General Assembly 46 - Wednesday
General Assembly 46 - Day 2
Overview
Today's events were marked by special conversations with old friends and important discussion about our education requirements for pastors in the EPC.
The EPC, like many denominations, is struggling to find the next generation of pastors (also called Teaching Elders in the EPC). One problem is the rising cost of college. For our entire history, the EPC has required a Master of Divinity (MDiv) as the minimum standard to be made a pastor, with some exceptions. A Master of Divinity can be anywhere from 72 - 100+ credit hours. For example, a typical High School diploma in the US is 22-24 credit hours.
Today, the General Assembly voted to affirm that the minimum requirement is 72 credit hours. It doesn't have to be an MDiv, just some combination of graduate level theological studies. The EPC also passed a document outlining which classes need to be included in that study. Bottom line: this makes the education requirements of the EPC more attainable for more people.
Why is this important?
What do you need your pastor to know? How do you know that he or she is qualified to teach the Bible, to give wise advice about problems in life, and be a good leader. In a time when more are more people are going to YouTube, or even AI, with all sorts of questions - what makes your pastor better or different?
The expectation in the EPC is that the pastor is a "subject matter expert," can read the Bible in Greek or Hebrew, and has wrestled with difficult Bible passages. Just as important - your pastor is someone who knows you. You don't get that with YouTube, and definitely not with AI. A pastor is not only someone who knows God's Word, but knows you and can support and understand you personally.
Fun Stuff
Today's events were marked by special conversations with old friends and important discussion about our education requirements for pastors in the EPC.
The EPC, like many denominations, is struggling to find the next generation of pastors (also called Teaching Elders in the EPC). One problem is the rising cost of college. For our entire history, the EPC has required a Master of Divinity (MDiv) as the minimum standard to be made a pastor, with some exceptions. A Master of Divinity can be anywhere from 72 - 100+ credit hours. For example, a typical High School diploma in the US is 22-24 credit hours.
Today, the General Assembly voted to affirm that the minimum requirement is 72 credit hours. It doesn't have to be an MDiv, just some combination of graduate level theological studies. The EPC also passed a document outlining which classes need to be included in that study. Bottom line: this makes the education requirements of the EPC more attainable for more people.
Why is this important?
What do you need your pastor to know? How do you know that he or she is qualified to teach the Bible, to give wise advice about problems in life, and be a good leader. In a time when more are more people are going to YouTube, or even AI, with all sorts of questions - what makes your pastor better or different?
The expectation in the EPC is that the pastor is a "subject matter expert," can read the Bible in Greek or Hebrew, and has wrestled with difficult Bible passages. Just as important - your pastor is someone who knows you. You don't get that with YouTube, and definitely not with AI. A pastor is not only someone who knows God's Word, but knows you and can support and understand you personally.
Fun Stuff
- Today I was able to catch up with my Middle School youth pastor,
- We had In-N-Out Burger AGAIN,
- Traveled to Golden, CO - a little mountain town.
Posted in EPC