Pastor Chip Heim of East Side Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio leaves next Thursday, April 8 to teach at Zaporozhye Bible College and Seminary in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. He has taught there several times, the last time being in 2008.
This year they have asked him to again teach his course on church leadership, so he has revised it from previous years. He has added two full days at the start of the course discussing the spiritual formation of a pastor. The students will discuss and reflect on 22 questions related to pastors and their spiritual formation. Here is a sample question with the sub-questions:
Question #5 – What are the vulnerable areas of your life?
If Satan only had three chances to bring you down, what three temptations would he send your way?
How open with his church should a pastor be about his struggles?
Does the typical church in Ukraine expect a pastor to have few struggles with temptation?
How lonely is the pastorate for the typical pastor in Ukraine?
How does the Ukrainian church view human sin? Is it superficial or does the church have a deep, realistic understanding of sin?
Heim will teach for two weeks and return Saturday, April 24. Please pray for his time with the students and local pastors.