ELDER’S ACADEMY 2023 COHORT

The 2023 Cohort of the Elders Academy has been tasked to maintain their progress toward their goal of ministry in an open and accountable way. As part of this process, each cadet maintains a blog that details certain aspects of their growth. Each cadet is encouraged to be creative with their websites and be creative. This has led to very diverse websites, often rich with artistic content and other fun endeavors. However, each blog must have 4 main aspects:

  1. A Character Journal (Weekly)
    This blog format journal details each cadet’s experience, victory, and difficulty in striving to live a life worthy of their calling. They are to specifically compare and contrast their development against the character of an elder as defined by the Pastoral Epistles.
  2. Scripture Reading (Daily)
    Every cadet is required to post a scripture and their own thoughts about that scripture and how it applies to their life, community, and God’s overall will, as well as their hermeneutic insights. They are able to follow a prescribed Bible reading from ABF or their own personal studies.
  3. Rules for Living (Weekly)
    As a part of Elder’s Academy, each cadet is given a growing list of rules by which they will be expected to live as ministers. They are to write about these rules as well as to detail the challenges they may see themselves or their generation facing in implementing them.

  4. Essays and Papers (Assigned)
    Every Cadet has assignments given to them as part of their training. These may include papers about various subjects, such as Church History, Counseling, Systematic Theology, and others. These papers and essays will be archived here and available for public viewing.

It is our hope that these websites will provide the necessary accountability and peer review to provide these cadets with enough feedback and positive critique that they will be able to fine-tune themselves. Additionally, it is our hope that our congregants will use this opportunity to understand the men who wish to serve them. Please use what you find here to help them grow. Read their thoughts, give them feedback, and encourage their process.

CADETS

Hayden Carpenter
Gabriel DeSemple
Dylan Herring
Joseph Vaught