The CLT Board
Christian Life Training
Centre for Christian Ministry and Divinity

29th February, 2008

All the news you would want to ask. Trying to make your TC better.
Look for other documents you need here:   http://www.clt.org.za/downloads.html

Note: Remember to prepare for the M/D study group on March 14th.

Dear Pastor or Dean,

We have two significant months behind us and this letter is needed to look at where CLT is is going as the future starts tomorrow. Growth

In our financial note we wrote to 274 TC's about the importance of paying the account in time. We thank the 3 Bible Schools who have responded. We also wrote about the growth in range, format, type and choice. We should have also stressed the importance of ethical standards, rigorous quality adherence, the solid character foundation we have at the Tuition Centre level and the fine young and vigorous Christian soldiers the CLT material can help turn out in the right environment.

This is really a mouth full! Let us take each one of these points and ponder over them in a few sentences.

Finances

We have learnt last year and even before, that most pastors are not financial strategists. We have seen time and again how well meaning leaders struggle with the fickleness, stubbornness and unwillingness of Bible School students when trying to extract school fees from them in order to pay the CLT and other accounts. But in spite of this scary part of administering a TC, in the end we still get the full turn-over from you by mid December – thanks to a rain of pleading letters since January 1990. So this is letter number 206. CLT is probably the only organization who allows Churches to have such large 30-day accounts, which are often only paid off over 120 days. We understand that book stores make churches pay before the books are sent out. Others have debit orders and still others enforce written contracts. We just write a monthly letter. But money is not more important than yet another matter which is of major strategic importance – CLT integrity.

CLT Integrity

The dictionary defines integrity as moral soundness. An environment of integrity will contribute to an unreduced or unbroken completeness or totality. This totality is the complete achievement of the objectives of the CLT mission statement – the most fundamental one being to promote personal spiritual growth (the others are on page three of the prospectus). This is why the student must undertake (page 51) to be an example of good Christian character and conduct at all times and in all places whilst a CLT student. The student also agrees to help safeguard the ideals of discipleship or moral atmosphere. Integrity involves the entire Bible School, its lecturers and its leadership. If the integrity is intact, then the qualification retains its value for all students who have achieved the same certificate as its proof.

Quality Adherence

Our accreditation with CQA was not a quick and easy process. We have had to prepare very comprehensive documentation to show our capability to ensure quality education through Tuition Centres. The self-evaluation with its 122 questions rely on all the other things CLT has confirmed to be in place through its role in providing the Ministry curriculum. Should a Bible School do things differently, the accreditation would become shaky as integrity is suspect or broken. This is why the prospectus is such an important document of proclamation and guidance. The administrative Packs we send to new Bible Schools also play a pivotal role in CLT's stability as a network of Bible Schools. Quality adherence would keep the whole CLT Network in a position of integrity.

New Capability

The improved curriculum has brought new challenges. We had to keep the price within the expected range of the cost structure of the past. We had to develop materials and e-learning instruments to give body to the term advanced e-learning technology. We had to develop a new strategy enabling the programme to be employed as a Distance Mentor curriculum. We have to market and set guidelines for the use of the Church Life programme as it is known. These challenges have all been overcome in the product you see and the adapted guidelines we have received from CQA and Calvary, who underwrite the accredability of the Church Life programme into the realm of the Bachelor level for the student who earns a first degree.

The Guidelines

A few first principles apply to the curriculum offered to the mentored student who studies under a Distance Mentor. Here are the principles:

• The learner must be supplied with the printed out text book
• A special set of learner and or Mentor guides (for the distance arrangement) are to be provided
• A CD ROM disk with a range of instruments and resources must be available for each book.
• A Mentor is appointed by a Tuition Centre having two years of experience in running a CLT TC
• The rules for evaluating mentors are applied regularly to the Mentor
• Spiritual feedback is obtained by the mentor and this feedback is supervised
• The Learner is enrolled onto the CLT Website to write the required web tests.

TC's Must Apply

This means that a student who does not attend classes (or less than 90% of the classes), will cause the TC to first apply to this new kind of learning. A process of application, information, training, evaluation and registration will be put in place. This is because training someone at a distance through a Distance Mentor is like chalk and cheese to offering attendance classes. A few TC's will pioneer this process with our full knowledge, supervision and co-operation. The requirements will be made known during the month of March as we work through the above information and to put the necessary “tools” in place by means of Mentored Student Pack.

Stricter Requirements

All the above is good for CLT as a whole. For some who will not make the grade it will be a disappointment. The elimination of under-qualified start-up Bible Schools and TC's against which complaint have been received will only do us all in the CLT Network good. We look forward to a future in which more students can reap the benefit of receiving a more solid training by a select group of Bible Schools as Calvary and CQA gives us the nod on our new venture.

There will be results. We are laying a solid character foundation at the Tuition Centre level and fine young and vigorous Christian soldiers are equipped to go out or to work where they are. CLT has to stick to integrity on every level. You can make it succeed.

Note: Please remember to provide proof of payment. Lorenza deals with the accounts. If you cannot fax the slip, please e-mail the pdf or jpg to: lorenzaerasmus@webmail.co.za ... but we still prefer telephonic orders. God Bless your Ministry in 2008. The CLT Board

God Bless your Ministry

The CLT Board

Equipped to Spread the Gospel

Pdf version