Elder Development Sessions

I frequently get asked to share about our elder development process at CCCC so I thought I’d put it on my blog. The following list contains the sessions through which primarily our campus pastors walk with their respective elder candidates (some sessions are led by other staff from time to time). These elder training sessions are built upon the foundation of prior leadership, organizational, and theological training at CCCC. You will notice that we’ve organized the training into three phases: Shepherd Yourself, Shepherd Your Family, and Shepherd Your Church. You may also see we take an intergrationist approach whereby use some secular material which we feel helpful (e.g., personality analysis). Here is the breakdown of our twenty-three elder development sessions. These are accompanied by readings, discussions, and other avenues of learning/training. While we reserve the right to get smarter about our process, I include it on my blog in the hope it spurs other church leaders to consider how they might train their elders as well. This is what we’ve currently got:

SHEPHERD YOURSELF

1. Your Identity in Christ
2. Uprooting Idolatries
3. Discovering Your Personality’s Strength and Weaknesses
4. Increasing Your EQ
5. Steps to Self-Care
6. Spiritual Vitality

SHEPHERD YOUR FAMILY

1. Understanding Your Family System
2. Fulfilling Your Marital Design
3. Discipling Your Kids
4. Managing Your Finances
5. Fulfilling Your Staff Expectations

SHEPHERD YOUR CHURCH

…with Gospel-Centered Theology

1. Gospel-Centered Theology

…with Missional Ecclessiology

1. Discovering the Distinctives of CCCC
2. Owning the Passion for Church Planting

…with Pastoral Leadership

1. Being the Calm Presence (Systems Theory)
2. Counseling with Christ at the Center
3. Officiating Christ-Centered Weddings and Funerals
4. Teaching God’s Word with Christ as the Center
5. Pastoring Through Restoration
6. Articulating Our Elder Positions
7. Understanding the Campus Elder Role

…with Strategic Leadership

1. Learning CCCC’s Language and Culture
2. Knowing and Carrying CCCC’s Narrative