Author Archives: Nathan Haila

Another “Earthquake” in Haiti

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Rebuilding Haiti is a spiritual and social matter. It is not just about physical structures, agriculture, and economic systems. The Antioch School is playing a key role in helping a network of church networks in Haiti train 1,600 pastors.

On January 12, 2010 a catastrophic earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti. An estimated 316,000 people died, another 300,000 were injured, and 1,000,000 were made homeless as 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or were severely damaged.

Since then, a second “earthquake” with numerous “aftershocks” continues to rock Haiti. The earthquake has taken the form of more than 10,000 NGO’s (non-government organizations) currently operating in Haiti. Some Haitians say that the overabundance of NGO’s is now a bigger problem that the earthquake. Even though many NGO’s are run by Christians with good intentions, they are creating an environment of dependency that is eroding the self-initiative and self-sufficiency of the Haitian people.

In September 2012, the Antioch School took part in the “Rebuilding Haiti” track of the New York Leadership Center’s Movement Day. Dozens of Christian ministry organizations gathered to describe their contributions and try to find ways to partner. It is amazing how many innovative and creative ideas are being brought to Haiti by Christian organizations (e.g. innovative agriculture such as aquaponics and moringa farming). However, the Antioch School stands in a unique place because it focuses on the centrality of the church and the development of church leaders are being crucial for the rebuilding of Haiti.

Mullery Jean-Pierre, Pastor of Beraca Baptist Church and President of Beraca Community Development Corporation, presented the story of what has happened since the 2010 earthquake. Churches in Haiti have networked together like never before and are taking seriously their central role in rebuilding the country. BILD International and the Antioch School are serving 1,600 pastors in Haiti through a network of church networks.

Unfortunately, many of the Christian NGO’s don’t want to work with Haitian churches and pastors because some pastors have taken advantage of the goodwill of NGO’s and some churches don’t really care about community development. However, strong churches with godly leaders are still at the core of God’s plan for Haiti, as well as everywhere else in the world. The Antioch School is helping these pastors be well-equipped for ministry, but also for community development in their cities, towns, and villages.

A $5,000 sponsorship of a Haitian pastor not only enables him to earn a degree from the Antioch School and be well-trained for his ministry role, but also to be trained in a tent-making skill that can be used by him and others in a church-based business venture that will become a source of support for community development. For more information about how you can help the Antioch School help pastors to rebuild Haiti, click here or email info@antiochschool.edu.

Join us for the 2012 BILD Conference!

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November 5–10, 2012  |  Ames, Iowa

Where else on earth can you find all this in one place:

  • Obtain further training in the use of BILD resources for doing C-BTE.
  • Hang out with a cross-section of other church leaders using BILD resources and leading Antioch School programs.
  • Rub shoulders with leaders of some of the world’s largest church planting movements.
  • Link up in partnership with indigenous apostolic leaders in a whole new paradigm of missions.
  • Get personal time with BILD staff and Antioch School senior faculty.
  • Experience the hospitality of the Ames-Des Moines CityChurch family.
  • Be challenged by God-sized ideas, such as the strategic role of “shadow/slum cities” in the spontaneous expansion of the Gospel.

During the preceding week, key leaders of BILD’s global partners gather for strategic planning and coordination of their C-BTE programs.  On November 5-8, you may join these global leaders in further training on the use of BILD resources.  The conference climaxes on November 8-10 with the BILD Executive Leadership Summit.

Ongoing Certification Training
Certified Leaders are required to take part in at least one Leadership Series course workshop and one mini-Paradigm Transformation Project each year in order to renew their certification to lead Antioch School programs.  The BILD Conference is wonderful opportunity to obtain this training.  The following options are available for you during the Conference:

The following two-day workshops are offered on November 5-6
(Monday-Tuesday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm):

  • Teaching First Principles
  • Pauline Epistles*
  • Leaders in the Early Church*
  • Preaching & Teaching*
  • Theology in Culture*

The following two-day workshops are offered on November 7-8
(Wednesday-Thursday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm):

  • Acts*
  • Essentials of Sound Doctrine*
  • Interpreting I*
  • Covenants*
  • OT Theology:  Law*

*  Meets the Antioch School requirement for a Leadership Series course workshop
** Meets the Antioch School requirement for a mini-PTP

2012 Executive Leadership Summit
The BILD Conference climaxes on November 8-10 with the Executive Leadership Summit (ELS)**.  This is an incredible opportunity to see what God is doing in the world.  You can glimpse inside some of the largest, most innovative church planting movements.  The ELS is a unique blend of ministry reports, foundational biblical teaching, and world-changing ideas.  It begins with Jeff Reed introducing us to the concept of “Shadow Cities” and how the spontaneous expansion of the Gospel is taking off in some of the world’s worst slums.  The ELS will focus on particular ministries as lenses through which to see some of the new and significant things God is doing in North America and the rest of the world.  It concludes with a Friday night banquet of celebration and a Saturday morning prayer breakfast.

The BILD Conference gives you a wonderful opportunity to link up in partnership with indigenous apostolic leaders in a whole new paradigm in missions.  You understand the effectiveness of in-service, church-based theological education.  Well, it is exponentially more significant in parts of the world where there is no established church, weak economies, and yet the gospel is moving rapidly.  The BILD Conference represents an entirely different approach to missions as well as theological education.  For many of BILD’s North American partners, it is a new and refreshing idea to be able to partner with tested sodal leaders of church planting movements.  During the BILD Conference, you can get a much better sense of what is happening and consider how you can become even more involved in the global expansion of the Gospel.

For those who wish to become Antioch School Certified Leaders, a week-long Initial Certification Training is offered November 5-9. 

Making travel arrangements?
Read our Travel and Housing Information for the 2012 BILD Conference.  Note that lunch and snacks are provided.

 

I Don’t Have Enough Leaders . . . to Lead an Antioch School Program

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“I really want to start an Antioch School program for our church, but we just don’t have enough leaders to support it.” 

Do you see the irony in this statement?

Most churches find themselves in this dilemma.  They recognize that they have a desperate need to develop leaders, but their current leaders don’t think they have the capacity to do so.  Current leaders just don’t have the time or skills necessary to launch an Antioch School program.

What are your options?

1) Hire more leaders.  This is also loaded with issues.  For instance, most churches also don’t have enough money.  And even if they did have plenty of money, they often don’t like the candidates and process associated with hiring outside ministry professionals.

2) Use a “plug & play” training program.   There are plenty of quick and easy solutions, such as a book that claims to provide a “portable seminary,” but most of these approaches have serious inadequacies.  Many are not much more than content “dumps” of what someone thinks leaders need to know.  Others use a rather fluffy fill-in-the-blank approach that doesn’t have much depth.  These training programs usually lack meaningful assessment and are rarely connected to academic credentials from legitimately accredited higher education institutions.  However, if you find a training program that meets your criteria and serves your needs, then certainly use it.

3) Use untrained leaders.  The price is right, but you can’t afford to make this mistake.  The costs of the damage done by untrained leaders may be the greatest expense of all.

4) Start an Antioch School program.  The Antioch School allows you to do things that most churches can’t do on their own.  Whether you think you have enough time or skills to focus on developing leaders, it is a biblical mandate and therefore must be a priority (2 Timothy 2:2).  We don’t pretend that it is easy to start and sustain an Antioch School program for your church, but it is do-able.  Unlike any option, it fits into and relies on ministry structures and mentoring relationships that God has already put in place in your church.   We find that many churches that use other training programs come to us later because they want something that is deeper, more extensive, bears academic credit and degrees, and/or has the unique features of BILD C-BTE resources (Biblical Theology orientation, Socratic discussion emphasis, in-service learning approach, etc.).

We don’t think you have a better option. 

So, how do you do it?  The BILD Leadership Series courses, as well as the Personal Development Assessment forms, are tremendously efficient tools.  Rather than start from scratch, you are able to use our tools to implement a comprehensive training program.  We make it possible for you to do what God has called you to do and what only you can do.

It probably will take some realignment of priorities for you as a church leader.  However, you don’t need to take the entire burden on yourself.   Even students may be able to help in a variety of ways.  For instance, you may have someone with administrative gifts who can help with the operation of the program.  You can implement a “buddy-system” so that students can hold each other accountable for doing their work.  Some students with teaching gifts can even share the load of leading the class sessions.

The Antioch School program put in place to train future leaders may actually mobilize leaders along the way, not just as the end product of the degree programs.  Now that is a wonderful irony! Reserve your spot in an upcoming eLuncheon to learn more about the Antioch School!

When is the eLunchon? 

When: eLuncheons are held weekly, typically on Monday and Tuesday.
Time: 12pm CDT

How do I signup? 

To reserve your spot in an upcoming eLuncheon, click on the button below:

Or click this link: http://antiochschool.webex.com

 

Serving an Urban Center: Interview with Emory Brown

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Emory Brown is Pastor of Refreshing Springs Church in Buffalo, NY, but he also leads the BILD effort to provide church-based theological education for the entire city of Buffalo. In many ways, Emory is ahead of the curve. He has explored many things in life and ministry preparation, but found satisfaction when his own development became truly rooted in his own church. This video allows Emory to tell his own story, explain his perspective, and offer thoughts related to what it means to do church-based theological education for the entire church of Buffalo.

Emory is not trying to build a campus for a traditional Bible college or seminary and he is not even trying to start a Buffalo extension site of the Antioch School. Rather, along with Larry Wolf and the Sundoulos ministry team, he is trying to establish a resource center as part of his church that will help church leaders be equipped to build church-based theological education in their own churches and church networks. His vision never loses sight of the centrality of churches and church leaders in the training of their existing and emerging leaders.

If you are in the Buffalo area (extended from Erie, PA to Syracuse, NY) or just want to explore more about something you see in the video, you may email Emory.

If you have a similar vision for your urban center, please send us an email.

Interview with Caleb Keller, SIMA Professional

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Caleb Keller is a SIMA® professional who specializes in service to Antioch School students. In this video, he addresses issues like “What is SIMA and a SIMA MAP?” “Why is it so important?” “How do I start?” “What are other Antioch School students saying about it?” “How have you personally benefitted from it?” and “What other advice do you have for Antioch School students?”

“Experience development that is focused sharply on you” is one of the lines that used in advertising the Antioch School.  This may be manifested best in the central role of the SIMA Motivated Abilities Pattern (MAP) in Antioch School degree programs.  However, because this is not the sort of thing that is common in theological education, some church partners and students struggle to use it.

The SIMA MAP is an analytical tool that helps you (and those in your God-given learning community) to understand how God has made you. We list it first on the portfolio transcripts of all Antioch School degree programs because it is such a fantastic starting point and foundational dimension of church-based theological education. Antioch School degrees are not just academic programs using BILD’s Leadership Series courses, but life and ministry development programs using a variety of resources. Even the experience with BILD’s Leadership Series courses is made richer by students having a deep understanding of how God has made them and how they fit into the life and ministry contexts God has given to them.

Some partners don’t offer Leadership Series courses during the summer. However, summer is a great time to address some of the Life and Ministry Development parts of an Antioch School program. If your students haven’t yet completed the Autobiographical Form (or a SIMA MAP Response), strongly encourage them to use the summer to do so. You may even want to call a special meeting or have a few special classes that help them move forward as a cohort. Please note that we take this so seriously that students may be placed on academic probation if they have been enrolled for more than a year without making initial progress on their SIMA MAP Responses.

[Student Interview] Pete Ziolkowski, New Richmond, WI

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Interview with Pastor Pete Ziolkowski, New Richmond, WI

Stories are great. It seems that everyone is encouraged by hearing about how God is blessing someone through church-based theological education.

Here are a few snipets of a conversation with Pete Ziolkowski, Pastor of Leadership Development for Faith Community Church which meets in New Richmond, WI. Pastor Pete talks about how the BILD Leadership Series courses in his Antioch School degree program have built up love for the church, commitment to serve the church, and impacted major decisions in the lives of people in his church.

We would like to hear your stories and perhaps share them with other students. Email us if you have a story to tell and we will follow up with you.

Impact of The First Principles Series

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Interview with Pastor Dave Patterson, Windham, ME.

Frequently, we hear stories about the impact of BILD resources from our church partners in North America and around the world. Here is a story of the simple, but profound impact of The First Principles Series on Bill, a 62 year old recent convert in coastal Maine.

This impact took place because Pastor Dave Patterson, Tom Szostak, and other church leaders took seriously the use of The First Principles in their church. The First Principles booklets are not just another Bible study tool. Rather, they are intended to help believers, new and old, to become established in their faith. In the testimony about Bill, you can hear how he was drawn to the family of God, as well as the impact of his life in the community.

Each Antioch School degree program includes a requirement for students to engage in a Teaching Practicum in which they teach The First Principles. This helps students become more established themselves as they are teaching others, but also extends the immediate impact of the Antioch School on the health of churches.

How extensively are you using The First Principles in your church? Are your Antioch School students fulfilling their Teaching Practicum requirements? If you need help in knowing how to use The First Principles, you should review the Teaching the First Principles booklet that was part of your Initial Training process, refer to the Practicum Manual, participate in the next Practicum e-Workshop, or send us an email.

Ultimately, it is not about fulfilling Antioch School requirements, but fulfilling the Great Commission and its mandate for us to teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded. Bill’s story is a great example of how this can be done, even in one of the hardest-to-reach parts of hard-to-reach New England.

Exponential 2011: Key Questions #6 & #7

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Key Question #6: What is the author’s intention for the passage being cited?

Most of us are concerned about being “biblical,” but this can mean many things, such as being aligned with biblical truth or using the Bible as a point of reference. As you listen to someone claim biblical support from a passage, are they even considering the author’s intention for the passage (or is it just a good verse that alone seems to support a particular idea)? Few of us would say that it is proper to pull verses out of context, but many do it anyway. A good question to ask when thinking about the use of a passage is whether the biblical author would recognize it as being a legitimate use of the passage. Is the speaker really using the text to bring some other picture to mind on which his emphasis really relies? Is the passage itself a controlling force in the use of the text?

Key Question #7: What is the global significance of what is being said?

We hear much about the relativism of the postmodern world (even though relativism has been strong for a long time). What are the universal principles that undergird what is being said? On what truth should the claim be judged regarding its legitimacy? In light of how many churches have become focused inwardly, it is good to consider how their emphasis relates to the priority of churches focusing outwardly. How does this teaching relate to church planting and God’s spontaneous expansion of the church? It is also good to think in terms of the global church (as a teacher, not just a mission field). How does this speaker draw on lessons learned through the massive movements of God elsewhere in the world in the last 100 years?
During the Exponential conference, follow our blog and Steve Kemp on Twitter for updates. Please leave your comments below and check back tomorrow for the next question in the series.

 

Exponential 2011: Key Questions #4 & #5

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Key Question #4: Where do they focus on leadership development?

Perhaps the question of where should be preceded by the question of if. Do they even have leadership in view? In the trend to focus on good things, such as community life and giftedness, some have intentionally or unintentionally disregarded leadership. If they do address leadership, where do they see leadership being developed? Is a formal institution like a seminary or Bible college assumed to be the normal place for leadership development? Or do they focus more on forms of on-the-job-experience? Further, is leadership something that can be developed in nearly anyone? Or is leadership development something that is construed primarily in terms of other things such as giftedness and fruitfulness?

Key Question #5: What do they mean by discipleship?

When someone refers to discipleship, they usually have some core things in mind. Are those core things mostly about knowledge, character, or behavior? Are they mostly about rules, principles, or worldview? They also usually have some core Scripture passages in mind. What are those passages and do you think that these are passages that the biblical author’s intended to be normative regarding discipleship? In other words, would the apostles recognize their emphasis as fitting with their imperatives about “passing on the deposit” or “the teaching?” You may also want to think about the process of discipleship. Does it lead to spiritual maturity in an explicit manner that measureable and attainable?
During the Exponential conference, follow our blog and Steve Kemp on Twitter for updates. Please leave your comments below and check back tomorrow for the next question in the series.

 

Exponential 2011: Key Question #3

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Key Question #3: How do they picture Jesus?

Everyone points to Jesus as our model, but what does that Jesus look like? Here are some common recent images of Jesus, even though they aren’t always labeled as explicitly: Jesus CEO is like a business owner using lots of modern business and entrepreneurial skills; Jesus Servant-Leader with the emphasis mostly on the servant side; Jesus the Radical who is characterized more by the dynamic of stirring things up than any particular substance that is worthy of stirring things up for; and more. What form of biblical support do they use for their images of Jesus? How much is really just proof-texting? Ironically, one’s image of Jesus is really a mirror of one’s own values more than the product of careful Bible study. Here are a few biblical points of reference to help you compare how they picture Jesus. How does it compare with the description of Jesus that we get from the kerygmatic sermons of the apostles in Acts? How does it compare to the four portraits we are given in the Gospels?
During the Exponential conference, follow our blog and Steve Kemp on Twitter for updates. Please leave your comments below and check back tomorrow for the next question in the series.