Minutes – 2006 Spring

The Spring 2006 meeting of the Ohio Association of Conservative Congregational Christian Churches was held at First Congregational Church, Lodi, Ohio, David Dake, Pastor. A total of nineteen pastors and other church leaders attended representing fifteen ministries. David Dake brought the devotional from Ezekiel 34:1-16 concerning the matter of the Lord’s great concern with the faithfulness and conduct of pastors towards their flocks. Following was a lively discussion concerning a major project being undertaken by the Ohio Association, Alternative Basic Ministerial Education. Much prayer, labor, and discussion over a period of more than one year has yielded, praise the Lord, a discernible track for persons to follow who are seeking a ministerial education under a mentoring arrangement in lieu of Bible college or seminary. The following outline was approved by unanimous vote of persons attending the afternoon business meeting:

Courses of Practice and Study

I. The Pastor’s Character and Calling

A. Personal Spiritual Formation
B. Family Concerns

II. Biblical Studies

A. Old and New Testament Survey
B. Biblical and Systematic Theology
C. CCCC Statement of Faith
D. Hebrew and Greek (optional)

III. Church History and Polity

A. Church Fathers through Present with understanding of the Reformation
B. World Religions and Sects
C. Polity: Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregational (CCCC)

IV. Planning and Conducting Worship Services

A. Liturgy
B. Music
C. The Church Year and Special Services
D. Baptism, Communion, Weddings, Funerals

V. Preaching/Homiletics

A. Discipling
B. Evangelizing
C. Missions
D. Ethics and Social Issues
E. Hermeneutics

VI. Christian Education

A. Sunday School & Curriculum
B. Bible Studies, Youth Groups, Task Groups

VII. Pastoral Tasks

A. Counseling
B. Visitations: Home, Hospital, Shut-ins, Crisis, Evangelism
C. Shepherding: Developing leaders & volunteers according to spiritual gifts
D. Group Dynamics and Conflict Resolution
E. Conducting Church Business Meetings and Committees
F. Motivating for Stewardship
G. Leading a Remodeling/New Building Program
H. Community Involvement & Public Relations Promotion

I. Minsterial Meetings, Conference Meetings, etc.

VIII. Administration

A. Working with Staff: Associates, Secretary, Custodian, etc.
B. Handling Correspondence
C. Keeping Records
D. Communicating and Newsletters
E. Scheduling

CANDIDATES, MENTORS, and PROGRESSION TOWARDS ORDINATION

A. Candidate Responsibilities

  1. Evaluate on paper with your mentor your calling, Biblical and academic knowledge and experience per the above outline.
  2. Write one page, concise doctrinal papers based on each of the 12 bold print topics in the CCCC Statement of Faith over the course of the 2 years in preparation for ordination.
  3. Meet with your mentor 4-6 times per year.
  4. Do reading in the 8 areas so that you are familiar with each area and report to your mentor.

B. Mentor Responsibilities

  1. Pray for the candidate and family.
  2. Meet with the candidate 4-6 times per year.
  3. Review papers and readings with the candidate.
  4. Visit the candidate in the candidate’s church setting, attend a service when the candidate is preaching and talk with leaders concerning the candidate.
  5. Write an evaluation.
  6. Be available for e mails and/or phone calls concerning issues with which the candidate may need assistance.

C. Progression Towards Ordination

  1. The candidate will complete an Application Form and send it with a letter of recommendation from his/her church.
  2. The CCCC Ohio Regional Representative will assign the candidate a mentor.”

(Note: the above is the outline; a list of individual textbooks and other materials is being prepared for the use of candidates and mentors).

In addition to approval of the above outline for Alternative Basic Ministerial Education (ABME) after approximately 2 hours of discussion in the morning and afternoon meetings, the outline as presented here was approved for use by the Ohio Association of Conservative Congregational Christian Churches and member churches as a guide for Vicinage Councils. The objective is to assure that all persons seeking CCCC credentials will acquire the necessary education and practical skills required at the present time by the national CCCC for association-wide ministerial credentialling. A BIG thank you goes especially to Revs David Dake, Peter Parry, and John Hood, who did the lion’s share of the work which resulted in this document.

Also, it was approved at today’s meeting to send $ 300.00 from the Ohio Association to the CCCC to be used by the CCCC in its sole discretion.

Finally, we wish to thank the members of Lodi First Congregational for the wonderful lunch which was served us today, as well as their genuine friendliness all around!

Submitted by:

Marshall Pierson, Secretary