Lisa and I, along with the rest of the board of Dunamis Fellowship, have been prayerfully working together to open the doors of the Shepherd’s College August 30. Several of us met several times a week to pray over this adventure. We put together a website, met with local pastors, planned our course of study, secured a meeting place, prayed some more, ordered books, prayed and moved forward.
I came home from that first meeting with a smile and a grateful heart. We had several men, including a former pastor, a future pastor and a deacon gathered in person with several more joining us through Zoom. We talked about the program and the philosophy of ministry undergirding it. We talked about the courses for this first semester, why they were important, the books we’re going to read together. We talked about the importance of talking. Best of all, we spoke well together about God’s Word and God’s Work.
There was, as there should be, a sense of worship as we gathered. We marveled at His grace, wondered at His wonder and devoted time to prayer. The encouragement that I brought home was less about this newborn institution, though it included gratitude for this day of small beginnings, but about the blessing of men talking together earnestly about the things of God, about once again remembering the blessings of our redemption and adoption. There was a spirit of camaraderie, a brotherhood born. No one, I believe, came away feeling burdened or weighed down by our planned course of study. Instead there was hope and excitement. I wish you could have been there.
Of course, you can. The registrar has set September 7th as the last day to join for this semester. You can read more about the Shepherd’s College here. If you have questions you can reach out through email at hellorcjr@gmail.com. Though we have purposefully designed our program so that it is eminently affordable, we also have limited scholarship funds available. (We could, of course, always use more as we have multiple students eager to enroll for whom finances, as things now stand, would be a barrier. If you’d like to contribute to our scholarship fund you can do so through the “Donate” button on our homepage. Donations are tax deductible.)
We believe that the day of the mega-church is beginning to draw to a close, that there is an urgent need not for branded entrepreneurs but shepherds who are unknown to Big Eva, but known and loved by their own flock. We believe the order of the day is courage, fidelity, humility and joy. We believe that he shepherds best who repents most. Or, to put it another way, we’re looking for a few bad men, committed to the service of the one Good Man.
Please keep us in your prayers. Please consider how you might come alongside us in this important work. And please consider signing up. The harvest is plentiful, though the laborers are few.