Generally, when covenant youth publicly profess their faith their formal training in the doctrines of the church comes to an end. Some congregations have implemented a post confession course but experience suggests that only a small percentage of the congregation makes use of this valuable tool. Rev. Bredenhof has some suggestions that should lead to discussions in our midst about the need for continuing adult education in the church.

In order for the church to develop such a program this process needs to begin with the office bearers themselves. It is the office bearers who have been called by the Lord to teach the members of Christ's flock. While the ministers of the Word have been called to the task of preaching and teaching, the task of teaching is not the sole responsibility of the minister. One of the qualifications Paul gives in 1 Tim. 3:2 is that the elder must be "able to teach".

The ability to teach does not come automati­cally. While some might have greater natural abilities for teaching than others, one can only become an apt teacher through training. Defending the truth and teaching the truth of the gospel is only possible through training and practice. You cannot teach the doctrines of the church or answer difficult questions if you do not have knowledge of the truth. Knowl­edge comes through the process of learning and wisdom comes through practice. An office bearer must not only learn the truth, he must also learn how to use the truth.

The form for ordination says that in order "to do their work as shepherds of God's flock, the overseers should train themselves in godliness and diligently search the Scriptures, which are profitable in every respect, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work." Here you have a charge (a command) that is directed to the overseers to train themselves. This is a charge that is too easily overlooked because we find ourselves so busy with our work, our families and with the congregation. And yet all these aspects in our life; our work, our family and our church life are dependent upon how we train ourselves spiritually.

This spiritual training in godliness' and learn­ing from scriptures is the foundation for our whole life and yet when the pressures of life come upon us, it is often the first thing that we neglect. But by neglecting the foundation we actually become ineffective in all the other aspects of our life. The way we do our work, the way we direct our family and the way we work in the congregation is negatively af­fected. Therefore we need to give much more attention to the aspect of training especially when we take up the offices to which God calls us in the church.

Paul writes in 1 Tim. 3:1, "If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task." To aspire to the office of overseer is a noble thing if the desire is a godly one, namely to serve the Lord. Often this desire is self-serv­ing as we look for our own glory. But men who truly desire to serve the Lord in their capacity as overseer will in humility train themselves for such a task.

No man can become a minister of the Word unless he prepares and trains himself for the ministry. A young man may train himself by studying at a seminary without any guarantee that he will receive a call to the ministry. In principle it is no different for men in the con­gregation who aspire to the office of overseer.

While the requirements may not be as high as that of a minister, yet how can one aspire to this office of the Lord without training himself in godliness and knowledge? Headship both in the family and in the Church requires hard and diligent work. How can fathers, who need to teach and direct their children in the way of the faith do so if they do not train themselves in the ways of the Word? How can overseers who are called to teach and direct the members of the flock in the way of faith do so if they do not train themselves in the truth of the gospel?

Without solid training in the truths of God's Word how can an overseer teach the flock the ways of the Lord and enter into discussions when questions about the faith are raised? An office bearer should be able to teach others about the re‑formed faith. He should be able to recognize and refute those ideas that conflict with the truth of the gospel. He should be able to intelligently defend that which the church confesses and be able to teach why the church follows certain practices. He should be able to use the scriptures to encourage the flock with the promises of God, he should be able to direct those who are disobedient to the truths of the gospel and he should be able to comfort from the Word those who deal with hardships, loss or grief. We do not expect overseers to have all the answers and be able to deal with every situation, but we should ex­pect that office bearers are continually equip­ping themselves with God's Word.

When overseers do not continue to train in the Word of God, the result is that the flock becomes frustrated with them. I remember teaching a young man who had grown up in a devout Roman Catholic home. He related his experience with a priest in a catechism class where he had asked a question that challenged the thinking of the Roman Church. The priest had no answer. He could only reply that it was so because the church said it was so. It was the moment that stood out in his mind when he began to question the teaching of the Roman church. This example illustrates the need for the overseers to be able to capably defend the truth from the Word of God.

When people are clearly shown the truth from scriptures, they will readily and happily accept such instruction. But when office bearers argue that this is the way it has always been, the result is that such people will begin to question the teaching of the church. The other result is that the church will fall into a dead orthodoxy.

When the impression is given that we do it this way because that is the way it has always been done, there is no longer a zeal for maintain­ing the truth and there is no longer a heartfelt desire to defend the truth.

When overseers do not train themselves in the knowledge of the gospel, they are also afraid of being challenged by members of the congrega­tion. When we do not know how to defend the truth, we go on the defensive and skirt around the issue. And yet some of the most rewarding discussions are those in which we are being challenged, for it gives us a wonderful opportunity to direct people in the way of truth. When those who challenge us realize that their challenge does not stand up to the truths of scripture, they will then more readily make that truth their own. Rather than fearing a challenge, we must look at it as an opportunity to bring one of the sheep to a bet­ter knowledge of their Lord. That simply gives us a greater reason to train ourselves in the truth of the gospel.

How should one go about training in such knowledge? The form for ordination speaks about diligently searching the scriptures. This is an exercise that each office bearer needs to be engaged in personally. The scriptures need to be the focus of our daily life. We need to take time out of our busy schedule to quietly read and meditate on the word of the Lord. Therefore our own personal study is impor­tant.

This training needs to go beyond what we do personally. We live in a time in which more and more learning seems to be self-directed. This is a trend that has become more feasible on account of the internet. Gregory Reynolds in an article in "Ordained Servant" writes about distance learning that is now possible through the delivery system of the internet. While distance learning through the internet can be a great tool to pass on information, he warns that such a form of education also has its drawbacks. The drawback is that the student is learning in an isolated environment. Education involves communication and interaction. We need to test our ideas by getting feedback from others.

Therefore proper training for office bearers should not only come through isolated self-study, but there is also the need to engage the communion of saints. Overseers need to have an environment in which they can learn to­gether in order to test their ideas and sharpen one another with regard to the truth. It is also through such communication and interaction that one is able to practice using the truth. It gives the opportunity to hone one's skills in teaching the truth that has been learned.

It is important therefore that we develop courses for office bearers and young men in the church so that they can continue to train themselves for the calling to the offices. In the Fraser Valley, an office bearer's course was de­veloped by a number of ministers. Much time was spent in preparing the course outline and different ministers taught different parts of the curriculum. The courses were set up in such a way that there was a period of instruction but there was also time for interaction and a work­ing with the material that was presented.

This took a lot of planning and prepara­tion on the part of the ministers who were involved. I would suggest that the churches continue to promote such opportunities for further training. That may mean that minis­ters be given time to work out and prepare such courses in the future. As curriculums are set up and fleshed out, they could be shared with churches in different parts of the country. Serious thought should be given to develop­ing the training of office bearers. The blessing of such training will be overseers who are better equipped to teach the saints, to defend the truths of the gospel and to support and encourage those in the flock who are in need. We cannot take the training of overseers for granted, for it is through their work that the Lord continues to direct his church in the way of life.

There is one last aspect that still comes to my mind. Consistories should also look at the continued training of their ministers. When a young man completes his study at the Theo­logical College, he has just been given the basics and the tools that he will need for his work in the ministry. It is only the beginning of his learning, for once a man enters into the ministry he enters upon a lifetime of learn­ing. But ministers can become isolated in their congregations. While they do their own study and they will get some interaction from the congregation with regard to their preaching, it is important that they get further stimula­tion. I would encourage consistories to sup­port further studies by their minister. I do not mean that they need to pursue a degree but they could be encouraged to audit courses. The purpose for this is not just that they may learn something new, but that they may be chal­lenged in their studies of the scriptures. There is nothing that breathes new life into a person than to be able to interact with the ideas of a professor and other students. It helps stimulate new interests in the truths of the scriptures that will benefit the congregation.