13).

The mentoring model was the model that drove ministry training in the Old and New Testament. When the apostle Paul was chosen as God's instrument to spread the gospel to the Gentiles, he too worked with the mindset of a mentor. This model included spending time with the newly called future prophets. A great example of this is his work with Timothy, whom he called his son. First and Second Timothy are examples of mentor "content” that forms part of Scripture.

By the time the apostles had passed away, their teachings and the teachings of Christ were written down for the Christian leaders. They, in turn, passed on the knowledge content of the faith to newly called leaders. A revival witness was passed down from generation to generation. The mentorship model was firmly the dominant model for the identifying, training, and mobilizing of future leaders, or, as they were then called, pastors. Pastor training was a mentoring operation that included communicating the content of the faith.

This discipleship model yielded ordained Priests/Pastors (elders), and ministers (deacons), who populated the leadership teams of the early church. They served in different roles (Ephesians.4:11-12). They were used by God to spread the gospel, and the church spread quickly. This mentoring model gradually changed to a more corporate model for the training of leaders.

Within five hundred years, the church organization developed and resembled the cultural organizations of the time. The monastic movement developed, sometimes cloistering leaders away from the very culture they were called to reach. For others, these movements help Christian Leaders make major contributions in preserving the history and culture of Early Christianity. Many orders were developed that led the way for mission work.

The Development of Traditional Seminaries

The church, in general, continued to drift away from simple early Church Christianity until, by the time of the Reformation, very little Scripture was used to instruct the prophets. Instead, church traditions and practices, as they developed, formed the core curriculum that was communicated to leaders of the church.

The church stagnated. She was no longer the vibrant, powerful body of believers that Jesus had instituted. But, as always, God remained in control. He raised up reformers and the technology of the printing press, allowing the original words that taught Timothy to be the core curriculum for future church leaders. This changed the entire church philosophy. Once the actual words of the Old and New Testament formed the content of the faith that was to be passed down, a major reformation occurred. A major Catholic Church Counter-Reformation occurred too! 

This scriptural content blossomed anew in the Church. 

Catechisms like the Westminster Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism brought to the center the Scripture as the only rule for life and teaching. These catechisms fueled the protestant branch of Christianity. 

The Catholic branch of Christianity was also being revived to stress more spiritually connected leaders. This was called the counter-reformation. While this counter-reformation sought to keep the Catholic church the dominant force in Europe, it also refocused leaders to have authentic walks with God. The Counter-reformation brought many reforms to the Catholic Church.

Such reforms included the foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church, the reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Reformation)

Seminaries for Catholics and Protestants

The word seminary is from the Latin, "seminarium,” which means "seedbed.” Roman Catholics started calling their ministry training institutions "seminaries” at the time of the counter-reformation. At these Roman Catholic seminaries, personal discipline and philosophy were central.

Protestant Churches started seminaries too. They did not stress the middle ages' traditional Catholic church. They stressed an earlier version of the Catholic church that looked more like fifth-century Catholic churches. The works of St. Augustine were stressed instead of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas of the fifteenth century. 

Dr Graham Hill, the Founding Director of The GlobalChurch Project wrote, 

Comparisons of Ministry Training Models

If we compare the seminary model with the discipleship model, we have to be very careful not to talk about the advantages of one model while criticizing the disadvantages of the other model. We have seen much blessing and challenge from both models of ministry training.  Let's compare them.

The Discipleship Model Strengths:

Local and contextual:  New pastors and church planters are mentored locally, and this local connection makes them more effective as they minister to the specific people group they are involved with.

Personal Endorsements: The mentoring leaders are usually familiar with the discipleship struggles their mentees encounter.

Cost-Effective: The ministry overhead of classrooms and professors is not needed.

Ministry Opportunities: Effective mentoring pastors provide opportunities for ministry involvement.

New pastors do not have to relocate or incur great expenses; the acceptance of the calling is the focus. This is friendlier to the families of the called leaders.

More leaders can be cultivated for the service of Christ.

This model is more conducive to the development of bi-vocational leaders. Leaders do not accumulate debt and do not need higher salaries to support their serving in ministry.

The Discipleship Model Weaknesses:

Varied Mentors: Many pastors are not that skilled at transferring knowledge and insights for ministry training.

Local Situation Dramas: Sometimes those who are called into ministry threaten the ministry pastors or mentors.

Traditional Expectations of Certification and Accreditation: If someone wants to get an advanced degree, this model does not conform to that desire. Denominations often do not have a good referral system for this model and many times consider their ministry candidates to be less qualified because of their perceived lack of academic training.

The Traditional Seminary or Bible College Model Strengths:

Accreditation: Many seminaries or Bible colleges offer US Department of Education accreditation that allows students to move on toward advanced degrees.

Connections: Many seminaries or Bible colleges have connections in denominations that allow them to move around to existing churches and even receive funding for the planting of new churches. Many times these seminaries have connections for ordination within the denomination.

Objective Tests: When leaders leave their local context they are tested personally, and this test often forces them to trust God more.

Accountable Academic Training: The paid staff of seminaries specifically holds their students to academic standards that assure academic competency.

The Traditional Seminary Model Weaknesses:

Eliminates a large amount of called Christian Leaders: Seminaries tend to focus on academics to the point that many called leaders will not succeed at these accredited institutions.

Costly: Most seminary tracks for ministry training are very costly from many perspectives. Tuition, moving, books, and many more expenses put people's lives on hold for four or five years.

Not Bi-vocational Friendly: Seminaries tend not to serve the needs of leaders who are called later in life and seek to keep their secular job.

Christian Leaders Institute Approach

The tools of the Internet offer, for some, exciting options that connect the strengths of both models and minimize some weaknesses. There will never be a completely perfect model for ministry training, but Christian Leaders will try to make it possible for every called leader to do well in ministry.

Born Out of Hitting Walls

When Christian Leaders was formed, we wanted to mobilize called leaders into ministry. We began by using the discipleship model. We had discovered this model with others in the last decade of the 20th century. We were working this model for many years and hit the walls of the weaknesses of this type of training while continuing to enjoy the strengths of the discipleship model.

At around 2003, it becomes apparent to me, at Christian Leaders, that some of the weaknesses of the discipleship model needed to be addressed to equip more sustainable leaders. Many times I encountered leaders who were so excited about their calling. Many wanted to serve as bi-vocational leaders. But many struggled because they did not have the knowledge and insights needed for long-term confidence and sustainability in the ministry.

I was praying and looking for a way to bring accessible opportunity for training to called leaders. At the same time, advancements in Internet technology were making it possible to put classes on the Internet that could be accessed efficiently and inexpensively.

I started taking technology classes at the local community college. Through the generous donations of a few leaders and foundations, I hired a technology specialist from the University of Chicago, named Jerry Lorenz. Christian Leaders Institute was added as a program of Christian Leaders, offering online classes in 2006. Six students signed up. Most of the classes were just guided self-study, but we found them to be effective in training bi-vocational leaders.

In 2008, I invited Dr. David Feddes to join CLI as the first provost. Dr. Feddes had served as the English radio minister for the Back to God Hour for 14 years and had just completed his Doctorate in Cultural studies from Trinity University in Deerfield, IL. Dr. Feddes also worked with me in planting a bi-vocational church in Monee, IL.

In 2012, I became full-time in leading Christian Leaders to reproduce leaders effectively.

The Christian Leaders Approach

Christian Leaders seeks to combine the benefits of both the discipleship model and the seminary model for ministry training. The goal is to mobilize as many effective and sustainable Christian leaders as possible for ministry. The revolutionary impact of the Internet allows us to venture into seeking to bring the best of both approaches.

The ministry training approach of Christian Leaders Institute seeks to do the following:

1. Promote Local Mentor Culture

Charlie Post was 61 years old when called into the ministry. He was encouraged to enroll at CLI by his pastor, Rev. Tom Groelsema, in Byron Center, MI. Charlie was considered too old by many to receive a call, but Tom encouraged him to take that next step. Tom would meet with Charlie along the way to encourage him and share pastoral insights. Charlie got his ministry diploma, and he's now preaching at churches, nursing homes, and the gospel mission. Tom organized a time where Charlie received his diploma in front of the Elders and Deacons of his church.

Local pastors and church leaders see the doctrine and life of their members close up. These local leaders have committed to bringing those in their charge to their next step in ministry preparation, whether that is just teaching a class or, in the case of Charlie Post, encouraging him to receive advanced ministry training.

The Christian Leaders Approach is designed to encourage local mentors to help local leaders take that next step. On the application of new students, we ask them to designate a mentor and a local pastor. This lets the student know that they are connected. We find that almost everyone has a local leader to whom they are connected in their ministry journey. CLI considers those local mentors as "adjunct faculty.” 

Christian Leaders encourage graduates to develop mentor centers where they recruit new students gather to study (more on this in a later chapter).

2. Accessible and Mission-Driven

Because the ministry cost in comparison to traditional ministry training schools is so low, we can make this available to any called leaders, offering the training tuition-free of charge. However, even though it's free to the student, it's not easy. Humans have the currency of time or money. We take the money equation out of the mix. Since the Internet platform is so efficient, we can make this truly a mission that foundations, individuals, and students can support with a great return for their ministry investment. The funding model of CL leverages kingdom resources to make possible free-of-charge high-quality ministry training.

Some have objected to the "free” part because they feel that people will not value what they do not pay for. The fact is that if someone does not value their ministry training unless they have to pay for it, they should find a place to purchase that training. CL wants intrinsically called pastors who will value their training simply because they need it. We also find that those leaders, when asked to donate for the training of others, are very willing to help.

The other issue is that if Christian Leaders opened up a tuition department, it would add to overhead, and that cost would prevent CL from reaching even more leaders to train.

3. Appropriate Academic Expectations

When the Discipleship model re-asserted itself in the 1990s, there was great optimism that this was going to unleash a new age of ministry preparation. The fact was that many were recruited to be pastors, received some training (often in specialized areas like church planting) but these leaders did not get enough of the academic training they needed. The result? Many failed.

The Bible, church, people and their souls, contemporary society, different questions about God and faith, pastoral care, church leadership: are just some of the areas in which ministers have to be competent and knowledgeable. It is unwise to give newly called leaders barely enough foundational training and hope that they will be successful in ministry.

This attitude of giving a new leader just enough basic training caused many to question their confidence in the discipleship model. Some international ministries recruit church leaders, help them plant a church, report the results to the donors and move on to do this cycle again. These same ministries care little if that leader is trained to be sustainable. Their only concern is that the ministry expectations of their fundraising department are met. In many parts of the world, heresies have developed when western culture is more concerned about ministry "results” rather than building a sustainable Christian culture.

Christian Leaders, which is part of Christian Leaders College seeks to give each class the essential academics that a student would get at a college, but in such a way that it is contextual for students everywhere.

This model assures that classes are designed which do not require outside books, yet the equivalent of those books is given in the online syllabus. The classes include lectures that can be watched over and over again. The classes include quizzes and papers that hold students accountable to learn the material.

The most important thing is that excellent intellectual ministry training is delivered while still preserving the local mentor relationship.

4. Bi-Vocational Sensitivities

We believe that most future church leaders will be bi-vocational church leaders like the apostle Paul. The building of a training cultivation system that supports bi-vocational leaders is a passion at CL. Not only are full-time ministers the movement leaders, but volunteer and part-time one as well. 

CL is very sensitive to the needs of bi-vocational leaders. We have designed courses to be friendly for those who already have a job. The courses, while maintaining their academic rigor, can be done with students giving 2-5 hours a week. This allows a full-time working student to still receive ministry training.

5. Low Ministry Overhead Oriented

The entire school is on the Internet cloud. This is true even to the point that traditional classes are not needed. Professors are recruited and recorded. The recordings can be used again and again. Generations of students can receive training. Classes can constantly be tweaked and improved.

Christian Leaders Institute has a Getting Started Experience that is designed to replace an admissions department. If a student can get through the Getting Started class, they are usually able to complete all the courses at CL (more on this class later).

The Internet has become a game-changer for ministry training. We have an opportunity as the church of God to bring excellent ministry training to mentors and students. They, in turn, will recruit, train, and mobilize an army of called and equipped ministry leaders.

As Christian Leaders College and Institute programs grow with top professors and effective practices, opportunities for credibility and even US Department of Education Accreditation are coming near. Christian Leaders College is on the path to the United States Department of Accreditation recognition.