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The Ministerial Training Institute of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (MTIOPC) is pleased to announce its Spring 2024 courses: Ecclesiology and Book of Discipline. Additionally, MTIOPC will be offering a seminar focused on preaching on the book of Jeremiah.
Classes begin Monday, February 5, with online reading and writing assignments. The classes conclude with mandatory in-person Intensive Training sessions May 21–23 at Grace Presbyterian (OPC) in Columbus, Ohio. Orthodox Presbyterian minsters, ruling elders, men licensed to preach, and men under care of presbyteries have until January 31 to register.
The Rev. Dr. A. Craig Troxel, professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary in California, is teaching the Ecclesiology course. The purpose of the course is twofold. It seeks to enable pastors and ruling elders to be able to defend (thoughtfully and winsomely) the conviction that the church visible is “the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ” (WCF 25:2) and the “pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). It also seeks to familiarize students with the theological foundations, principles, and practices that embody the Reformed faith’s understanding of the doctrine of the church. This will be done through engagement with biblical, systematic, and historical theology. The course will also examine the relationship between the church and the state, the world, and the kingdom of God.
The main text for the course will be Stuart Robinson’s The Church of God as an Essential Element of the Gospel. The class will also read and discuss select passages on the church from such Reformed theologians as Herman Ridderbos and Geerhardus Vos. Students will have the opportunity to read material and write papers regarding the ecclesiastical contributions of such theologians as John Calvin, Charles Hodge, James Thornwell, and J. Gresham Machen.
Mr. Mark Bube, ruling elder at Calvary OPC in Glenside, Pennsylvania, is leading the Book of Discipline course. With four decades of experience as a ruling elder, Mr. Bube will share with the class “real life” situations that occur in the church at the local (session), regional (presbytery), and national (general assembly) levels that involve church discipline. An emphasis of the course will be to understand that a primary goal of church discipline is to shepherd wandering sheep in love. The goal is to restore those who have strayed in order that Christ might be honored. Ministers and ruling elders will also be reminded of what they agreed to in their ordination vows as they handle church business. In wisdom questions, students will be encouraged to submit to the decision of the brethren even if it wasn’t what one thought best.
Particular topics that will be studied include the post-Reformation development of discipline, the principles of Matthew 18, the reasons for church discipline, the power of church courts, and how to handle appeals and complaints.
The Rev. Dr. Matthew H. Patton, pastor at Covenant Presbyterian in Vandalia, Ohio, is conducting the seminar on the Book of Jeremiah. The seminar is a byproduct of Dr. Patton’s work for a planned 2025 commentary on Jeremiah that will be included in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the Old Testament.
The goal of the course is to show how a close reading of the book exalts the crucified and risen Christ in distinct ways. It will address the pastoral and homiletical issues raised in the book, to the end that believers might be motivated to a deeper faith in Christ and to a greater love of God and others.
The course will meet an hour each week online for eight weeks. Approximately four hours of work per week will be needed to complete the seminar. Students who attend the online classes are required to participate in the in-person training sessions at Grace Presbyterian. The size of the seminar will be limited to eight participants.
All students must pay a $50 registration fee, which is fully refundable upon successful completion of the courses and/or seminar. Travel scholarships up to $400 are available. An additional $100 in travel reimbursement is available if the student’s session or presbytery matches that amount.
Applications are available at OPC.org under Christian Education, then MTIOPC. Contact Judy Alexander, the MTIOPC coordinator, at alexander.1@opc.org, if you have general questions about the courses or the seminar.
© 2024 The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
