This website (se.training)

Beginning with Module 3 of the Southeast LOTE training, this website will be the central hub of information about the training for all trainees. Please do not share the link to this website to brothers who have not been invited to attend this training.

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, September 21, 2024, 11:00 am – 12:30 am 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 3 will conclude in February 2025.

Video Schedules

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 3

  • Lesson 13: The Person of an Elders
  • Lesson 14: The Heart of an Elder
  • Lesson 15: The Character of an Elder (1)
  • Lesson 16: The Character of an Elder (2)
  • Lesson 17: The Authority of the Elders (1)
  • Lesson 18: The Authority of the Elders (2)

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.)

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.

The leading brothers overseeing the training for your locality 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 one of the leading brothers from your locality who is helping to oversee the training.
  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.

More than two unexcused absences from either the video training sessions or the study group sessions (i.e., not fellowshipping with the training administrator prior to the session) will result in dismissal from the training.