CDM Archive

Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

Archives

From the Editor of Equip – Goodbye to Our Readers

by

For the past 17 years, Equip to Disciple, formerly Equip for Ministry, has attempted to keep you up to date regarding the training and resources ministryof Christian Education and Publications. We have included information related toCEP’s ministry throughout the church such as conference training and resources.We have attempted to bring to you some of the books that we have felt are mostimportant especially for the leader’s awareness.

With my departure from CEP, after serving for 36 years, it has been my privilege and responsibility to function as editor of this publication. We have appreciated the kind words over the years, and we have taken to heart criticisms that have occasionally come across our desk. Now it is time to bring this publication, in its present form, to a halt or as we say in the newsbusiness, to put it to bed. My successor, Dr. Stephen Estock (see article in this issue) will become the provisional CEP coordinator and will be presented to the 2013 General Assembly for election to this ministry. He will determine what the communication resources from CEP will be. I ask you to pray for him. This is a challenging time for CEP, as well as the PCA, the broader Reformed and evangelical church, our country and world. (See lead article). During my 36 year tenure, CEP has struggled financially. I continue to believe that God is going to raise up new churches and individuals who see the strategic role of CEP in the life of the PCA, as we train leaders and teachers, youth and children’s workers, women’s ministry leaders, and provide the best resources for “making kingdom disciples” which has been our motto, describing CEP’s ministry.

I was asked, in October, to give the devotional and make some final comments at my last coordinator’s meeting. In this final issue, the lead article, “The Challenge Before Us,” was presented at that meeting. In a general way it says what I feel and think about the topics addressed in the article. Having been on the organizing committee of the PCA and then having served these years at this level, I do believe we are at a critical point in the life of our church. Where we are on God’s time clock, (We don’t have forever), only God knows, but we must work, pray, and disciple our covenant people in God’s truth within the Kingdom setting.

There are several books in the review section focusing on critical themes, especially as they relate to the PCA and broader church in general. Once again thanks for your years of support. Please do keep CEP at the top or near the top of your prayer list. The staff needs your prayers, especially through this time of transition. At our September committee meeting, in saying the formal goodbyes, one of the members said that Charles will be an ambassador for Christian education even as he is involved in other ministries. That is a true statement. Thatis what Christ’s commission is all about and his words are my marching orders.

Thank you so very much and God bless you!

Gratefully in Christ,

Charles

Charles Dunahoo, Coordinator

Great Commission Publications New “So What?” Youth Bible Study – Identity and Purpose

by

So What?Help Teens Discover their Master Plan for Life!

Do your teens groan when you say, “Turn to Genesis 1-3”?

Do they think they know everything there is to know about the biblical account of Creation and the Fall? Do they feel like they’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve a million times?

Your teens may think they know the stories from Genesis 1-3 very well, but the reality is that (for many), their understanding is limited and their knowledge is sprinkled with misconceptions, such as, Didn’t Eve eat an apple?

Genesis 1-3 is a compelling narrative with familiar names but it also deals with hard, profound questions about life-questions that need God’s answers. Foundational answers to basic questions such as Who am I? and What is my purpose? find their starting point in these chapters. They establish a solid footwork to deepen your teens’ understanding of God, the world, redemption, and themselves.

High school students are beginning to think of careers and marriage. They are wondering about themselves and how they fit into the world. They are also living in a very real present-struggling with school, family interactions, relationships with other teens, just to name a few.

In today’s culture, marriage is mocked, work endured, and the Sabbath not even considered. The individual is frequently presented as the center of the universe. And sin? If the word is even used, it refers only to relationships with others, not to a response to God, i.e., As long as you don’t hurt another person, you are not sinning.

So how will your teens find answers to such questions as:

  • What should I do with my life?
  • What makes life meaningful?
  • Is marriage all that important?
  • Waiting for sex until marriage-is that realistic?
  • What happens in the afterlife?

Challenge teens to explore these questions and learn truth when they use the newest So What? youth Bible study, Identity & Purpose.

During this time of transition from childhood to adulthood, teens are wrestling with making their faith more fully their own. We shouldn’t be intimidated by their doubts and questions; instead, use them as opportunities to look into God’s Word for answers and provide a framework for understanding who they are and how they relate to God, others, and creation.

The church should be a safe atmosphere for your students to struggle with these issues as they look at the Bible to see how it speaks to their world. Encourage them to express their thoughts and questions honestly. Depend on the Holy Spirit to deepen their understanding and grow their faith in Christ as they dig into God’s Word.

Try one free Identity & Purpose lesson at www.sowhatstudies.org

How We Teach and How They Learn, Part 15 – What Is Your Objective

by

When you finish teaching your lesson or preaching your sermon, how do you know if you accomplished anything? You won’t unless you have set goals for yourself.

No matter what learning style you are trying to reach, you cannot just present facts. Instead, you need to know what your plans (goals) are. In Part 8 of this series, a lesson plan format was presented (available on line). On page one it asks you to think through two things: what is your AIM and what are your Objectives.

An aim is written in broad terms stating what the pupil should learn. It does not state what the learner will do to prove he has learned; it states in relatively broad terms the direction of learning. Aims do not state what the teacher will do to teach the lesson. They tell what happens or will happen to the learner by the end of the lesson.

Objectives are what the student does to “prove” the lesson aim has been achieved. How many times have you finished teaching a lesson and walked away not having a clue if what you just did accomplished anything? You feel like you have “taught” a great lesson, but do you really know if the student has walked away not only having heard a great lesson, but has something he can do with it? Instead, you can look back at your lesson plan and know for sure if you accomplished anything by reviewing your goal (aim-objectives).

Writing aims and objectives are not complicated, but they are necessary if you want to accomplish anything more than you talking for an hour. Here are a few examples. The aim is in bold (left), and the objective is in italics (right):

Equip4rdQtr12-Web-4.jpg

The writing of aims and objectives need not be seen as a daunting task. It is, however, the only way you can know if you have accomplished your goal for that lesson. To help you with this I will make available a complete study on the writing of aims and objectives. Just write me and request it at dbennett@pcanet.org.

Next time we go over how to write objectives for each of the three domains of objectives – what you want them to know, to be, and to do. e

– Dennis Bennett, Coordinator of Resources

CEP Calls Dr. Stephen Estock as new Coordinator

by

estock-sm.jpgTeaching elder Dr. Stephen Estock has been called by the Christian Education and Publications Committee, at its fall meeting, to become the provisional coordinator as of January 1, 2013, according to the RAO (Rules of Assembly Operations). He will be presented to the 41st General Assembly, meeting in Greenville, SC, in June to be elected as coordinator to replace Dr. Charles Dunahoo who will be leaving the position, December 31, 2012.

Estock, a native of Alabama, received his BA from Rhodes College, MDiv. from Covenant Theological Seminary, and his Phd. from Cappella . He served at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, AL , and most recently serves on the staff of Kirk of the Hills in St. Louis, MO. With his wife Susan, the Estocks have three children: Brandon, Nathan, and Morgan.

Stephen has also taught numerous classes at Covenant Seminary, spoken at various CEP Conferences, including CEP’s women’s leadership conference. He has served on the CEP Committee and chaired the committee for two years which gives him first hand experience and knowledge of CEP’s operation, staff, and procedures.

With the background of Christian education and its discipleship focus, Estock demonstrates the gifts and experience that the CEP Committee believes to be needed for this role. He also is aware of the need to work together with the other committees and agencies of the church. He served as one of CEP’s six board members in the PCA’s joint venture, Great Commission Publications, with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

The Committee believes that his understanding of the importance of Christian education and the role of CEP in the PCA, along with his commitment to a team building approach, growing out of his on hands experience in the local church further qualifies him for this position.

According to teaching elder Will Hesterberg, chairman of the CEP search committee, “Stephen Estock has experience of PCA operation and the administration level and appreciates the opportunity to strengthen cooperation between agencies. He is known and respected throughout the PCA.” Hesterberg further stated, “Through our interview and our personal relationships, we believe him to be of a gracious and humble spirit, teachable, and a man who loves God, the church, and his family.”

Dunahoo believes that Estock is God’s provision for CEP at this time, bringing with him a desire to develop a vision for the continuation of CEP’s role in the life of the church and kingdom. Dunahoo said, “Our kindred spirit leads me to believe that he will continue to keep CEP front and center of the PCA’s ministry and make the training and resources for local churches a top priority.”

2012 Reformation Insert

by

Reformation-insert-200.jpg

Order the 2012 Reformation Insert from the PCA Bookstore

In Ephesians 4:16 the Apostle Paul states, “From whom (Christ) the whole body, joined, and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (ESV). John Calvin wrote in The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book Four that God has committed the ministry of the Gospel to His Church. Each believer has a functional place in the body.

The Protestant Reformers of the 16th and 17th centuries often stressed the concept of the “priesthood of all believers.” Placed in its historic context, prior to the Reformation, the Roman Catholic church had developed an organizational structure that created an order
of priests who “lorded over” the Church. They actually taught that man’s access to God was through this man-made priesthood system; however, when Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Reformers read the Scriptures, they found a different instruction, namely that every believer in Christ Jesus was a priest. They called for the church to reinstate the doctrine called “the universal priesthood of all believers.” That biblical position had been lost in the context of a hierarchical ecclesiology.

The missionary and ecumenical theologian Hendrik Kraemer writes that while the Reformation emphasized the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, it failed to give the concept an ongoing practical expression. We see today’s Church suffering from that same mistake.

The Reformers did rightly emphasize that every Christian had the right to study the Scriptures, to come before God, and to help govern the Church’s ministry. Where the Roman Catholic church had developed a strong dichotomy between the clergy and laity, the Reformers said “no.”

The Romanists taught that the priests were spiritual, in a unique way unlike the average church member. The priests were the rulers and the teachers while the people were the ruled and the taught. Authority was vested in that man-made priesthood system. What they said, had in effect, become the law of the land over the centuries.

One of the great fruits of the Protestant Reformation, which returned the Scripture to its rightful place of authority in the Church as over against the authority of the Church of Rome itself, was their emphasis on and their insistence that the Church implement the universal priesthood of all believers. R. B. Kuiper called this doctrine “a distinctly Protestant doctrine.” We observe that since the days of the Protestant Reformation the Church has, too often, neglected the implementation of this truth. We continue to see the tendency to make a strong dichotomy between the clergy and the laity.

Unless the church practices this great biblical doctrine, it will never be able to function in the manner in which God intended. We believe that both clergy and laity share the blame for this neglect. Often the clerics feel more secure if they are in control, plus many are not equipped to implement this doctrine. However, the laity is also at fault because they have been unwilling to become that involved in the church’s ministry. It is generally easier to hire clergy (professionals) and other staff to do the work of ministry. In many churches the involvement of the laity is much less than the Scripture indicates it should be.

The thesis found in Ephesians 4:16 is that each believer has both a position and a function in the Church’s ministry. The challenge is always how to create an environment in the church where “each part does its work.” Every Christian is enlisted in carrying out the mission and ministry of the Church. That is integral to their call to Christian discipleship and kingdom living.

R. B. Kuiper, in his classic, The Glorious Body of Christ, emphasizes this “Priesthood of All Believers” doctrine. He refers to it as the universal office in contrast to the extraordinary offices both of which are built on the prophet, priest, and king concept. He underscores that each believer is part of the universal office of prophet, priest, and king. He further says this is one of the most significant doctrines restored by the Protestant Reformation.

In one sense we could say that one of the fruits of the Protestant Reformation was to get the Church into its rightful place within the kingdom in order to carry out its God given assignment to make kingdom disciples who in turn would do their part in making kingdom disciples. As we have said in other places, the effectiveness of the kingdom of God is generally determined by the energy and focus of the Church. That is the procedure for how God’s truth and the good news of the kingdom make a difference in the world.

“The Reformation leaders went back to the Apostolic Church, as described in the New Testament, to find there the spirit and practice of the Church as they believed it should operate and closely related to this aspect of reform was the stress on the priesthood of all believers,” writes B. K. Kuiper. What fell through the cracks with the twofold thrust of that doctrine was the second part of “each part working properly.”

Therefore, the Reformation principle of the priesthood of all believers is needed within the community of believers in order for the Church to fulfill its assignment from Jesus, the King and Head of the Church.