We at Matthias Media have recently made available a free and downloadable discussion guide for Col Marshall and Tony Payne’s The Trellis and the Vine. Download it from our Australian or North American store. (more…)
Category Archives: Training
Woman to woman: Answering the call of Titus 2
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
In this article for women and their pastors, Jean Williams talks about discipleship, women’s ministry and how to become the sort of woman who has been shaped and moulded by the word of God. (more…)
Diary of a ministry apprentice (Part 2): March 2008
Everyday Ministry
Guan’s story so far in four sentences: Guan likes self-deprecation, but isn’t very good at it. He is ever so slightly obsessive about his iTunes collection, he is married to M,1 and at the time of writing (2008), he has just started ministry training (MTS) at the University of New South Wales (hereafter known as ‘the Uni’). So far, the year has begun with a whirlwind staff conference and recruiting students at the human flood that is the Uni’s Orientation Week (see Briefing #375). Now things begin to settle into a rhythm, but life is not without its challenges. (more…)
Diary of a ministry apprentice (Part 1): January 2008
Pastoral Ministry
Something Grimmo said: “On MTS, failure is success. And success is failure.” Keep this in mind: it’ll be important later.
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How important is the piece of paper?
Everyday Ministry
I’m very new to the world of being a provider of formal theological education (having had some experience as a student), and am learning lots along the way. One of the issues that is really big beyond the shores of Australia is the question of accreditation and qualification. (more…)
Why we still need ministry apprenticeships
Col Marshall tells us why we are in as much need of ministry apprenticeships today as ever. (more…)
Ministry in the year of swine flu
Up front, Sola Panel
How would your congregation of 120 members continue to function—with no regular church gatherings of any kind, and no small home groups (except for groups the size of three)? (more…)
A virtual conference
Life
One of the advantages of living in Mexico is that you are in the same time zone as much of the USA. For NBA and NFL fans, this is good news. Last week, I discovered another advantage: the Gospel Coalition was holding its annual conference in Chicago, and was streaming the sessions live. Throughout the day and evening, I could listen to the likes of John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll and Ajith Fernando in real time. Apparently, about 3,500 people attended; who knows how many watched like I did!
But as good as it was (the technical production was brilliant, and I could see and hear everything—maybe better than some of those attending), it wasn’t the same as being there. This got me wondering about the concept of cyber-church, e-church, virtual church or whatever you want to call it. Will it ever work? Should we try and make it work? Are there essentials of meeting together that the internet just can’t provide?
Flexibility and where to apply it
Pastoral Ministry
The training of a minister takes a long time. Once upon a time, length of time was no problem. It was a necessity that bred quality. (more…)
Flexibility and the theological college express
Pastoral Ministry
Apparently the (or a) problem that is restricting churches growing is now the ‘inflexibility’ of the theological college. If ever we want to grow better (read ‘bigger’ or ‘more’; these words are now interchangeable) churches then we need to have a ‘flexible’ theological college.
Time out to learn and grow, undistracted and exposed to the word of God
Pastoral Ministry
I am on study leave at the moment—a lovely privilege of being a lecturer at Moore College—‘time out’ from the normal routine in order to enable all kinds of extra thought and reflection, which is always refreshing and productive. I talk to friends who don’t have such a privilege, and they are immediately envious and immediately see the value of it. (more…)
A basic booklist for MTS
Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
I need your help. I’ve trained a number of MTS apprentices for a decade and a half. (For more info on the whole MTS apprentice training philosophy, read Passing the Baton by Col Marshall.) (more…)
Making trainees of all people
What is training and what does it involve? As David Shead argues, it is all about discipleship. (more…)
Ministry mind shifts
If we are going to develop people-focused ministries, certain shifts in our thinking must occur. The fundamental shift consists of moving away from an institutional view of gospel ministry towards a personal view of gospel ministry. We need to stop thinking how to build ministry around structures and start thinking about how to build ministry around people. (more…)