DrTony's blog

I don't know if you all saw this new item -- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/05/24/lambuth -- but it was a little surprising and a little disturbing.

If you have read my own blog, you know that I am from Memphis which is just down the road from Jackson and Lambuth University.  My own college choices had been pretty well set when I graduated in 1968 so I never considered Lambuth as a college.

But I had friends who did and one friend of recent times went there to get her Bachelor's Degree in preparation for the ministry.

And now we read that the school is being sold to private investors.  The primary reason given in the article is financial so we can just add "so what else is new?"

But what does this say for the future of Methodist-based education in this country?  Will Lambuth still be a Methodist-related institution or will it give up its affliation?  In light of other comments being posted about the direction of the church as a whole, what does it say about being a Methodist (United or otherwise)?

There is a discussion going on in our district/conference about lay speaking and the changes in the curriculum for lay speakers. I have some idea about the lay speakers in our district and will be getting answers as to the courses that they have taken in the past. But I want to get some idea of the nature of lay speaking on a broader scale. So I have come up with these questions:
1. Are you now or have you ever been a local lay speaker? Are you now or have you ever been a certified lay speaker?
2. When did you take your first course to become a local lay speaker?
3. Describe the course or courses that you took when you became a local lay speaker?
4. When did you take your first course to become a certified lay speaker?
5. Describe the course or courses that you took when you became a certified lay speaker?
6. How much of your being a lay speaker (local or certified) is more leadership than speaking? (an approximate percentage of the total time)
7. How much of your being a lay speaking (local or certified) is leading worship rather than speaking? (an approximate percentage of the total time)
8. If you are a certified lay speaker, how many Sundays in a given calendar year are you at other churches?
9. Are you aware of the category of lay speaker known as “Certified Lay Minister”?
10. Is your conference aware of the category? Is your district aware?
11. Are there any individuals in your conference qualified as Certified Lay Minister?
12. If so, how are they utilized in this position?
Thought provoking question – “In your opinion, should a person be a lay speaker before they consider full-time ministry?”
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If you are not a lay speaker, can I be as bold as to ask why not? And would you mind sharing these questions with your friends who happen to be lay speakers? Thank you!
Answers may be posted to my blog (http://heartontheleft.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/a-questionnaire-about-lay...) or you may mail them to me at TonyMitchellPhD@verizon.net. I will try to have a summary of the answers up by the 1st of March.

I recently conducted a workshop entitled “Technology in the Pulpit”.  It was designed to explore many of the ways that computers and its attending technology can be used not only in the pulpit but in other ways to facilitate evangelism and the work of the church.  This include exploring how to become a blogger.

For me, it was an interesting time because it allowed me to do what I am supposed to be doing, teaching, and in an area that I have explored since it became part of the educational and religious landscapes some twenty years ago.

More importantly, the two “graduates” of the workshop are now bloggers in their own right and a part of the Methodist Blogging community.  They are

1. The Odd Thought, and
2. Living Water

Please visit their sites and help welcome them to the neighborhood.

There is an interesting article in the March 21, 2008 print version of The United Methodist Reporter (Worship Trends section).  It is entitled "Blogging Benefits: Pastors discover online community enhances preaching" and mentions several members of The Methoblog.  The on-line version is here.