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Training for Learning and Serving
(This article appeared in Reform in April 1998)
There cannot be many successful URC programmes which are overseen by hippos - and there cannot be many URC programmes as successful as Training for Learning and Serving (TLS). It seems that wherever you go in the URC today there is someone wanting to bend your ear about the virtues of the URC's new multifaceted training programme. So Reform visited the TLS HQ in North London - otherwise known as the home of retired non-stipendiary minister David A L Jenkins, the TLS National Co-ordinator, to discover just what all the fuss was about.
Under the watchful gaze of the collection of hippos, gathered from around the world on his travels as an executive for a large computing company, David began to fill in some of the details of a scheme designed not simply for those who feel called to enter into a new kind of ministry or to develop a new area of Christian service but also for anyone who is looking for a more secure foundation of knowledge about their faith.
An Ecumenical Venture
One surprise is that while the application of the course in the URC is the responsibility of David and his team, the course itself is designed ecumenically in Scotland and had been running for a decade before the URC became involved. Prepared under the oversight of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) by the Open College, the course is used by all the mainstream denominations in Scotland on a national or local basis. The only difference in the URC version is that it has been edited ('de-Kirked and de-Sessioned') to adapt the terminology to the English context.
Every student who undertakes TLS shares in a common two-year foundation course, after which they can, if they wish, choose further options for study. The object of the two years is to challenge and broaden their understanding of the faith. The Handling Failure module concentrates on the question of sin, forgiveness and atonement, while God on Trial deals with questions of faith, doubt and belief. Students tackle some philosophy under the Purpose of Life module and, more generally, emerge from the two years, according to David Jenkins, 'with a fairly contemporary view of the nature of mission engagement, very much in the context of the church as part of the community, rather than the church to community or for community.'
Support and Guidance
In the course of the two years students will have worked in detail with eight books of the Bible, attended eight residential weekends (one per term), devoted three evenings a fortnight, including one with a local study group and - if they are training as lay preachers - written some sixteen essays. Each student will have been supported and guided by their own personal tutor, a regional TLS representative and a support group of three or four people who meet every six to eight weeks. Alongside the book learning goes an area of service which the student nominates - something they are doing as part of their discipleship or some venture they want to develop. Part of the aim of the course is to help students to reflect on their area of service in the light of what they are learning, both by keeping a brief diary and by including someone on the support group who is in a position to observe the course member in their area of service.
If that sounds like quite a commitment, then the evidence is that there are plenty of people ready to make it and that the vast majority of those who undertake the course are finding it both practical and enjoyable. TLS was launched at the beginning of 1996 with 24 students. By September the number had risen to 77 and this year there are 95 students on the main course and another 15 on the Worship and Preaching course. In addition, the drop out rate for students is extremely low, at something less than 5%. David Jenkins puts that down to careful preparation and assessment of every student. 'When people apply for the course, we seek the endorsement from their local congregation which means that they know that they are not doing it alone. Also, when someone applies, a member of staff will go and spend a couple of hours describing the course, helping them to think through how they might use it and talking to them about whether they can make enough space for this commitment. Occasionally, because we are dealing with real people, people have to drop out because of family circumstances or whatever but the course is designed in such a way that after the particular episode they are able to rejoin.'
Quality and Quantity
But for all the numerical success, David Jenkins is clear that TLS is not first and foremost about playing the numbers game: 'In numbers terms, yes it has grown. We now have almost exactly the same number on the foundation course as there are in Scotland, which is not bad after two years of operation. But the real success is much more qualitative. It's just watching people grow in confidence, grow in their sense of direction, grow in the way they're able to relate to other people, especially those of different views. So it's very much the personal and spiritual growth which we see which is the success story. That's why if people rubbish the URC and talk declining numbers they get a very hard time from me, because I say "Look I've got one hundred and fifty real quality people out there."'
Perhaps another reason for the success of TLS is the quality and quantity of its staffing. As National Co-ordinator, David Jenkins' job is to try to make the whole thing hang together and ensure the quality of the course that members receive. He would never say so himself but many admirers of TLS attribute no small part of its success to his efficiency and leadership qualities. David is supported by seven part-time Regional Organisers, based on Provinces, who work pastorally and offer supervision on a regional basis. At the local level 35 tutors guide individual course members and preside over the fortnightly discussions. Additional input comes from the District Lay Preaching Commissioners, who help find tutors and organise attachments to congregations for those who are involved with Worship and Preaching course.
Ministry for all
And what does the future hold? The last word goes to David Jenkins:
'My vision is for a church in which ministry is not thought to be specialist or for an elite group but is seen as part of the response of each one of us to the gospel. So my conversations are usually littered with the phrase ministry with a small 'm'. I feel passionately about this and I think TLS has got an important part to play in enabling people to realise that, a) they can minister and b) they need to be equipped to minister. Some forms of ministry will be for the minister who is ordained to word and sacrament but other equally valid ministries won't be reserved in that way.
I think we're going to find that as the number of stipendiary and non-stipendiary ministers dips, lay ministries will not only grow in number but also in spread and form. We've got TLS students who are pioneering lay ministries which I believe will be recognised by the Church and they are able to do it not only out of a background of conviction, but out of a background of knowledge and because TLS has equipped them.'
Practicalities
Getting to know more about Training for Learning and Serving couldn’t be easier – see contact details at top of the page.
In return you will receive a prospectus describing the course and its philosophy, plus a sample unit showing the kind of work involved and an application form. To join TLS you need to discuss it with your local church and get their endorsement and then a Regional Organiser will call. When TLS themselves are sure that they can provide the back-up you need and a local group for you to attend, you’ll receive a formal enrolment letter.
The charge is £335 a year at present and that includes all the accommodation for the weekends, the study materials and administrative costs. It doesn’t include travel, although any student who spends more than £50 a year in travel is refunded the excess. It doesn’t include the purchase of books but many people are able to borrow books and there are discount book-stalls at study weekends.
The low cost compared to many other kinds of course results from the fact that the URC actively subsidises TLS – without that subsidy the real cost per student is around £650 a year!
Most provinces offer grants and there is a Central Lay Training Bursary Fund to which people can apply which is not means tested. The firm policy of TLS is that nobody should be prevented from undertaking the course because of money.
Copyright © 1998, United Reformed Church
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