EPMC Program

We're going full steam here at Calvin Theological Seminary. Here are both the courses that I am taking and the process to ordination (targeted for Fall 2006).

1. What Pastors Can Learn from Authors: We are reading authors like Stephen King and Ann Lamott and discussing writing styles, discovering your writing voice and how this all relates to preaching. This is a great class, it's discussion oriented.
   
2. Christian Reformed Church Polity: The CRC has a policy manual that is hundreds of years old and has lots of wisdom and it's based on the reformed creeds. It's a pretty tight box. The class is a lot of reading and writing.
   
3. Christian Reformed Church History: We are starting back at the reformation (1500's) and looking at how the CRC developed in Europe and through the immigrants took root in both the US and Canada.
   
4. Senior Preaching: We are learning a method of preaching called the 4 pages. It's one way of preaching, and so far it's been a good class.
   
5. Confessional Preaching: Is about preaching from the Heidelberg Catechism.
   
6. Field Education: Is the practical part of ministry and I need to document some of my previous experience and document some of my future work at Heartland.
   
7. Psych Evaluations: We all go through a stack of psychological tests to see if we are fit for ministry.
8. Faculty Staff Interviews: We are interviewed (ie oral comp tests) by a few members of the staff. Mine is on November 11th.
   
9. Bible Comprehensive Exam: I need to pass the bible comp exam which is at the end of October.
10. Application For Candidacy: In consultation with my faculty advisor, we need to put together an application for candidacy for ordination. It basically includes everything like field ed, academic course requirements, interview results, bible comp results etc.
    
11. Two Week Seminar: Next spring we are going to come back to CTS to take two courses over two weeks to complete the academic requirements.
    
12. Synod Approval: Early June 2006 we all are interviewed and hopefully I'll be declared a candidate for ministry in the CRC and be available for call.
    
13. Receive A Call: Heartland would extend a call to me, then I'll be examined at the fall session of Classis BCSE.
    
14. Classical Examination: If I sustain the Classical Exam, then I'll be ordainable, or as my friend says I'll have my ministers ticket.
15. Ordination Ceremony. The final step to this process will be the ordination ceremony, if all things go well, this will be in the fall of 2006.
    

I think that is it, yet new stuff gets added regularily to the list. They bill this program as 10 and 2, 10 weeks in the fall and 2 weeks in the spring. That is a bit misleading. I'll be here just over 11 weeks this fall and there is a ton more than just taking courses.

In a recent phone call with my Dad, he said to me this is an opportunity of a life time to study in a concentrated way at this time of life. I'm trying to keep this perspective in mind, but being away from my family and church home this long is very difficult.