Storyline of the Bible Courses: The following courses take students through the biblical storyline from creation to consummation.

LEAD504 The Beginning of God's Story
The whole Bible story turns on the opening chapters of the first book-God creates a perfect world, then humanity sins, falls under judgment, and God plans to save them. You will examine this story through the lives of Adam and Eve, and Noah, and study the doctrines of God, creation, humanity, and sin.

LEAD505 God Calls a People
Abraham and Moses-two giants of the faith. In this course you will study the biblical story-line from Abraham's call to the death of Moses, with hands-on analysis of selected passages. Through their lives you are introduced to such themes as covenant, faith, promise, obedience, nation, exodus, law, and priesthood. You will learn how to understand and apply the first five books of the Bible to your life and to ministry in contemporary culture.

LEAD506 Conquest to Christ
Valiant warriors, giants, spies, kings, prophets-it sounds like the stuff of an adventure novel. The history of God's people presented in the Old Testament narratives is enthralling. In this course, you will engage the Old Testament history as a means of actually getting to know the fascinating God who is the true focus of the story and explore how the Old Testament sets the context for the climax of history: the appearance of God Incarnate. By the end of this course, you will also be able to show others how to get to know the awesome God through Old Testament history.

LEAD507 Poetry and Contemporary Ministry
Poems, prayers, and promises-these and more are found in the Old Testament books of poetry and wisdom. Like prophecy, the poetic books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations) are often misinterpreted because of a lack of understanding of the genre. In this course you will learn to authentically interpret these writings, apply them to your life and ministry, and communicate their message. You will discover the timeless relevance of the wisdom books for the ministry and witness of the church.

LEAD600 Preaching Christ from the Old Testament
What does the Old Testament say about Christ and how do we authentically preach it? This course will begin by examining carefully how the NT writers themselves handled this very same question, and then evaluate popular contemporary evangelical perspectives on this issue. A large focus of the course will be on specific examples of how NT writers engage the OT and what we can learn from them about the use of the OT in contemporary Christian proclamation.

LEAD602 Prophecy and Contemporary Ministry
In this course you will focus on the writings of the prophets and how to interpret the genre of prophecy. You'll learn how the prophets fit into the Old Testament portion of the biblical storyline, how they point us to Christ, and how they teach us about our walk with God and issues like social justice. As you gain further experience in employing hermeneutic techniques, you will discover that the prophets give dimension to the story line of the Bible, and provide concepts useful for ministry in postmodern culture.

LEAD603 Jesus and the Gospel
Who is Jesus Christ? What is the significance of his life? Included is a review of the life of Christ and the many key figures in this part of the storyline. What do they tell us about Christian life and leadership?

LEAD604 Gospel and Mission
Continuing your study of the Gospels, this course examines the doctrines of Christology and atonement, and then engages you in the practical outworking of the Gospel in your mission to the world at large and to those around you. You'll learn how to interpret and communicate the genres of gospel, parable, and narrative.

LEAD605 Spirit and Church
The book of Acts describes the work of the Holy Spirit in the founding and spread of the church. In addition to studying this part of the storyline, you will add to your knowledge of Christ and his work through Paul's letters. The course content will be integrated with and applied to the pastoral and missionary task facing the 21st-century church.

LEAD700 The Church: Scandal of Grace
"Grace means there's nothing I can do to make God love me more.. Grace means there's nothing I can do to make God love me less." So said Philip Yancey as he exposed what many would consider to be the "scandal" of grace. It's so easy for ministry leaders to fall into the performance trap, measuring their worth by how much they do for God. In this focused study of the book of Galatians, you will discover the reality of the Christian life as a grace-based life, and you will learn how to develop followers who live out the reality of God's grace.

LEAD702 The Church: Struggle for Community
What exactly does it mean to be a Christian? What exactly does it mean to be a church? Who is responsible for leading the church? As you study the pastoral epistles and some of the "catholic epistles," you will be following in the footsteps of the early church as you seek to work out your own answers to these questions.

LEAD703 Spirit and Ministry
In this course you will continue your study of the New Testament epistles looking specifically at the question of mission. What do these letters tell us about how we fulfill our mission as followers of Christ?

LEAD704 Consummation
The end of the story - or is it? Though written two thousand years ago, the final part of the biblical story is yet to come. What is our final destination and what implications does this have for life and ministry? How do you interpret this genre of Scripture? You will study the biblical texts related to the return of Christ, the millennium, judgment, and final destiny, and evaluate various views on these topics. You will learn to approach the final book of the Bible as worshipers of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords!

General Courses:

LEAD500 Developing Your Ministry Potential
This course introduces students to the nature and demands of ministry leadership in a 21st century post-Christian setting. You will examine your call to ministry and begin to develop a personal style for ministry based on the gifts and talents God has given you. You will be challenged to mature in your walk with Christ as you examine and practice the historic spiritual disciplines.

LEAD501 Understanding & Communicating the Bible
The Bible plays a central role in the life of any effective ministry leader. This course will help you answer questions such as: What does it mean that the Bible is God's Word? What is the storyline of the Bible, and how does it point to Christ? How do I accurately interpret Scripture and communicate it in culturally appropriate ways? What is Scripture meditation, and how does it help a believer grow in godliness?

LEAD502 Understanding and Applying Theology
What does it mean to "think theologically"? As a Christian leader, you need to reflect on how you fulfill your calling in the light of the teaching of the Bible, the history of Christian tradition, and the specific opportunities and challenges presented by contemporary culture. In this course you will study the basic shape of the Christian tradition, consider the nature of the Bible as divine revelation, and learn to articulate an approach to theological method. The context for this study will be an examination of the Christian formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity.

LEAD503 Developing Relationships in Community
Interpersonal relationships can often make or break a ministry leader. This course will study the role that interpersonal patterns, sexuality, and conflict management styles play in a ministry leader's relationships. You will be equipped and challenged to develop patterns and skills for biblically managing each of these in your own life, and then help those you lead do the same.

LEAD620 Discovering and Developing the Leader in You
First in a series of three courses designed to help you be the leader God designed you to be. You will complete a thorough self-assessment of your leadership style and identify areas of strengths to maximize, and weaknesses to address and correct. In addition, you will study such themes as leadership style and teamwork, credibility, and a biblical philosophy of leadership.

LEAD601 Developing Your Communication Skills
Continuing the theme of ministry in the 21st century, this course introduces you to effective communication skills and practices for today's culture. You'll study basic principles of communication theory and dynamics, sermon structure, development, and delivery. Students will have opportunities to practice these skills by delivering sermons in this course and in the biblical courses.

LEAD621 Organizational Assessment and Change
In the second of three leadership courses, you will come to understand how organizations actually form, work, think, and learn. Navigating through the maze of human dynamics and complex structures that comprise organizational culture, you will be able to readily identify the mission, vision, and values of an organization. What organizations think and say they are doing is often very different from what is actually happening in practice. As a result of this course, you will be able to discern the delta that exists between perception and reality. You will aid your organizations by identifying blinding paradigms, and stimulating a healthy and helpful culture of continuous organizational learning.

LEAD701 The Story of the Christian Church
What can people who lived over the last two thousand years teach us about ministry in a twenty-first century postmodern context? Plenty! While the people are gone and the historical locales and contexts are different, the lessons from the past give us insight to issues the church faces today. This course will help you to understand key players and episodes in the unfolding story of the church, as well as the development of important doctrines in the Christian tradition.

LEAD705 Understanding and Engaging Culture
Leaders need to correctly analyze, critique, and function within the cultural context of their ministries. This course examines the contemporary cultural setting, the impact of individualism on Western spirituality, how culture shapes our worldviews, the nature of diversity today and in the future, and includes an evaluation of selected non-Christian worldviews. You'll learn to engage various audiences and groups clearly, present truth and narrative in an appealing and gripping manner, and communicate the Gospel with ease in a variety of formats. You'll study apologetics and be challenged to become an effective and engaged participant in contemporary culture.

LEAD720 Strategic Planning and Decision Making
In the third leadership course, you will build upon sound organizational theory to plan a critical pathway to establish or restore health to some element of your organization. Using tried and true models of scenario and strategic planning, you will lay out each aspect of a proposal, including the needed layers of decisions and approvals to proceed towards intervention design and implementation.

LEAD706 Senior Missions Trip
In this capstone experience, you will engage in a 12-day overseas missions trip designed to give you a vision for the world. The course concludes with a post-event session that will include critical reflection on this experience. The requirements will be introduced at the end of your second year, and you will plan and complete the project during your third year of classes. Under the guidance of a qualified mission agency, you will receive assistance in support raising, passports and visas, etc. before embarking on this opportunity to serve God with your cohort members. You are strongly encouraged to bring your spouse so that the two of you together will develop a greater passion for God's work in the world.

Retreat Courses
Friday night through Sunday noon. The twice-yearly retreats will allow students to focus on personal spiritual formation. You'll have time to reflect on significant issues as well as to practice them. For example, some retreats will be devoted to spiritual disciplines such as prayer or solitude, or meditation or fasting. The retreats will be all-cohort events so that students can get to know others in the program.

Electives (students choose three from the following):

LEAD510 Worship in Community
What does it mean to be a worshiper of God? You will learn what constitutes biblical worship and develop an appreciation for the role of community in worship. How does culture relate to worship? What are some models of worship that are practiced today? How do you plan a worship service? More than a classroom exercise, you and your fellow students will engage in worship both privately and as a group.

LEAD610 Small Group Ministry
This course is designed to enable you to develop a basic working knowledge of small groups and small group ministry. You will explore biblical concepts such as community and discipleship. You will evaluate and reflect upon past small group experiences and design a group structure that is both biblical and improves upon your experience. You will interact with some of the group models that have been implemented in the past several decades.

LEAD710 Developing Your Counseling Skills
Counseling happens all the time. Never do you go through a day where someone doesn't seek your thoughts, your advice, and your interpretation of what they are experiencing. You may never make official counseling appointments with clients but as a seminary graduate and servant of the gospel you will be asked to help people understand, cope with, and change their lives.

LEAD721 Organizational Intervention: Design and Implementation

This fourth course in the leadership series is a supervised lab and practicum that will serve as the culmination of the student's organizational leadership training in the LEAD Program. Each student will work closely with a leader from his or her organization to design and implement an intervention.

LEAD722 Pastoral Responsibilities & Church Leadership

As an elective, this course is able to focus on the distinctives of pastoral leadership for those planning vocational church ministry. It features an exploration of the concept of the ministry and a minister's responsibilities, with an emphasis on church leadership, administration, pastoral service, and role in public worship. The course is designed to familiarize the entry-level minister and to reacquaint the seasoned minister with the primary responsibilities, requirements, and biblical motivation of the pastoral office and church leadership.