LEADS: Leadership Education and Discipleship Studies

There are three options to participate in LEADS. They are:

• LEADERSHIP TRACK—Participate in all 13 courses plus two supplemental courses. You may make-up up to three courses or partial courses with the instructor. Certificate Option 1.
• MINISTRY TRACK— Participate in nine courses plus two supplemental courses. You may make-up up to three courses or partial courses with the instructor. Certificate Option 2.
• SELF–SELECTED COURSES — Any course may be taken although no credit will be offered for the course.

Any questions, please contact Carol Kostura kostura@socal.rr.com or Tonia Cooper tonia@cofchristla.org.

For more information. select a course below:

• Christian Theology
• Community of Christ History
• Community of Christ Scripture
• Diversity
• Faith Formation for the Congregation
• Hebrew Scriptures
• Introduction to the New Testament
• Mission and Evangelism
• Public Ministry

Upcoming LEADS Course

Community of Christ Scripture

February 25-26, 2012
Led by Mark Euritt
Temple City Center for Christian Ministries
9468 Broadway - Temple City

COST: $20 plus materials purchased on your own (requirements below). Freewill offering for Lunch/Snacks

TO REGISTER, submit the following registration form.

• Community of Christ Scripture - Registration Form (pdf)

OR, CONTACT: Tonia Cooper . tonia@cofchristla.org or 714-847-5731

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course focus is scriptures unique to the Restoration movement, from its beginnings in the early nineteenth century to its present identity as Community of Christ. There are three primary aims:

1. To understand the historical contexts in which these scriptures originated and developed during the time frame of 1822 to the present;
2. To appreciate the various usages to which these scriptures have been put during the course of the church�fs development to the present time;
3. To become aware of problems and issues pertaining to each of these indigenous scriptures arising from the current missional imperatives of the Community of Christ, in the setting of its emerging multi�]cultural population.

REQUIRED TEXT:

Handy, Lowell K. The Educated Person's Thumbnail Introduction to the Bible, St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1997.

REQUIRED READINGS:

• A series of 16 readings^* (pdf)

REQUIRED VIEWING:

• 2 video presentations^* (available on www.cofchrist.org)

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED TEXT: (please bring if you own)

• Borg, Marcus. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. (This text is recommended for reading but not required.)
• NOTE: Please bring scriptures and assigned text and readings to class.

^*Readings

• ^* The reading list include two text books, two video presentations available on the Community of Christ web site, and 16 articles contained in pdf files. When enrollment information is received by Tonia Cooper, she will email a link to you with the access information to the 16 pdf files that are part of the reading material. You will be able to download those files by utilizing the link. They are too large to send via email.

Prior LEADS Course Materials

Public Ministry

May 21-22, 2011
Led by Robin Linkhart
Temple City Center for Christian Ministries
9468 Broadway - Temple City

• LEADS Public Ministry Registration Form

Would you like to enhance the worship ministry in your congregation? Do you want to add depth to your own public ministry skills?

If so, please join on May 21-22 for Public Ministry, a 15-hour course designed to improve individual skills in worship ministry. This is part of the LEADS series and has application for all ministers - whether ordained or not. The class will be led by Robin Linkhart, President of the 6th Quorum of Seventy, and Mission Coordinator for the Western Field. Robin has a Master of Arts in Christian Ministries from Community of Christ Seminary and has long served in the church in ministry.

Cost: $20 plus materials
(to be purchased on your own - see list below)

Free will offering for lunch/snacks

To register, contact: Tonia Cooper - tonia@cofchristla.org or 714-847-5731

Required texts:

1. Preaching, Fred B. Craddock, Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1990. ISBN 0687336481
2. Gardner, Jane M., ed. Worship Resources. Independence, Missouri: Herald House, (current edition, much available online at cofchrist.org)
• a. Assigned reading: Introduction to Worship Resources; Lectionary Usage; Worship Planning and Preaching
3. The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor. Cowley Publications, 1993. ISBN 156101074X

NOTE: Please bring scriptures, any scripture commentaries you find helpful, and assigned texts to class.

Additional suggested text (please bring if you own):

• The Sacraments: Symbol, Meaning, and Discipleship, ed. Andrew Bolton and Jane Gardner. Independence: Herald Publishing House, 2005. ISBN 0830911731

Both Craddock's and Taylor's books can be found online at Amazon.com.

Christian Theology

• Guest Minister/Instructor: Dean Don Compier, Graceland University Seminary
• Dates & times: February 26-27, 2011 - Saturday, —8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Location: Temple City
• Cost: $20.00 per course (plus books if required)
• Download Registration Form (pdf)

Curriculum Overview

This course is designed to introduce Community of Christ ordained and unordained ministers to the art and discipline of theological reflection, as well as the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. This exploration will equip students to provide ministry that is relevant to their setting for ministry, faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and fundamental to building communities of joy, hope, love and peace.

Reading Assignments

1. Read the latest edition of Daniel Migliore's introduction to Christian Theology called "Faith Seeking Understanding." (You may have this book if you attended Don Compier's Course in 2006.)
• To order this book through Amazon, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080282787X/ref=oss_product
2. We will also use the "We Share" documents from the Community of Christ website, http://www.cofchrist.org/discernment/weshare/default.asp

Hebrew Scriptures

• Dates: September 25-26
• Times: Saturday (8:30 a.m. Until 6:00 p.m.)with lunch and snacks provided
  Sunday (8:30 a.m until 1:00 p.m) with snacks provided.
• Location: Community of Christ church
  9468 Broadway
  Temple City, CA 91780
• Instructor: Apostle Dale Luffman
• Registration Form (pdf)
• Additional information for Hebrew Scripture class (doc)
• Hebrew Scriptures Reading Assignments (doc)

Mission and Evangelism

• Dates: May 22-23, 2010
• Location: Temple City
• Instructor: Kris Judd
• Registration Form (pdf)

Reading Materials for LEADS Mission and Evangelism Course

Each resource will open in a new window

• Theology Matters The Missional Church..Roxburgh (rtf)
• Steve Veazey’s Conference sermon - April 11, 2010 (pdf)
• Luke 10 (doc)
• We Share (pdf)
• Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 163
• Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 164 (pdf)
• Dwelling in the Word (doc)
• Developing a Missional Approach to Ministry (pdf)
• Moving From Solitude..Nouwen (doc)
• Evangelism and Discipleship..Brueggemann (pdf)

Introduction to the New Testament

• Registration (pdf)
• Syllabus (doc)

Community of Christ History

Course Resources:

• Syllabus (doc)
• “The Theme of Peace in Church History” (pdf)
  Mark A. Scherer, Ph.D. World Church Historian
  June 2006
• Common Consent within the Historical Tradition of the Church: “That Delicate Balance” (pdf)
  October, 2008
• Voices: Church Leaders’ Observations and Commentary (pdf)
  Mark A. Scherer, Church Historian
  December 2008 Issue
• “‘Answering Questions No Longer Asked’: Nauvoo, Its Meaning and Interpretation In the RLDS/Community of Christ Church” (pdf)
  Sunstone West Conference, Keynote Banquet Address
  Pasadena, California - 20 April 2002
  Sunstone: Mormon Experience, Scholarship, Issues, & Art 123 (July 2002): 28-32.
• "Through the Mists of Time: Chats with the Church Historian" (pdf)
  November 1998 Issue, Saint's Herald

Diversity

Faith Formation for the Congregation