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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.
For quick announcements about changes or developments in the preparation process, dates related to exams or other key events, discussion boards, surveys, etc., you can follow us on Facebook at “Preparing for Presbyterian Ministry.”
Recent posts
- Clarification of Evaluation Standards for the Standard Ordination Exams
- BCE Preparation Resource Released
- PCC Responds to September 2016 BCE
- PCC Letter on BCE Preparation
- Bible Content Exam Results
Categories
- Ordination Process (34)
- Ordination Exams (30)
- Ministry Context (16)
- Ordained Ministry (8)
- Bible study (2)
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Archives
Quarterly Senior Ordination Exams to begin in July
In May of 2013, the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) announced its plan to move to quarterly administration of the “senior” ordination examinations beginning in the second half of 2014. They also announced at that time that there were some changes to the Bible Exegesis, Church Polity, Theological Competence, and Worship and Sacraments exams that would be necessary to accommodate the more frequent offerings. In order to avoid any confusion regarding the 2013-14 program year exams, they held off announcing those related changes. Now that the results of the Spring 2014 exams have been released, it is time to fully unveil the new exam models.
The pages on the denominational website related to the exams (http://www.pcusa.org/exams) have been updated, and revisions to other resources (including the exams handbook) are in the works. In the meantime, here are the five most important things to know about the new exams and their scheduling:
- The senior ordination exams will now be given at the end of July, October, January, and April. The specific dates for the 2014-15 program year are available by clicking here.
- Registration deadlines will be the last day of the month preceding their administration, and so June 30, September 30, December 31, and March 31. The registration fee is being reduced to $50 per exam.
- Results will be available roughly two weeks after initial exams are given. Reading periods will begin the Monday following submission of the Exegesis exam (the first full weeks of August, November, February, and May), and results will be released the following Monday.
- All senior exam areas will now be totally “open book” and unproctored (as the Exegesis exam has been for a number of years). Candidates will still have only three hours to complete the exams in Theology, Polity, and Worship and Sacraments, but they can take them from anywhere they have Internet access using whatever resources are practical within the time constraints. As with the Exegesis exam, all resources used must be properly cited.
- There will be no “choose one” options for any of the senior ordination exams. Candidates will not be able to choose between an A or a B option in a section of the exams, and they will not be given a choice of Old Testament or New Testament passages on the Exegesis exam. This change is necessary to keep the work of the PCC in developing exams and training resources for readers manageable as the opportunities to take the exams are doubled.
There are, of course, details related to each of these changes that candidates will need to know (such as how start times will work for the Theology, Worship and Polity exams since there will not be a proctor). That information is on the updated webpages and is being integrated into updated editions of the exams handbook and other training materials.
Also, be aware that the offerings of the Bible Content Examination (BCE) remain unchanged. It will continue to be offered twice a year (as it has been since 2009), on the Friday before Labor Day and the first Friday of February.
This increased availability of the senior ordination examinations answers a significant concern of both candidates and presbyteries regarding those who may be delayed in the process by a need to repeat an examination area. It is made possible by the move of the exams to a totally online administrative process. I will be publicizing the release of other updated resources as they become available.
July 19, 2013
Exam Resources Updates
In just over month we will enter the second year of fully online ordination examinations. We have learned a lot in this first year, both about how candidates and readers prepare themselves for the online exam process and how they use the system. In response to feedback we have received we have continued to make changes and additions both to our resources and the online exam programming. Today we are formally releasing two updated resources incorporating these changes. In the examinations section of the Preparation for Ministry portion of the denominational website (http://www.pcusa.org/exams) we have added a new …- Posted at 3:48 p.m.
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June 6, 2013
"Basic Training" and More at Big Tent
As I work with presbyteries across the church one of the questions I am often asked is about training opportunities to support preparation for ministry committee leaders and members. Well, this year will mark the fifth biennial Healthy Ministry Conference, the primary national training event in this area. It is part of Big Tent that will be held in Louisville, Kentucky from August 1-3. The Healthy Ministry Conference addresses a broad range of issues related to mid council work with candidates, teaching elders and congregations, so in this blog I want to highlight some of the workshops that focus on …- Posted at 11:58 a.m.
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May 23, 2013
Revised Plan for Expanding Exam Opportunities
Today the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) announced modifications to its plan for increasing the opportunities provided to candidates for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) to take the standard ordination examinations. I have provided the full text of the PCC's announcement below, but first let me highlight the following points: There will be NO changes in the administration of the exams for August 2013 and January 2014. The online exam process for taking exams will be exactly as it was for the past year. The plan announced in 2011 for moving toward "flexible" exam dates has …- Posted at 5:34 p.m.
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March 29, 2013
Gathering Odds and Ends
It is proverbially said that the oft-eventful weather patterns marking the transition from winter to spring cause the month of March “to come in like an lion, and go out like a lamb.” While it remains to be seen how quickly things will settle in the grass like a lamb, it is certainly the case that this month has been a roaring lion of activity in the area of preparation for ministry. So, this blog post shares some odds and ends about recent and upcoming developments. Office of the General Assembly Reorganization. On March 6, the OGA staff was realigned …- Posted at 8:31 a.m.
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