Overview
600 Level · Senior Graduate Masterclass
3 Credit Hours
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”
Isaiah 61:1-2 (KJV)
Welcome to AM-601
Welcome to AM-601 — The Calling and Character of the Associate Minister. This is the first course of the So You Want To Be An Associate Minister Masterclass series, and before we go anywhere else, let’s take common sense to a higher level and settle one thing right now: this course begins before you open your mouth.
That is not a critique. It is a theological statement. The most consequential formation work in any minister’s life happens in the seasons before the platform, before the pulpit appointment, before the congregation knows your name. It happens in the hidden place — in the study, in the prayer closet, in the years of faithful service under someone else’s assignment, in the patient, costly, unglamorous discipline of learning what it means to be called before demanding to be celebrated.
AM-601 is the spirit course. Just as AD-601 built the spirit of the armor bearer before AD-602 built the skill of the adjutant, AM-601 builds the character foundation that every associate minister must have before any technical training can be meaningful. The associate who jumps straight to the mechanics of ministry — the homiletics, the pastoral care protocols, the administrative responsibilities — without doing the formation work of this course will arrive at every ministry context with impressive information and an underprepared heart. And the underprepared heart is the source of every associate minister catastrophe you have ever witnessed.
What This Course Addresses
AM-601 is organized around eight essential formation lessons, each building on the previous, collectively producing the fully formed foundation from which all subsequent associate minister competency must grow:
- Lesson 1: The Divine Call — What it actually means to be called, Isaiah 61 unpacked, and why “Woe is me / Here am I” is the complete theological arc of genuine calling
- Lesson 2: Historical Perspectives — The associate minister role through history, denominational contexts, the African American church tradition, and what every generation of associates has struggled with
- Lesson 3: You Are Not the Senior Pastor — The identity anchor every associate needs, the comparison trap, the shadow problem, and how to find profound peace and purpose in a supporting role
- Lesson 4: Biblical Models of the Associate Minister — Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, Naomi and Ruth — what Scripture actually says about how God forms leaders through the associate season
- Lesson 5: The 12 Nevers — Bishop Willis’s definitive list of associate minister prohibitions, theologically unpacked and applied, not just memorized
- Lesson 6: Faithful Followership — What genuine, Spirit-produced submission to pastoral authority looks like and why the associate who has not learned to follow cannot be trusted to lead
- Lesson 7: Called to Support, Not to Pastor — The dignity and the theology of the support calling, and why not every anointed minister is called to the senior pastorate
- Lesson 8: Preparation, Study, and the Ministerial Basics — How to prepare yourself for the responsibilities the associate role actually carries, before the opportunity arrives
How to Use This Course
Each lesson follows the BARM LTI Masterclass standard: Scripture anchor, lesson objectives, substantive teaching in clearly marked sections, callout boxes for key principles, and a six-question Reflection and Application table for personal formation work. The reflection questions are where the teaching meets the life. Do not skip them. They are the most important part of each lesson.
The byline on every lesson is “Taught by Bishop Dr. A.R. Massenburg” — but this course was built from the accumulated wisdom of two essential sources: Bishop Howard V. Willis Jr.’s Associate Minister’s Handbook, which provides the theological grounding and pastoral authority, and G. DeMarcus Lewis’s Beyond the Pulpit, which provides the practical application and relational insight. Together they give you both the gravitas and the fire. Both are necessary. Neither alone is sufficient.
AM-601 is a prerequisite for AM-602 (The Ministry and Mechanics of the Associate Minister) and AM-603 (The Growth and Future of the Associate Minister). The three courses together constitute the complete So You Want To Be An Associate Minister Masterclass. Take them in order. The spirit before the skill. The formation before the function.
A Word Before You Begin
Every associate minister in every generation has wrestled with the same essential question: “OK Lord, I have preached my initial sermon — what do I do now?” That question is not a sign of weakness. It is the honest cry of a genuinely called person who has not yet been given a clear picture of what the calling they accepted actually looks like in practice. This course answers that question — not just functionally but theologically, not just for the mechanics of the role but for the character of the person who carries it.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “Every individual has a responsibility to be concerned about himself enough to discover what he is made for. After he discovers his calling he should set out to do it with all of the strength and power in his being.” This course helps you discover what you are made for in your specific calling as an associate minister — and then sends you into it with all the formation, all the character, and all the conviction that genuine discovery requires.
You are not just in this for a job. This is about building a legacy in the kingdom of God. You have everything it takes to make a difference. This course is here to make sure you know it — and to make sure the people you serve can see it in everything you do, from the way you prepare to the way you serve to the way you eventually leave.
Class, the foundation of every effective associate ministry is a clear, undeniable, unshakeable conviction that God has called you to this work. Without that conviction, the first hard season will drive you out. With it, no opposition can move you. Lesson 01 establishes that foundation. Start there. Everything else builds on it.
AM-601 — Course Welcome
Curriculum
Course Content
Instructors
About the Instructors
