One of the great challenges of having biblical training entirely online is teaching students about preaching. How do you teach a student how to create and deliver a sermon with only an Internet connection? Don’t you need time in the classroom? These were all things that we struggled with when the first class about learning to preach went live. Through trial and error we found that there are a few factors that can deliver a great sermon construction class without the overhead of a seminary building or face-to-face interaction. First I’ll show you a couple things that we tried that didn’t work. Then we’ll go over what did.
What we did wrong in Our Sermon Construction Class
One of our first ideas was video. Everyone today has some sort of camera, whether it’s a digital camera or just something built into a mobile phone or laptop. So when we approached the idea of including sermon construction in our biblical training, we thought this was a brilliant application of technology. Have students write the sermon, then video themselves giving the sermon! The video then had to be submitted for credit.
It did seem like a great idea, but as time went on it became increasingly clear that this was not the way to go. We began encountering problems as our biblical training spread to poorer countries where people often did not have video equipment. Others had such a slow connection speed that their upload kept getting interrupted. Some were just too poor quality to get a good impression. Clearly video sermons were not going to work.
When constructing our first class on preaching methods, we also decided to have one professor give examples of all the different styles in conjunction with the course work. This seemed like a great idea as well. After all, in a traditional seminary setting there would be one professor for a course. In online biblical training, why not have that professor give a video example of each style of preaching so that students could see it in action?
What we did right in our Sermon Construction class
When it became clear to us that some methods just weren’t working to their full potential, we reexamined our approach to teaching preaching. One of the first ideas that we came up with was replacing the video sermons in our biblical training with a mentor relationship. Instead of sending a video to us, students now read their sermons to their mentors and take a mentor-guided survey after the sermon is delivered. This puts a lot of trust in the mentors, but we at Christian Leaders Institute have found that students who are called by God can pick good mentors who will fill this role even above what we hope and expect. This mentor relationship takes some of the burden off CLI and reduces faculty overhead.
As we looked at the various methods of preaching we thought about the value of the Internet. The very tool that we were using to reach thousands of called leaders throughout the world had a wealth of resources that we weren’t even tapping into for our class. Many pastors had sermons available in video format online. Many pastors had instructional videos available online. Instead of using a single faculty member in our biblical training to illustrate sermon construction and various preaching methods, why not use pastors who were known for and excelled in each specific model?
We consulted Google, and our queries turned up excellent examples of the different styles of preaching. Now, instead of featuring a single faculty member delivering brief examples of each method, our sermon construction class features many different pastors each giving a full sermon in the style in which they excel. This concept has revolutionized our biblical training. Even our students recognize the value of having the various pastors preaching in their respective styles. One student wrote,
“I thank all of the Pastors who let Christian Leaders Institute to use their sermons to help us in our walk. I watch Billy Graham even now when there is a re-run on TBN. I watch Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, Jimmy Swagart, Benny Hinn, and TD Jakes. I now added a number of new generation preachers to my “favorites” list of Preachers. Students of Christian Leaders Institute are truly blessed to be able to receive biblical training from so many wonderful preachers and professors for a great job well done on this course. Thank you CLI for this amazing course.”
The Necessity for Preaching Instruction in Biblical Training
Sermon Construction and Presentation is an important class for students for a variety of reasons. First, whether a student is studying specifically for a pastoral call or not, Sermon Construction and Presentation gives them the tools to make sure that their message is clear and concise. Youth leaders will be able to craft better event plans. Sunday school teachers will be able to create lessons their students won’t forget. Leaders within the church will learn how to present themselves when speaking in front of others.
Of course, the biblical training holds the greatest importance for those who desire to assume the pastoral role. In fact, many students who have already been serving as pastor for many years have found that this course has been a great help to them. One student says,
“To conclude, I had several opportunities to preach in churches and before I took this course I thought I had the correct methodology for sermon writing and preaching. But in going through the course I find myself as a little child discovering for the first time a mathematics theorem and trying the best he or she can to apply it now and then. I was so excited in learning more and more about sermon construction. The whole course opened my eyes on what was a true preparation for sermon it’s not only about how we study the word but it’s also about how we present the word. It doesn’t only require a good speech but also a proper behavior. So in order to prepare a sermon one has to give himself completely: Spirit, mind, soul and body.”
Whether the person taking our sermon construction course is somebody who is called to be a church leader or somebody already in a leadership position, we have heard from our students that it is a very effective class and a valuable tool for them. It gives them more confidence in their preaching. It shows them new possibilities for preaching. It gives them much needed biblical training. Most of all, it opens them up so that the Holy Spirit can do greater works through them. As we consider the impact of an online Bible school on worldwide revival, we cannot underestimate the value of a good sermon construction class.
Spiritual death is nasty. And hundreds of millions are currently dead to God. Spiritual dead humans may be biologically alive. They may even have physical happiness. But God is not alive in them. They do not know their creator and they are not His friend. The dead are spiritual zombies. According to some traditional west African religions, Zombies are dead people who are revived by a bokor or sorcerer. “Zombies remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own” Wikipedia
By: Nivaldo Arruda
Spiritual zombies are humans whose “spiritual eyes” have been blinded by a Satan or a “bokor.” The Apostle Paul wrote about what happened to spiritual zombies in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Imagine living your life not connected to the God who made you… a perishing life. This life has not been revived by the gospel of Christ. I am sad that so many humans are spiritual zombies.
Spiritual Zombies Make Me Sad
- Spiritual Zombies miss out on a living relationship with their God and creator. The entire Bible was written to woo the dead back to God. Jesus Christ rose from the dead so that spiritual zombies could be revived forever.
- Spiritual Zombies are really lonely. Without God inspiring relationships every other relationship in their life will decay eventually. Someone may experience various measures of happiness, but without God living in you that happiness will come and go.
- Spiritual Zombies are not finding their way to churches. I am sad that many churches are weak.
- Spiritual Zombies make up a vast number. There are a large population of the spiritual undead. The pure magnitude of this is overwhelming. This also makes me very sad.
- Spiritual Zombies are open to be reached but the number of revivalists are too small. We need hundreds of thousand of life agents of God who will infiltrate every culture with the message of life, joy and peace.
What Am I Hopeful About?
I am hopeful that God will inspire revival in our day, so that the dead will raise. I want to be part of training an army of leaders who are trained and mobilize to bring true life to the spiritual zombies of the world. I have never been so excited about inviting life operatives to be trained for ministry at Christian Leaders Institute. We live in exciting times where because of the Internet new operative can be trained in a high quality Bible School training.
I celebrate that we have everything we need to make spiritual zombies alive again. We have God to help us. We read that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”(1 Peter 1:3).
Are you called to bring the gospel that will bring life to spiritual zombies? Are you called to join this movement to bring happier and more peace filled lives to those who need it? I invite you to join us.
The United States is ready for a revival. In fact, there hasn’t been a time in many years when revival was more needed. Statistics show that church attendance is at an all time low in the United States. A scant 4% of the generation that is now coming of age identify themselves as born again Christians. This is the largest (by percent) decline of born again Christians generationally in the last hundred years. In fact, this generation claims 75% less people who claim the title of born again Christians than the prior generation. By contrast, that generation had a 50% decline from the one preceding it.
How did it happen? There isn’t any one thing that we can point to. A variety of elements must be pieced together to create the full image of the church’s decline. However, are just a couple of factors that may have contributed:
1. Secularization of public education.
The public education system took the stance that religious learning is not education. It also presented logic and science, to include secular Darwinist evolution, as the only true source of knowledge. This attitude was reflected in its curriculum and conveyed on some level to students, including the students of Christian upbringing.
2. Churches focused on internal growth rather than outreach.
As the 20th century progressed, the revival of the earlier half of the century began to fade. The majority of the churches in the U.S. were concerned with keeping the people already there than bringing more people in. Instead of banding together to reach the world for Christ, church members became concerned with finding the perfect church. Doctrinal battles ensued. Churches split over theology, music, programs, and any number of differences. Today, most church growth is in the form of people deciding to find a new church rather than new converts to Christianity.
The Time for Revival is Now
Bruce Ballast has devoted much of his life to studying revival. In his book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Things, Bruce outlines some of the common factors to revivals throughout the ages. I focus on three elements here, but I would encourage you to read Bruce’s book for a more complete picture of these extraordinary revivals.
1. A revival is preceded by a period of decline
In the revival periods that Bruce writes about, each one is preceded by a period of decline much like what we are seeing today. In the section about the “Great Awakening,” Bruce writes,
“After the last [period of renewal], eighteen years before the Great Awakening, nothing much seemed to stop the declension or decline of religion.”
Continuing to the “Second Great Awakening,” he writes,
“What effect did [the enlightenment] have on the church, and on the church’s influence in the country? Church membership declined. The typical college student was an atheist and living an immoral life. ”
I could continue through each of the revival periods that Bruce writes about in America, and the theme would be the same. The revival ended. Spiritual warfare commenced, and the church began to decline. I have chosen to end with this last example because the period of decline so closely resembles ours today. We still suffer from the effects of the enlightenment. With that we now have the effects of Darwinism, radioisotope dating, and spiritual pantheism.
2. A Revival is Bathed in Prayer
As he looks at each of the revivals, Bruce also finds a commonality in something that happened within the church in response to the decline: prayer. Prayer is the primary weapon of the Christian. When speaking of the “Second Great Awakening,” Bruce puts it in these terms:
“The problem was too big for human ingenuity or human energy. Neither denominational organization nor inter-denomination cooperation could cope with the emergency. Demonic forces with carnal collaboration had forced the churches into a corner. How did they retaliate and turn the defeat into victory? The only weapon left was prayer, and pray they did…”
Today, after many have struggled to combat the current decline in their own power, we find ourselves in a similar place. Churches throughout the nation are on their knees before God. Christians everywhere are realizing that we cannot do this through reason or argument. Only the power of God can bring revival, and we seek that power through our prayer.
3. Revival Leaders Respond to the Call of God
Whether we consider Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, or any other leader who was an agent of revival we find one commonality. All were great men of the faith raised up by God when they were most needed. However, while some of the revivals had major players or figureheads, some were spearheaded by local pastors. Bruce characterizes the Second Great Awakening this way:
“This revival was different from the Great Awakening of some forty years before in a couple of distinct ways. First of all, there were no prominent names at the beginning… Rather, it was the local pastor in the local church”
God can bring large-scale revival through individuals like Jonathan Edwards and Billy Graham. He can also work through local pastors to have many small-scale revivals that become one large revival. Either way, all leaders in the renewal of the spirit of the church have one thing in common: calling.
What if Called Revival Leaders Could Have Free Access to Ministry Training?
We have seen that revivals are preceded by spiritual decline. We have seen that this spiritual decline triggers prayer. We have noted that revival leaders then experience calling. If we have a period of revival in the church today, how would called leaders go about preparing themselves?
The first step for anyone who feels that he or she is called into the ministry is to find an appropriate seminary. This typically means that the calling must be experienced from a young age, and that the person who is called has the benefit of belonging to at least a moderately wealthy family. The reason for this is twofold. First, seminary requires money. A person must either obtain student loans or pay the costs outright in order to receive ministry training in this manner. This means that anyone who feels the call to ministry later in life, when they have a job, possibly a family, and commitments, will find it difficult to attend. It also requires relocation. Even if somebody is making enough money at their job and has time for seminary, there may not be one close by.
But what if called revival leaders didn’t have to pay for a seminary? What if they had access to a Bible school that offered the training they needed to fulfill their calling? What if that Bible school were free and available wherever they lived? What if they could study at their own pace, balancing their studies with their work and family schedules?
Enter Christian Leaders Institute. CLI is a Bible school that has over 20 classes designed by people that have degrees in theological fields including doctorate level degrees. By maintaining a non-profit status and depending on donors for their costs, Christian Leaders Institute is able to keep all of their classes completely free to students. By not having a physical seminary building and offering all content online, they are able to be wherever the student is. Now a student anywhere in the world can have access to ministry training without having to relocate and pay thousands of dollars a year.
Take, for example, Rosie Glave of Chicago, IL. Rosie is a student at Christian Leaders Institute, but she wasn’t called to the ministry till late in life. Here is what she says about her calling.
“I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, My name is Rosie Glave and I live in Chicago, Illinois. I am the proud mother of two adult children and grandmother of two adorable grandchildren. I worked as a nurse for 33 years before receiving my call into the ministry.
“I love all of my Father’s children and it is my desire that all would enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and experience the life changing power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. A scholarship with CLI would give me the education and knowledge needed to teach, train and prepare others to win souls for Christ. I commend the men of God at CLI for allowing God to use them to train the next generation of Christian leaders. My prayer is that God will continue to provide the necessary funds needed to raise up well trained leaders who carry on the work of our Lord Jesus Christ in fulfilling the great commission.”
What are some key things that can be identified about Rosie’s calling? We see the words, “teach,” “train,” and “prepare.” Most important, though, is the object of this. All the teaching, training, and preparation is so that people can “win souls for Christ.” After 33 years in her career, Rosie felt the call to be a revival leader. But where could a mother and grandmother go to get the training that she needs to train others to become instruments of revival? Fortunately for Rosie, God had already raised up Christian Leaders Institute to train called leaders like her.
Imagine what God could do with Rosie’s calling and devotion in her community. Now, imagine what God could do with thousands of people like Rosie throughout the world. Each of these called leaders has their own sphere of influence. Each of them feels the call to ministry. Now each of them can be trained on a level that rivals seminary. They can learn at their own pace. They don’t need to relocate, and they only give what God calls them to give. In an age where the decline of the church seems unstoppable, God can use people like Rosie to work a global revival like the world has never seen before.