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About this blog
The Rev. Timothy Cargal, Ph.D., serves as Assistant Stated Clerk for Preparation for Ministry in Mid Council Ministries of the Office of the General Assembly.
“... the Land that I Will Show You” is the blog of the Office of Preparation for Ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This blog is designed to serve as a resource for those discerning and preparing for a call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament as ordained teaching elders of the church. It will also provide a place for reflecting on and dialoging about the changing context of pastoral ministry in the early 21st century.
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- PCC Responds to September 2016 BCE
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Changes Coming to CLC
“Church Leadership Connection” (CLC) is an Internet-based matching and referral system widely used by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations seeking pastoral leadership and by teaching elders and those seeking first calls to be ordained as teaching elders in the church. Having been in place for more than a decade, the CLC system will be receiving some significant updates in the coming year.
My colleagues in the Office of Vocation who manage CLC have highlighted the following changes in a report to the General Assembly earlier this year:
- Encourage openness to God’s call by changing or removing some of the parameters on the Personal Information Form (PIF) that identify “preferences” (community type, church size, geographic limitations).
- Narrow referrals to active call seekers, by inviting those who put PIFs into CLC to designate whether they are “actively seeking” a call or “not actively seeking, but open to a call.”
- Create the environment for the church to call forth needed leaders by allowing presbyteries to do their own discrete sorting of PIFs to find leaders with particular skills or experiences for a specific ministry setting within the presbytery.
- Develop a way for Pastor Nominating Committees (PNCs) to manage PIFs and individuals to manage CIFs within CLC that would allow for easier and quicker downloading, making contacts, adding rankings and notes, etc.
- Provide flexibility for a wide variety of positions that do not fit the parameters of a “normal” or “traditional” pastoral position.
- Change from listing “skills” to a “ministry competencies” emphasis, providing definitions for uniform understanding between congregations and those seeking calls.
- Provide ability to attach sermons to PIFs for PNCs to review.
As with any technological change of this type, the updates will be implemented in stages. Some will begin appearing in the next few weeks; more extensive changes that will involve new forms for use by both churches and call seekers will come online in mid-2013. Advance notice will be sent to all users of CLC so that they have ample opportunity to revise or update their listings.
The Office of Vocation has listened broadly to churches, teaching elders, and presbytery representatives in developing these changes. They have looked not only to core values of our Reformed tradition regarding discerning God’s call through both community and personal response to the Spirit’s leading, but also the latest thinking about what it means to provide pastoral service and leadership to the faith communities in today’s culture. The goal has been to provide greater compatibility between positions and leaders while maintaining commitments to diversity and opportunity to serve.
Sometimes “the land that [God] will show” us is beyond the horizons by which we limit ourselves. The updated CLC will encourage both those seeking calls and those seeking new leadership to broaden their horizons and open themselves to hearing the Spirit’s call.
- Posted at 1:47 p.m.
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