Free Bible School Education at CLI
My name is Jonathan Samza, and I am receiving free Bible School education at CLI. Currently, I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. My wife and I run a franchise business to make a living. I grew up in a Christian family.
Early Years
Initially, I am from Myanmar. In 1999, I left my country and, later, joined the exile political organization based in Thailand. While I was with the organization, every single day, we talked about the political issues, war, refugees from the battles, conflicts among each armed group and their territory, illegal migrant workers, and so on. Nobody talked about God, but sometimes the religious persecution issues came up. At the time, I never thought much about the church.
In 2007, I resettled to America under the refugee resettlement program for a better future. Life is not always the way we want it to be. It is not easy. Sometimes, life is upside down and filled with bitterness and toughness. Since then, I gradually realized that I need God. I am nothing without Him.
Starting Myanmar Community Churches in the USA
We formed the very first Myanmar community church in late 2008. Everybody was happy because we could welcome new refugees and help each other. We can worship and preach in our language. At that time, we didn’t have any experience in how to form a church. I served as a volunteer Administration Secretary at the time. I tried my best to organize and wrote a church constitution and bylaw.
During a decade, the number of churches increased up to almost twenty in Charlotte and the surrounding area. If you look it up, for the church planting, you will say, wow! Praise the Lord! The number of churches increased not because of the gospel or because of new believer increase. It grew because the existing churches split up for various reasons and formed new churches.
As for my community, people came from the same country, but they are from different cultural backgrounds, different races, tribes, and speak different dialects. It makes it more complicated. The people that belong to the same ethnic group, tribe, clan, and so on make a church group and worship their way. Some don’t even have a pastor. Most of these churches are led by those with less Bible knowledge and are incompetent leaders. Then, due to both personal issues and conflicts of interest, the church would split. Sad to say, these repeat again and again.
My Involvement and Questions
Since I came to the USA, I got involved in many community churches. So far, I have “experience of transferring” from one church to another. It’s a mixture of good and bad experiences. I learned a lot of lessons from it. Sometimes, the church pastor says that he is a founder of the church. It leads to misunderstanding among its church members and, finally, a split.
I am trying to figure it out. I’m thinking about what my capability and the right thing to do in this situation is. I’m not saying that the churches do not worship God. They do, but some are departing from the truth and falling away from the truth. As a result, some believers are reluctant to attend the church. Some don’t want to participate in any activity. However, some believers keep moving from one church to another. How can the true gospel reach the lost souls? How can the unbelievers come to know Jesus as their Savior and the Creator of the universe? How many churches are like this in the world?
Led to Free Bible School Education at CLI
In my opinion, the church or a group of saved people is one of the strongholds for Christianity, and that’s why a healthy church is crucial (Acts. 2:36-47). So many questions come into my mind regarding this issue.
Therefore, my prayer is to equip myself with ministry training so I can equip God’s people to serve all people and to build up the body of Christ. Then one day, I want to go back to Myanmar, the country where I was born. I want to nurture people in the truth of God’s love through helping, preaching, teaching, and fellowship.
I am so thankful that the Christian Leaders Institute exists. I am especially grateful for the free Bible school education they offer. This free ministry training will help me to become a strong Christian leader. I want to be a leader who can understand the truth about the word of God and fully understand ministry in God’s kingdom.
Learn about ordination with the Christian Leaders Alliance.
PREACH WITH CLARITY
Free sermon writing courses are available through the Christian Leaders Institute. Just sign up and take a free admission course. Today Bruce Ballast is talking about how clarity helps the listener tune it and stay there.
We’ve looked already that effective sermons are Therapeutic, that is, that they are geared to address peoples’ felt needs. We’ve also discussed that people will tune into your preaching more effectively if you do something unconventional or attention-getting. In this post, we turn to the topic of clarity, or Lucidity (in the TULIP) an acronym. Here is a truth: clarity helps hearers tune in and stay there.
WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS?
I heard about a research project that was done in a university. The goal was to find out what impresses people in a speech. So they gathered a group of young, smart college-age young adults and had them listen to two speeches. The first person who spoke did what was the equivalent of a college lecture, informing the group about a period in history and the forces that created it. The students then rated the speaker. He rated pretty well as being knowledgable about his subject and fairly interesting.
Then came the second speaker. The designers of the project chose this man because of his ability to memorize strings of words that sounded impressive; they weren’t part of a normal vocabulary. He weaved a bunch of nonsense with those words during his twenty minutes, but did so with passion, while he made a diagram on the board. The students then ranked him after his speech. To the surprise of the researchers, the students rated the non-sensical speech higher than the other one!
WHAT'S THE POINT?
The point is this: if you are trying to impress your hearers, then use the biggest words you know, and talk about obscure topics. But if you want your hearers to draw closer to God and to have a deeper understanding of his will for them, then know that clarity helps hearers tune in and make that connection.
ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY
This principle is always true when you speak in public, not just when you preach. Clarity helps hearers stay tuned in to you and your subject. This quote is from NBC news in a short on-line article that makes this same point.
Plan ahead. Take the time to figure out the best way to tailor your message to your audience — what approach will keep your listeners attention and resonate with them? North asks. Think of a strong introduction that will grab listeners’ attention. And craft a thoughtful conclusion, so listeners leave remembering what the key points you want them to take away.
Preparing for less formal conversation — such as a dinner party with new neighbors, a networking event, or a meeting at work — is different from preparing for a formal speech, Fleming adds. But planning can still help. Thinking about points, you might want to make about a project at work before a meeting with the higher-ups will help you feel more confident when it’s time to voice your opinion. And knowing a little bit about fellow party guests ahead of time can make it easier to land on conversations you’re both engaged in.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
How do you maintain clarity and lucidity in your message? It’s not difficult. It involves these things:
Know Your Main Plot
Later we’ll get into the mechanics of writing a sermon, but for now, let me suggest that you read the passage that you are preaching on prayerfully more than once. Then reflect on your subject enough so that you have one, or at most two main ideas you want to get across.
Outline Supporting Points
Steve Brown, the one from whom I got the TULIP acrostic, says, “If people can’t take notes on what you say, you should not have said it.” And, “…The organization is desperately important in any presentation.” (Steve Brown, How to Talk So People Will Listen, p. 117). Now for some fun. Here’s a clip of a speech that will remind you again that clarity helps your readers tune in and stay tuned in. The target is business speakers, not sermon-makers. But it shows the tendency to wander confusingly. Just watch part of this, and picture what it might look like for someone to do this with bad sermons.
Women’s Ministry Training Journey Led to CLI
My name is Laysha Trejo, and I have been on a women’s ministry training journey. I currently live in California. I joined the U.S. Navy after high school at 17 years old. There I met the love of my life, my husband, Miguel Trejo.
Being military for more than 20 years now, we have been continuously moving from place to place. Because of moving often, I have seen many women’s ministries. Those women’s ministries have been an enormous resource to me. They helped me grow in the Lord. They helped come alongside the church to fill the hunger I had to learn the Word of God.
Dreams and Goals on My Women’s Ministry Training Journey
My dream and ministry goal is to become a trained Christian leader women’s ministry leaders trainer (that was a mouth full). Providing practical advice based entirely on God’s Word is vital. Also, I want to provide tools for women to serve God’s way. The Lord delivered me from the most challenging times in my life, being away from home in the military and later a military wife. He used women’s ministry as a tool to reach me. The Bible studies, conferences, and fellowship helped me to stay plugged in.
I must admit I was a little concerned about not following through with my studies. Honestly, I have been going to college off and on for many years and still am not done. I have used all of my GI Bill college funds. So, tuition costs scared me as a stay home wife and mother of five children.
Finding CLI as God Opens Doors
However, I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to search online. Thank the Lord He revealed the Christian Leaders Institute. My scholarship at CLI has allowed me to receive the credibility and training that I crave to do ministry God’s way. Thanks so very much for your obedience, CLI!
Praise God! He goes before us. Mentors, training, and opportunities are now coming to me. Furthermore, it’s no coincidence that I am going to CLI professor Gena McCown’s women’s leadership conference. I didn’t even realize it was her conference. I “happened” to find it and felt I should go all the way to Florida from California for just one day.
Please pray for me as I continue on this women’s ministry training journey!
Learn about ordination with the Christian Leaders Alliance.