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Advising
Component
3: Advising Relationship
The third
component of the CEOP is a advisory relationship with an established Covenant
colleague. The close relationships among Covenant clergy have been a traditional
Covenant distinctive. This advisory relationship is designed to connect
you with a veteran pastor from your area willing to listen to your experiences,
answer your questions, lend advice, and help you become more firmly rooted
in your local Covenant context.
Choosing
an Advisor
All CEOP students are required to chose his or her own advisor. Students
receive a "advisor selection card" with their acceptance letter
and return it with their proposed advisor's signature. Once received,
the Department of the Ordered Ministry will approve the advisor choice.
advisors must be active, ordained or commissioned Covenant ministers with
at least five years of service in a local Covenant Church. Retired pastors
are suitable advisors. Once an advisor is approved, the CEOP will send
him/her an explanation of the External Orientation Program, guidelines
for the relationship, and a form to complete and return signifying the
fulfillment of the requirement.
Length
of the Relationship
The advisory relationship officially begins with the advisor's approval
by the Department of the Ordered Ministry. This relationship, as a CEOP
requirement, should last one year and include at least three evenly spaced
meetings, i.e., one meeting every three or four months. Three meetings
held during a two-week period would not fulfill completion of this requirement.
Relationship
Content
The guidelines sent to advisors by the CEOP will include a brief suggestion
for each meeting. These suggestions are not meant to control the course
of the advisoring, but rather to provide a starting point for discussion.
·
Meeting one: get acquainted, share why each has chosen the Covenant.
· Meeting two: debrief a specific Life Experience and discuss your
life in the Covenant.
· Meeting three: review an Orientation Class and discuss how it
relates to your ministry.
Completing
the Relationship
After each encounter, the advisor will write a few sentences in summary
of the meeting. Following the final encounter, the advisor will return
the form notifying the CEOP of the student's completion of this requirement.
The Orientation Program requires that this letter be signed and returned
by the advisor in order to grant the student credit for this requirement.
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