North Central Jurisdiction United Methodist Church
Upcoming Courses
October 14-18, 2019
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota (exact address and motel TBD). Plan to arrive October 13th. Enrolled Students are welcome to stay through October 18 to travel on October 19. Book hotel accommodations at special NACOS rate here: Best Western Plus, Isanti Minnesota.
COS 124 Transformative Leadership
Course Dates: October 14 at 9:00 A.M. through October 16 ending at 11:30 A.M.
This course forms the student’s identity as a pastoral leader and change agent in congregations, The United Methodist Church, and the world.
Objectives:
Identify and understand the attributes of good leaders, biblically and theologically.
Evaluation and strengthen their own identifies and skills as pastoral leaders.
Explain and reflect on the nature of change in the local congregation and wider society.
Implement visioning, strategizing and planning processes in their local congregations.
Texts (Some books might be available in Kindle/digital):
Your Bible.
Bruce Birch and Lewis Parks, Ducking Spears, Dancing Madly, A Biblical Model of Church Leadership;
Brandon O’Brien and Jim Belcher, The Strategically Small Church: Intimate, Nimble, and Effective.
Joseph M. Marshall III, The Power of Four (Leadership Lessons of Crazy Horse)
COS 522 Theology in the Contemporary Church
Course Dates: October 14 at 9:00 A.M. through October 16 ending at 11:30 A.M.
This course is intended to introduce you to the different movements, themes, motifs, and theological developments, beginning with the nineteenth century to the present. While the study of theology is often understood as an exclusive intellectual journey, students will be encouraged to use imagination and creativity to pursue truth as it relates to the God within you.
Objectives:
Become familiar with the origins and theological tenets of liberalism from the 19th the century to the present. This approach will include its influence on ecumenism and process theology.
Understand the reaction to liberalism and Fundamentalism, Neo-Orthodoxy, and Evangelicalism.
To explore and explain the historical development and theology of the Holiness Movement, Pentecostalism, and the Charismatic movement.
Understand the origins and tenets of liberation and Contextual theologies.
Texts:
John Caputo, What Would Jesus Deconstruct?
Daniel Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding
COS 523 Evangelism
Course Dates: October 16 at 2:00 P.M. through October 18 at 5:00 P.M.
This course introduces students to the theology and practices of evangelism as an expression of the mission of God.
Objectives:
Reflect on and articulate the meaning of the Gospel and an understanding of the Church as bearers of God’s Word to the world.
Ground a theology of evangelism in scripture, the Gospel, and the mission of God.
Interpret of the Wesleyan heritage of evangelism.
Reflect on and implement strategies and models for evangelism by the congregation.
Texts:
Dana Robert, Christian Mission (main text)
Miroslav Volf, A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good
Selected Wesley Sermons (from a text of your choice)
Recent Courses
May 13-15, 2019
Location: Pine Lake Camp, W8301 City Road M, Westfield, WI 53964. Plan to arrive after dinner (on your own for it) on May 12 and leaving the morning of May 18 (on your own for breakfast). If you are driving, please bring your own bedding and towels, and (if possible) an extra set for our fliers. The nearest airports are Madison and Milwaukee.
NACOS 421 Bible IV, Prophets, Psalms, and Wisdom Literature
Rick Bell, Instructor
This course examines God’s Word as expressed through Israel’s prophets, selected Psalms, and selected passages from Wisdom literature.
Students will be able to:
Understand the origin, history, and use of these forms of biblical literature among God’s people.
Exegete these forms of biblical literature.
Apply exegesis to preaching, other pastoral responsibilities, and issues of the present day.
Texts:
Spirituality of the Psalms, Walter Brueggemann
You Are My People: An Introduction to Prophetic Literature, Louis Stulman & Hyun Paul Kim
Wisdom Literature, Richard Clifford
Reference:
A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd Edition,* Bruce Birch, Walter Brueggmann, Terrence Frietham, David Petersen
May 15-17, 2019
Location: Pine Lake Camp, W8301 City Road M, Westfield, WI 53964.
NACOS 423 Mission
Ken Hayden, Instructor
This course introduces the theology and scope of mission, and the pastor’s role in leading congregations in their mission as agents of God’s transforming redemption.
Students will be able to:
Articulate a biblical and theological framework for Christian mission.
Explain the Wesleyan relationship of personal piety and social holiness.
Examine and reflect on unjust social realities and the response of the church locally and globally.
Analyze their ministry context and develop strategies for transforming mission.
Texts:
Announcing The Reign of God, Mortimer Arias
Transforming Evangelism: The Wesleyan Way of Sharing Faith, Henry Knight & F Douglas Powe
Faith-Sharing, Eddie Fox and George Morris
Supplementary:
New Wine and New Wineskins: How African American Congregations Can Reach New Generations, Doug Powe
Considering the Great Commission, Stephen Gunter, Elaine Robinson, ed.
How to Sign Up for a NACOS Course
Step 1
Select a Course & click on the “Add the Registration Fee to Cart” button.
Step 2
Download and print the Course Approval Signature Form. All students who are Pastors under appointment (Full or Part time) must have DS and Registrar approval signatures, even if they are returning students. Follow all instructions on the form.
Step 3
A: I am paying my Tuition:
Click on the “Add Tuition to Cart” button for each desired Course.
B: Someone else is paying my Tuition:
Click here.
Step 4
Go to the Cart and Checkout.*
*First time enrollee? Welcome! We need a little extra information about you.
If you have special circumstances that need to be considered, please click on the button below, fill out the form, and submit.
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History
In response to needs identified by members of the West Michigan Indian Workers Conference, and a Racial Ethnic Task Force report of 1998, serious conversation about starting a Native American Course of Study was begun. Classes began in the Spring of 2003.
Content
The intent is to make pastoral training economically accessible, culturally interpreted, contextually relevant and communally comfortable for those attending the class. A typical course includes: Two four-day sessions, reading texts and preparing papers prior to class, interactive sessions with dialogue, field application and feedback that will include some written and oral work.
Who May Attend
Our mission is to educate and train Native American local pastors in the United Methodist Church. The school uniquely prepares students to work cross-culturally in a variety of settings. In addition to Native Americans, NACOS is open to pastors of all races/ethnicities serving Native American people within their congregations and communities, as well as those pastors responding to a call to work in Native American Ministries.
Accreditation
This school is an extension school of the Course of Study School of Ohio at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. It is under the accreditation of the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education, and has been approved as a national school, accredited for both the basic and advanced course of study. Although a course of study does not terminate in a degree, classes are accredited and can be applied toward a seminary degree.
An Extension of Methodist Theological School of Ohio
A Course of Study Program Under the accreditation of the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education