Teaching Decisions

A few weeks ago I was asked to consider teaching Basic Doctrine II, a class for the interns at TRC. At the same time I was also jazzed up about leading another Reach Team (aka small group) this coming fall. So, faced with this dilemna, I prayed and mentally reviewed all I knew about both. I know that doctrine is so important in our Christian walk, and sometimes I feel that we don't get enough of this teaching these days, for some reason. And yet, I was excited about leading a RT, especially one involving voluteering in the church.

Although I knew the Doctrine class was going to rough, as I have not taught anything like that for over 30 years (whew, time flies!), I also knew that I like the structured studying that comes with this assignment. So....here we go, jumping into Doctrine with both feet. I'm estimating it will take 6 - 10 hours a week for preparation and then about 3 hours for the weekly class.

And that is the good part, the study time and the challenge of presenting Doctrine (this one is basically about Christ) in such a way as to make it real in the lives of young interns. We are using a textbook by Kevin Conner who is associated with the City Bible Church in Portland OR. I first heard Kevin about 35 years ago in Anchorage AK when he came and held a series of meetings at Abbott Loop Christian Center. So I'm really looking forward to using his material.

TRC now has ownership of our building - well, us and the bank. But because of the not-for-profit status we will be experiencing a great monthly cash savings that will let us accomplish more ministry: about $9K/month through '08 then upwards of $12K/mo. This is one giving church and there is a new freedom to move on now that the building purchase is behind us. I'm expecting some great things.