FEATURE

As a pastor, do you sometimes feel the need to talk with a more experienced minister about how to biblically approach some thorny problems of your pastorate? As a minister, licentiate, man under presbytery care, or an elder, would you like to supplement your education with a detailed look at the historic standards which summarize your faith, direct your worship, and determine your church government?

This spring’s Ministerial Training Institute of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church offers four courses, taught by OPC ministers and seminary professors, on subjects which are often touched on in seminary, but not from a uniquely OPC perspective. The classes offer an understanding of the heritage of the Reformed faith, an analysis of OPC government, a look at the distinctives of Reformed worship, and help in developing a biblical approach to the pastorate. The courses, which are seminary-level classes, begin through Internet assignments and readings on February 1 and continue through to late April or early May with a few days of mandatory Intensive Training in a classroom setting.

Potential students have until Monday, January 25, to sign up for one of the following four courses:

• The Westminster Standards by Dr. George W. Knight, III, an OPC teacher and adjunct professor in New Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Two credits)
• Pastoral Theology by the Rev. William Shishko, pastor of Franklin Square OPC in Franklin Square, New York, and adjunct professor in Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Two credits)
• Reformed Worship by the Rev. Larry Wilson, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church OPC in Indianapolis, Indiana (One credit)
• Form of Government by the Rev. Alan Strange, an OPC associate pastor and associate professor of Mid-America Reformed Seminary (One credit)

The Intensive Training for the courses will be held in two places, depending on which class you are taking. Attendance is mandatory.

Pastoral Theology students will attend Intensive Training from Saturday, April 24 through Thursday, April 29, at Franklin Square OPC in Franklin Square, New York.

The Intensive Training for the Westminster Standards, Reformed Worship, and Form of Government courses will be held at Bethel OPC in Wheaton, Illinois. Classes will be held Tuesday, May 4 through Thursday, May 6.

Each course requires a $50 registration fee, which is fully refundable when the course is completed. The student is also responsible to pay for books, materials, and any travel expenses beyond those reimbursed through a travel scholarship. The MTIOPC travel scholarship is a $350 grant to help defray the cost of travel to intensive training for OPC men under care, licentiates, and pastors. An additional $100 is available if matched by the local session or presbytery.

Please send in the application with your registration deposit by the January 25 deadline. Applications and course descriptions are available for download on the MTIOPC page. Look under Christian Education, then MTIOPC. Although classes do not start until February 1, 2010, enrollment is limited.

For more information, contact Pat Clawson, MTIOPC coordinator, at 215-830-0900 or ccesec@opc.org.