Why isn't there more training for church members?

Dear Editor,

I was particularly grateful for the letter in your April edition raising the question of training for ordinary Christians and church members. The concern raised was an entirely valid one that churches must take seriously. Failure to offer such training raises the spectre of creating a two-tiered religion with a caste of super-believers that require special training that is simply beyond the ken of the ordinary Christian. Or, to put it another way, runs the risk of a return to the errant clergy-laity divide of Roman Catholicism that fundamentally denied the existence of a priesthood of all believers.

For this reason, each week for an hour before our main service, my own church holds an hour’s theological Bible study. We have developed a syllabus that runs across two years and covers Systematic Theology, Biblical Theology, Historical Theology, Hermeneutics and Ecclesiology. These are accessibly delivered and open to all. It has been our experience that those who spend the time with us in these Bible studies benefit in a far greater way from the regular teaching in sermons and midweek Bible studies and are able to make theological connections that others sometimes miss.