School of Lay Ministry

The Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church holds a July school for laity that also serves as an Advanced Course for lay speakers. Typically, 90 to 130 participants attend. Recent courses have featured such speakers as Dr. Ellsworth Kalas and Lovett Weems. Topics have ranged from story telling to prayer to audio-visual worship. It's time now to chart our course for this summer. The course will be held, July 17-19, 2009, at Central Methodist University, Fayette, MO.

Here are some discussion topics:

• What should be our criteria? Five Practices? Lay Speaker need? Congregational need? "Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world"? Fruitfulness? Expertise available? Other? How can we objectively decide?
• What can you not accomplish at the District level that you would like to see at this Conference sponsored event?
• What do we need to be doing to "Equip United Methodists for All Facets of Lay Ministry"?
  
• What is not being effectively accomplished in "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations" training in your districts or congregations that might be emphasized at SOLM?
• Should we be doing a single topic, single theme, or multiple topics?
  
• What suggested speakers, including those with national reputation, do you suggest?
• Off the top of your head, what topics or speakers do you suggest?

That should get us going. Just give me your thoughts. Topics above are idea starters. We can then build on one another's ideas.

Blessings,

Rick