Brad Poorman

Pepperdine University
OMET Portfolio


 

Lay leaders have always played an important part in the United Methodist Church. The void that is being created by fewer people entering the ministry is increasing the demand for lay leaders. In addition the escalating competency level required to effectively perform lay leader functions in the church requires an adequately trained pool of dedicated and willing members. The lack of lay leaders is becoming a critical issue within many churches (Green, 2004). It can retard growth, and is one of the leading reasons for the failure of new churches (Aldrich, 2003, “Strong leaders”, ¶ 3). I have served on many committees within the church and many times I have felt inadequate for the roles I have been asked to fill. One aspect that is often overlooked is the scriptural background that supports the job. It is one thing to be told how to perform a function; it is another thing to be told the need that the job fills, and quite a different thing to be told why you are performing the job. So if lay leaders are vital to the churches continual success and proper training and preparation is essential, how will this growing crisis be addressed? An interesting development is the religious community has embraced the Internet and many of the faithful view it as a viable means to exchange religious ideas. At the same time the number, variety, and sophistication of online training courses have continually grown. This led me to ask if lay leader training could be effectively addressed with online communication tools?

Action Research Problem:

 

  • McMurry University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church . The Christian aspect of its mission is very important in distinguishing who McMurry is as evidenced by its Core Values.

 

Christian Faith as the foundation of life,
Personal Relationships as the catalyst for life,
Learning as the journey of life,
Excellence as the goal of life,
and Service as the measure of life.

 

McMurry feels in order to fulfill its mission it not only needs to maintain its ties to the Methodist Church , but strengthen them.

 

  • All churches need more qualified lay leaders. Churches are run by volunteers. They serve on committees, teach classes, fill in when the preacher is absent, and represent the local congregation at the higher organizational levels of the Church. In order to effectively perform those functions a qualified pool of leaders is needed. In many churches either those qualified leaders don't exist, or are hesitant to volunteer because of a lack of training.

 

The General Conference of the Methodist Church recognizes this need and has reaffirmed the tradition of lay preachers and leaders serving within their own Christian communities by the creation of a Certified Lay Minister in 2004.

 

 

 
 
 
Brad Poorman
bpoorman@mcm.edu