Required Textbooks
Each Capstone module has assigned textbooks which are read and discussed through the course.  We encourage students to read, reflect upon, and respond to these with their professors, mentors, and fellow learners.

Course Information
To see the copyright, author and table of contents for this module.

The Capstone Curriculum at-a-glance
This document lists the entire Capstone Curriculum (including lesson titles) and defines its terminology, module breakdown and the lesson outline.

Module Description
Want a full description of this Capstone module’s info and lesson material?  This link will take you there.  You can also access that same full description for the other modules as well.

Module Synopsis
Perhaps nothing is more critical in the health of a Christian congregation than the practice of effective Christian leadership.  God has raised up gifted men and women to care for his people, to exercise oversight that heals and blesses in the midst of his church.  Truly, those called to lead demonstrate their devotion to the Savior by practicing a kind of leadership that both honors and glorifies our Lord and edifies and builds up his people.

This module specifically covers four critical dimensions of effective Christian leadership.  We begin with a focus on effective worship leading, with a special focus on the role of ministering the Word and Sacrament among the people of God.  We also consider the role of the Christian leader in Christian education, dealing specifically with how we welcome and integrate new believers into our community life together.   In addition, we discuss the concept of spiritual parenthood, of raising healthy spiritual children and discipling them in the context of the local assembly of believers.  Next, we focus on practicing effective church discipline, the lost art of biblical exhortation, and why this ministry is so necessary for Christian leaders among God's people.   We close our study by considering the work of effective biblical counseling.  Our goal is to understand both the therapeutic and pastoral implications of counseling and leading God's people as they encounter the darker side of life, and its trials, tribulations, and distresses.