ministrypracticum

2006-12-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Week # 10
Stephen Whitten
Dec. 7, 2006

The past two weeks my mind was a complete blank and I forgot to post.

On this observation I observed the passing of the sacraments. The pastor had me observe what he called family communion. He sat and prayed with the family and then they would receive the sacraments and then they would give thanks and the next family would come he did the same over again.

It was a great way for him to meet with every family and keep the level of intimacy with his congregation. The families shared stories and personal family prayer requests. Then we would pray for them.

What I learned from this was the community that was created by this communion. Not only is communion sacred but so is family and the tight relationship between family and preacher and prayer.

2006-11-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

Week # 7

Stephen Whitten

This week I observed my pastor in a meeting of the middle age group of people. They are the workers of the church. Anything that needs to be done they do it. He says that being able to refresh them and make sure that they don’t get burned out is crucial to the church.

He said that they keep the church running really. If they didn’t do what they do His job would be even harder than it already is. To minister to a group of people when you have to do everything it becomes apparent that my job gets harder even to the congregation.

I learned that if you try to do anything or everything by yourself that you become burned out easier.

2006-11-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

week #6

(repost)-I am in Ohio at Cedarville University. NCMSLC conference and their internet doesn't allow me to post I am on my gracious host's computer. I also was not able to observe my pastor last week so 5 & 6 are together this week.

Also this week I observed the wednesday night bible study. The pastor started the meeting off with prayer and then we dove into the scripture. He said that the Wednesday bible study was a chance to get deeper into the word and extract the meaning out of it rather then just get a message that the pastor thought. There is so much more meaning in the scripture than we as christians realize. The pastor also stated that this was a great way to create deeper relationships with the people in his congregation. They discuss how they are doing in the week and what they are planning for upcoming events.

I learned that people in the church appreciate the willingness of a pastor who will stop ranting and raving and actually teach the word instead of preaching all the time.(not that preaching is secondary) That teaching and preaching are hand in hand.

2006-11-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Week #5
Stephen Whitten

(repost)-I am in Ohio at Cedarville University. NCMSLC conference and their internet doesn't allow me to post I am on my gracious host's computer.

This week I observed what the pastor calls "sports ministry". Where members of the church get together and invite their friends to join a sports team. They are in a church league where everybody including community teams are allowed to play.

The pastor stated that he never even thought that sports could be a ministry. Since the church has started this program it has reached several people and actually increased the number of members that attend the church.

I learned that even if you can't play or particpate in a physical activity that you still can minister to the people who love to do that sort of thing.

2006-10-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Week #4

Stephen Whitten

This week I observed Pastor Hurlocker working as a Chaplin of the Indiana Wesleyan University-Kokomo campus. This is a different ministry. He said that the ministry is not just the ministry inside the 4 walls of the Church building.

He is allowed to go through a study with them. For the first fifteen minutes of the class. He shows the Love of Christ to everyone. He goes to every class teaching each of the students to find their own statement of faith.

I learned that going out and preaching is one the best ministries out there. The object of teaching to everybody no matter what the arena is what God wants us to do all the time not just on Sunday.

2 Timothy 4:2 says to, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

2006-10-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Week #3

In this week's observation I sat through a board meeting. Now boring is not the correct way to describe the meeting. Actually I was very intrigued by the whole thing. I may have seen a lot of things that I would have never saw if I had just went into the meeting expecting boredom.

I won't go through the meeting word by word or by the minutes, but I will share with you the relationship I saw between the board and the pastor.

After the minutes from last meeting were read and accepted, Treasurer's and the Trustee's report was given. Then the Pastor's report of the church was given. I noticed that the pastor brought several problems to the board and asked for wisdom in the areas. Now the confidentiality of the problems can not be explained, but the fact that the pastor was asking for wisdom from the board really surprised me. I realized that the board is not just there for the church they are also established as a guide to the pastor. The board keeps the church running but also keeps the church from tearing the pastor apart. In some instances the board doesn't help but this instance was one that the pastor was protected by the board. I found this very interesting. That even with the position of the board they did not exploit to gain power or control, but rather they used their position to better the church.

After the Pastors report was given it went on to the Sunday School Superintendent for the Sunday school report. The report was a good one. The Superintendent made his point on wanting to make Sunday school grow. He and the pastor said that with the Sunday school a foundation the church will grow even more than it does right now.

With all the seriousness and the procedures they have to follow the board members still found humor to lighten the 'boredom' of procedures. So after one hour and fifteen minutes the board finished the final proposals and discussion of the church business. I then realized that what a church board does is make decisions for the church. I realized that a church is a family and the decisions it makes needs to be unified at all corners because if it isn't then Satan will have a foot hold and the separation that could occur can be devastating.

2006-10-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Week #2

This week I observed a pastor's need for youth ministry. A pastor is needed for youth. The youth is a very crucial element in one's ministry. The youth is the reason a lot of the middle aged people come to church. My pastor said that their kids started to come and then eventually they came.

He thinks that the youth is just as important as the adults. He gives the youth his time. He is always available to them. He says that preaching to the children is sometimes easier because they respond so nicely. I noticed that most of the youth did talk out loud and responded when he asked questions. There were quite a few that didn't have a problem asking questions when they didn't understand.

Matthew 19:14-Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Even Jesus said that heaven belongs to such as these. To let one's ministry be based off of love and caring is more important than to preach fire and brimstone.

The observation this week helped me find the importance in our youth. Without them there is no future church.

2006-10-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

Week # 1

I observed a funeral viewing this week. The funeral was for a member of the church. It was an older couple, and the elder man seemed to be dealing with the pain, but having a difficult time with the lost as well. The pastor I am observing made it known that he would be available anytime, anybody needed to talk.

The pastor went around the viewing and introduced himself and simply reiterated that he is there if anybody needed him. He had the chance to talk to some of the people about the member who had passed away. They all seemed eager to talk to the pastor. After about an half an hour I noticed a few things. The people were pleased to know that a pastor was there and that he cared enough to come for the whole viewing. That fact that they could talk to him when they were ready was a relief to them it seemed.

The pastor did all he could to get the member on a deeper level. His visitation pastor was there also. The church has a visitation pastor, which is an retired pastor who goes out and visits the people in the nursing homes, hospitals, and hospice patiences on a biweekly basis. With the size of the church the pastor can only make it to visit the people once a month. The pastor decide to bring the visitation pastor in on the preparation of the funeral service.

The observation gave me insight on how a pastor is suppose to act towards his congregation at a funeral viewing, but even at the level of everyday. Pastors are suppose to be available to their congregation anytime the are ready to talk.

2006-10-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

This is my blog, so that I may write down my observations of a local pastor. This is for my Introduction Pastoral Ministries class, I have now started to post.