Preventing Ministry Failure – LEAD 625
CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 02/01/2024
Course Description
This class will help the student (and their spouse) better prepare themselves for the rigors of 21st century ministry, avoid common pitfalls, and prevent potential problems. It will deal with such significant issues as setting realistic expectations, dealing with church boards, marriage, children, finances, burnt-out, stress, time management and more.
For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.
Rationale
Long-term ministry in the 21st century is becoming the exception rather than the rule. The Christian world has been rocked by the number of prominent leaders, in both church and para-church organizations, who have been compromised by moral, ethical, and theological failures. Thousands of other pastors leave the ministry each year never to return do to issues of stress, burn-out, divorce, bankruptcy, and family issues. This course is designed to prepare the Christian worker for the rigors of ministry and to prevent ministry burnout and dropout.
Course Assignment
Textbook readings and lecture presentations
Course Requirements Checklist
After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.
Discussions (4)
The student will post a minimum 400-word Discussion Thread to the topic presented for the assigned Module: Week. In the following Module: Week, the student will reply to the threads of at least 2 classmates using at least 200 words for each response to complete the discussion for the topic of the previous Module: Week. Discussion assignments are required in every Module: Week. (CLO: A)
Book Critique Assignments (3)
The student will read the Dickson, Harley, and Swenson texts and submit a well-written, 3–5-page critique in current Turabian format for each text. (CLOs: A, B, D)
Emotional Needs Assessment Assignment
The student will complete the Emotional Needs Questionnaire in Appendix B of the Harley text and write a 1 page paper, evaluating and summarizing his/her findings according to given parameters. (CLOs: A, B, E)
Weekly Schedule and Finances Evaluation Assignment
The Weekly Schedule and Finances Evaluation Assignment will consist of 3 elements, submitted as a whole. The student is required to create a document of his/her current schedule and summarize it. Based on his/her current schedule and a summary, the student will then create another “proposed schedule”, marking the changes that need to be made. (CLO: D).
Quiz
The Quiz: Comprehensive Essay Assessment will cover the Reading & Study material for the entire course. The quiz consists of 5 questions which the student will answer in essay form of 400–500 words each. The student will have 2 hours to complete the quiz.
