Course of Study

This afternoon, I have placed in the mail my application to begin Course of Study. You might ask, "What is Course of Study?" That is a good question.

In many denominations, pastors attend a seminary to attain a Masters of Divinity before becoming a pastor. In the Methodist church, there is a another path to ministry. I have the opportunity to be a licensed pastor. As someone who already has a Master's Degree in another field, I appreciated the opportunity to not have to go back for an additional Master's.

My education for licensing began two summers ago when I went to the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary for License to Preach School. By passing all classes, I became eligible for appointment to a church. I waited one year to allow Christa to finish school and was then appointed to the Oakfield and Tabor United Methodist Churches beginning in July 2009.

This only began my path to official licensing. I will need to attend classes for the next five summers, in which I will take four classes each. Two classes are taught in a week in a half. From July 11 to July 30, 2010 I will (hopefully) be at the Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary taking my first round of Course of Study classes.

Registration is just the first part. I am in the process of printing out the syllabi and taking notice of the books that I will need to purchase for these classes. It's quite a list. I am also looking at the assignments that are ahead of me...wow. Later in the spring, I will need to pay for room and board costs as well.

This is something unique that comes with being a Licensed Local Pastor. It will be interesting...I am sure you will be hearing more from me about this over the next few months.