Healthy Learning Covenant
As a 17-year old kid who had recently felt God’s call into ministry, I remember sitting at a Mexican restaurant in Omaha, across the table from my pastor. He slid a stack of books towards me. “You’re gonna want to read these as you work out your calling.” I told him I wasn’t much of a reader. “Don’t worry. You will be,” he said with a grin.
Fast-forward to age 25, and I had read many stacks of books. I even had a Master of Divinity degree. (To think: me, a master of divinity!) But then I received my first call and uttered the words so many pastors before me have spoken: “They didn’t teach me this in seminary.” As the head deacon handed me my first Profit and Loss sheet, I stared blankly at the series of columns and numbers. “So… we’re in a good financial position,” I said, making my question sound like a statement. “At this point in the fiscal year, yes,” he replied. Phew…I guessed right!
I wish I could say that this was the only thing I didn’t know I didn’t know. But this humbling moment was the first of many. The longer I’ve served as Lead Pastor of my church, the more I realize just how little I really know and how much more I have to learn.
It’s foolish to believe that anyone, regardless of education or experience, knows it all. Our conformity into Christ-likeness isn’t some one-and-done event. It’s a daily journey of “long obedience in the same direction” (to quote that surprising insight from Nietzsche). Discipleship means growing and learning to be more like Christ each day, even as the scenery around us changes.
In the Alliance of Reformed Churches, all our ordained pastors submit their own Healthy Learning Covenant. This covenant serves as the pastor’s promise to keep growing as a lifelong disciple of Jesus. It’s a recognition from Alliance pastors that each one of us still has much to learn. Ministers too are continually being formed and conformed by God into the image of his Son (2 Cor 3:19; Rom 8:29).
Pastors who have not achieved all the Pathways competencies commit to completing the remaining ones. Other pastors have all the competencies in place, but even they’re not done maturing. They commit to further growth through a personal plan that includes learning goals for head, heart, and hands (that is, intellect, character, and skills).
I’ve seen the Healthy Learning Covenant bless pastors in our network. For Steve Poole, a Tier 1 ordained youth pastor in Cedar Rapids, the Healthy Learning Covenant has helped him to hone in on the remaining competencies needed to get to Tier 2 maturity. For another pastor, Zachary Fraley, who has completed all 180 competencies in Pathways, the Healthy Learning Covenant prompted him to use his continuing education budget creatively. When filling out his covenant, Zachary asked me if we might coordinate our ongoing educational goals. As a result, this fall we’re learning together by attending the Center for Pastor Theologians annual conference in Oak Park, IL.
You may be coming into the Alliance thinking to yourself that the Healthy Learning Covenant seems like a lot of work, or that you’ve been out of school too long. Maybe you’ll tell me, “I’m not much of a lifelong learner.” To which I will offer a sympathetic grin and say, “Don’t worry. You will be.”