Certificate of Lay Ministry

For several years Volkhard has been serving the local Nez Perce Presbyterian church in sharing the Word of God and as an elder. During this time he has been  asked for several times, whether he would be interested in attending a course for lay ministry, which if completed would enable him to function as a Lay Pastor for a Presbyterian church. (In general, Pastors of Presbyterian churches have to be graduates of a four year theological seminary). Volkhard‘s two-year Bible College degree and ordination are not accepted by the denomination.

   As it becomes increasingly difficult, especially for small, rural churches to finance a fully paid Pastor‘s salary, the creation of the Commissioned Lay Pastorate (CLP) enables them to receive ongoing ministry.

   In September Volkhard and another elder received finances for this CLP course, which is offered once a month at Whitworth College in Spokane, WA. He began attending the classes and enjoys the subjects, discussions, the reading, even the homework. The course also enables Volkhard to get a better understanding of Presbyterian church structures.

Discipleship and the Cross

Here are a few quotes from the German Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was martyred under Hitler:

· Suffering and Rejection are the summary expression of Jesus‘ cross. Death on the cross means to suffer and to die as someone rejected and expelled.

· Discipleship as commitment to the person of Jesus Christ places the disciple under the law of Christ, that is under the cross.

· Whoever enters discipleship enters Jesus‘ death, and puts his or her own life into death.

· Every call of Christ leads to death

· Those who are not prepared to take up the cross, those who are not prepared to give their life to suffering and rejection by others, lose community with Christ, and are not disciples.

Excerpts from „Meditations on the Cross,“ (c) Westminster John Knox Press 1998

„I am crucified with Christ,

it is no longer I who lives,

but Christ living in me..“ Gal. 2:20 a

Just thinking

   Paul writes to Timothy, that he loves him like a son and wishes him grace and peace from God.

   A few verses later he encourages him: “Endure hardship with us like a good warrior of Christ Jesus”.

   As followers of Christ we find ourselves in this field of tension between being a son or daughter and warrior. We are unable to be effective warriors for the Lord, if we are not secure in the fact that we are members of his family.

 Our identity

   God wanted us and loves us. No one is unwanted and unloved by God! As his children, he teaches and trains us.

Our destiny

   All of us are called to serve him. Place of service and specifics of work may be different.

   What is most important is that we follow the direction of Jesus. He said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:34-35).

   Jesus lived this principle perfectly. He knew where he was from, (his identity), and why he was here, (His destiny).

 Now he tells us: “Just as the father has sent me, so send I you.” (John 20:21)      VG 2/2004

The Quest

Every male Nez Perce growing up within the tribe had to go on a Vision Quest (Wey-ya-kin) when he reached a specific age. Tribal elders would take the young man to a remote location and leave him there alone for 2-3 days without water and food.

   During this time a vision was sought by fasting and prayer. Sometimes the vision seeker would see animals, like the wolf, bear or eagle in his dreams. This was taken as a sign, that the spirit of the animal would now be his protector, counselor and giver of power.

   Oftentimes the one granted a vision would display supernatural abilities, no doubt many of demonic origin.

   The principle, that people have to have a clear goal, a call in front of them is a very important fact, one that we as Christians have to consider as well. God is inviting us, to seek His face, to let Him give us wisdom and direction for the work and challenges before us, work that he has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10 b).

   During November and December we held our first „Quest“. Our theme was: „Hearing the voice of the Lord“ We watched videos by Donna Jordan, who teaches widely in YWAM on this subject and spent time in small groups for discussion and prayer. During those times we were able to identify and overcome individual weaknesses and hindrances in hearing the voice of God and to experience the thrill of having the Creator communicate with us.

   During the five-week-long course we had up to 24 enthusiastic participants, 18 of which completed the course and received a small diploma.

   During our preparation for the course, we had prayerfully hoped for 10 to 15 participants and were totally surprised to have way more than that. After evaluating the feedback from participants, we decided to offer our next „Quest“ in April. The theme will be: „Relationships—a biblical perspective“.