From our Glades June Newsletter…
You didn’t know me back in Fall of
2012, but that is when I felt called to apply to Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary’s Doctorate of Ministry Program. I was honestly a little surprised I
was accepted so quickly into the program. I was excited though to have a hand
written note from Dr. David Currie, the director of the program saying he was
joyful that I would not just be in the doctoral program but also be in one of
the actual residencies that he taught. I was VERY nervous when I stepped on campus
for my first two-week residency January of 2013. The smiling faces of Dr. David
and Dr. Ken, the mentors of the program track that I was a part of, put my
fears away that first day. Through the three years of residency (2 weeks actually on campus each year), I had the opportunity to get to know many other pastors, these mentors, and
others. The fellowship and time together inside and outside of class with these
students along with the many books read, coursework, multiple papers, and
thesis have been invaluable to me as a person and a pastor. Over the three
years, we studied the pastor as a counselor/caregiver, as a preacher, and as a
person/ leader. My thesis focused on elder leadership and was titled “An
exploratory study of first time elder leadership in the Presbyterian Church.”
This study shed light on the situation of elder leadership in the Presbyterian
Church. Even though I believe my thesis is just the start of my work on elder
leadership, I’m excited to be working through some of the ideas and concepts
that I have learned in the study and bringing them to Glades to hopefully make
the elder experience here a more powerful experience.
My doctorate has taught me many things,
but one thing that my parents taught me and my doctorate has reinforced and
encouraged is the idea of never stop learning and growing. The goal of the
Gordon-Conwell doctorate of ministry (Dmin) program is to create and "to
nurture passionate reflective practitioners.” I can say that through the
program I have become a more passionate reflective practitioner. A part of this
was the ability to create goals and truly accomplish them. What a great and
powerful lesson that was in itself!
My goal for the church and you
specifically is to also to continue growing spiritually, to continue growing in
knowledge and understanding of what as a church we need to be doing to fulfill
the Christ mandated mission of the church (Matthew 28), and also to be able to
set goals and work towards them in the process, and then evaluate them.
If we are going to move forward as a
church and become the church that Jesus Christ is calling us to be… A church with
a mission ordained by Christ with a vision and process to make that mission a
reality, it isn’t just going to happen randomly. As a church, we will need to
study, learn, grow as individuals, grow as a church, grow in discipleship, and
grow in maturity as believers as a body. Basically as a church, we need to work
on our own Doctorate of Church where we all become a more passionate reflective
practitioner in the church so that we can truly learn to fulfill God’s mission
for Glades Presbyterian Church.
Pray for our leadership as we have an
officer retreat June 4th. Pray that God uses that time to teach us and open us up
to where He is leading us. Also pray for open hearts of the congregation to be
led by the officers of the church!
-Carter
