Competence

Dear Pastors

I was at my Doctor’s (GP) earlier this year. It was just after 3.00pm and I asked him how many appointments he still had to go before knocking off. “None” he said, “I’m off to a class”. “Really!”

AV. What’s the class about?

Doc. I don’t remember exactly what he said but I do remember it was a women’s health issue.

AV. How long is the class?

Doc. One hour.

AV. Can I ask you, how many of these classes (PD sessions) do you take in each year?

Doc. Around 40 most years.

AV. Shivers, that’s incredible! And that’s why you are such a good doctor and why I’ve been with you for 27 years and why I for one won’t be going far.

If my Doc only depended on his initial training that he did 35 years or so ago he would not have line at his front door of people wanting him as their doctor. In fact if my doctor only depended on his initial education and training he wouldn’t be allowed to practise today – period! As you know he along with lawyers, teachers, accountants, engineers and tradespeople etc. have to undertake Professional Development (read lifelong learning, upskilling), if they want to maintain their ‘practising certificates’. To be honest with you I can’t even imagine going to say a heart surgeon whose last ‘formal training’ exposure was when he/she was at med school. That would be down right frightening.

So you can see where I am going with this. If it is a requirement for most all occupation groups these days then why not for us pastors who are doing equally important work, perhaps even more important in that we are dealing with peoples souls (heart surgeons of a different kind), their spiritual well-being and their ultimate destinies. Why wouldn’t I ‘invest’ carefully considered time and money into getting better, to improving my competencies and to be the very best I can?

That’s what we are about at LeadershipWorx (LW). I can’t tell you how passionate I am about this. At LW we are about providing relevant content for pastors and Christian leaders in an affordable and accessible format with the goal that we might all get better…….more skilful and more savvy. So please keep an eye on next year’s offerings that we will have updated by the end of this month.

And before I go for a bike ride let me introduce you to this most excellent programme that is open to pastors from right across the church spectrum. You can see it here.

Mike Crudge is a new friend and colleague of mine. He is passionate about Life Long Learning and about what we as the church in NZ ‘present’ to a watching world. You will see that the Guided Learning options for next year here are a mix of theological and practical and they are VERY affordable. Though this programme of study has been designed for the Baptist Pastors Registration (Credentialing) Programme, any and every pastor is welcome to sign up.

And next time you call a plumber to fix your loo make sure he/she is a ‘licensed practitioner’ otherwise you will have a smelly and costly mess to clean up. Just saying!

Blessings

Alan

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.