Registration for the Southeast Lessons on the Eldership Training: Module 4

This page includes information on Module 4 of the Southeast Lessons on the Eldership (LOTE) training.

If you are currently in Module 3 of the LOTE training, use the following link to indicate whether or not you choose to continue to Module 4.

LOTE Continuation

If you are not currently in Module 3 and have been invited to register for Module 4, please use the following link to register:

LOTE New Registration

Burden for this training

In recent years, we have all been impressed with the importance of the testimony of the churches here in the USA, especially in the Southeast known as the “Bible-belt” of America. But we also realize that we are lacking vitality and are somewhat behind in the increase and spread of the church life in this area. Through fellowship we were impressed that the condition of the leadership in the churches greatly affects the overall testimony. We acknowledged that the spirit, condition, and strength of the leadership, needs to be renewed in many facets.

We also feel that for the future of the Lord’s recovery among the existing churches and for future churches, both in this area and farther abroad, there is a great need for proper leadership. A good number of brothers need to be perfected, particularly among the younger ones. Hence, we would like to follow the churches in other regions by having the Lessons on the Eldership training in the Southeast.

This training is not meant as an inevitable path to eldership. The eldership is not a matter of graduating from a training course but the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and the confirmation of the Body. However, the lessons of this training are an attempt to perfect the brothers who are willing and presently serving in various functions and services in the local churches and may be of assistance to make manifest those who are suitable for the future leadership.

Clusters

The brothers are grouped into 10 clusters for purposes of receiving the training, six geographical clusters and four language clusters. If you register to receive the training in English, you will be in the geographical cluster that includes your locality. If you register to receive the training in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, or Burmese, you will be in the language cluster for your language.

The clusters are as follows:

  • FL - South (Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami)
  • FL - Central (Fort Myers, Sarasota, Sebring, Tampa)
  • FL - North (Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tallahassee)
  • TN/AL (Birmingham, Huntsville, Memphis, Mobile, Murfreesboro, Nashville)
  • TN/GA (Athens, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Kennesaw, Knoxville)
  • NC/SC (Augusta, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Columbia, Raleigh, Simpsonville)
  • Spanish
  • Chinese
  • Korean
  • Burmese

Schedule

This training is being conducted in six-month modules, with each six-month module requiring registration and commitment. The general format and commitment will be:

  • Registered trainees will gather (live or zoom) in their clusters to watch one video message covering one topic for the month, for six months.  (approx. 60 min.)  Each regional cluster will set its own schedule except for the first introductory session, which will be held over Zoom on Saturday, March 15, 2025, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST.
  • Registered trainees will also gather once a month by study groups of 5-8 brothers (live or zoom) at a time determined by the group, to review and fellowship over the topic covered during the monthly video. (approx. 60 min.)

Module 4 will conclude in August 2025.

Lessons

Training Materials

We will be using the book Lessons on the Eldership, Volume 1.  The cost for one book is $24.  Currently, LSM has books in English, Spanish, and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified).

Training Topics for Module 4

  • Lesson 19: Knowing God's Plan, Government, and Authority
  • Lesson 20: Having a Clear Vision of the Lord's Recovery
  • Lesson 21: Knowing the Lord's Recovery in Life
  • Lesson 22: Knowing the Lord's Recovery in Truth
  • Lesson 23: Knowing the Self and the Natural Being
  • Lesson 24: Knowing Boundaries

Lesson Structure

Each lesson includes:

  • Scripture Reading
  • Lesson Outline – 3 to 4 pages
  • Ministry Excerpts – 4 to 8 pages
  • Lesson Review – 2 to 3 questions
  • References (ministry publications, etc.)

Training Administrators

One or more brothers from your locality will be designated as training administrators to help oversee the training for your locality. Your training administrators will contact you to let you know who will have this function for your locality.

Study Groups

Each study group will meet once each month over Zoom for about 60 minutes to digest the month’s lesson. Each study group session should occur after the video meeting for the lesson to be digested and before the video meeting for the next lesson. The brothers in each study group will set their own meeting time each month and make their own arrangements for the Zoom call or meeting place.

Your training administrators will contact you to let you know which study group you will be in. Each study group will have a facilitator who will help coordinate the schedule for the group.

Attendance Policies

  1. All trainees should arrange their schedule so as not to miss any session (video or study group).
  2. Two excused absences are permitted for each session type (video and study group) during the six-month module.
  3. If you need to request an excused absence from any session, contact a training administrator from your locality prior to the scheduled time of the session.
  4. Missed sessions need to be made up. The make-up requirements are:
    1. For video sessions, view the missed message, which will be available on the Archive section of this website. After viewing the missed message, notify the leading brother who excused your absence.
    2. For study group sessions, write out brief answers to each of the Study Questions at the end of the lesson, and send them by email to the leading brother who excused your absence.
    3. As an alternative way to make up a session, if you are able to arrange to join a video session of a cluster that has not yet viewed the message you missed or a study group session with a group that has not yet met on the lesson you missed, you may let your training administrator know that you have done so, and you will not be required to make up the session according to #1 or #2.

Any unexcused absences (i.e., not fellowshipping with the training administrator prior to the session) or more than two excused absences from either the video training sessions or the study group sessions is grounds for dismissal from the training. If schedule conflicts cause you to have more than two excused absences, you will still be welcome to apply again for the next module of the training.

Honoring the Training

Attire

  1. All trainees should wear a dress shirt and tie during the viewing of the training messages
  2. Ties are not mandatory for the study sessions, but please dress appropriately

Zoom cameras

  1. During the beginning and end of the training message meetings, when the video is not being played, your camera should be turned on during the Zoom meetings
  2. During the study sessions your camera should be turned on during the Zoom meetings

Testing

  1. The testing will occur in the corporate video times with a test on the prior month's lesson.
  2. Brothers will be selected at random to share the answer to one study question, one brother per question.
  3. Each brother will have up to two minutes to answer, for a total of 6-8 minutes, depending on the number of study questions.
  4. The intention would be for each brother to be tested at least once during the module.
  5. The testing will need to be carried out in each cluster by the training administrators helping with each cluster.
  6. The total time for the session should still be able to be kept to about one hour.