Policies for Guest Teachers for Sunday School and Small Groups While the individual members of a given Sunday School class or small group are encouraged to be the primary teachers of their groups, it is possible, from time-‐to-‐time, to call upon a guest teacher (i.e., non-‐FPC member). These guest teachers may include professors (at GSU, Georgia Tech, Columbia Theological Seminary, the Candler School of Theology, Emory, Agnes Scott, etc.), seminary students, graduate students at Emory, various figures from the local community (non-‐profit leaders, business people, other professionals), or members of other churches. The leaders of individual SS classes and small groups generally have the freedom to select guest speakers and teachers according to the interests and wishes of their respective classes/groups. We generally trust the wise and judicious discernment of individual leaders in make these choices. However, it is also important for the pastoral and lay leadership of the church to have some oversight of these invitations and to have record of who is teaching and when. As a result, before inviting a guest speaker to your class or small group, please keep the following policies in mind: •
•
Please contact the Director of Biblical and Theological Studies (rbonfiglio@firstpresatl.org) with a list of potential guest speakers at least 4 weeks prior to the event in question. In the vast majority of cases, speaker requests will be approved. On rare occasions, extenuating circumstances may require further discussion and/or modifications to the request. If you are interested in having Dr. Joel LeMon teach your class or group, you may contact him directly without additional approval. However, once you have booked Dr. LeMon, please let the Director of Biblical and Theological Studies know the details – i.e., when and how many sessions he is leading.
It is the best practice to offer any guest speaker an honorarium. The following guidelines should be kept in mind. • • • • • •
The 2016 Stembler budget has money set aside for 20-‐25 guest speaker sessions, apart from those taught by Dr. Joel LeMon (separate arrangements are made in his case). We generally offer $200 for seminary/university professors and anywhere between $100-‐$150 for other professionals. We offer $110 for seminary or PhD-‐level students. Arrangements for honoraria can be made through the Director of Biblical and Theological Studies. On occasion, guest speakers may decline an honorarium or may elect to donate it back to the church or to another charity. Honoraria are not offered to FPC staff, including its pastors or ministry directors. Classes are NOT expected to solicit funds from their members in order to provide for an honorarium.
[continued on next page]
Guest speakers need not be Presbyterian, nor even confessing Christians. However, we expect that every guest speaker would be committed to the following: • • • • • •
Encouraging open and honest dialogue Recognizing that diverse perspectives exist within this church, especially when it comes to difficult issues in theology and biblical interpretation Exhibiting sensitivity when addressing issues related to death, divorce, grief, addiction, abuse, racism, sexism, and any number of controversial topics Avoiding polemical attacks against this church, its members and leaders, other denominations, or other religious traditions Affirming the intrinsic equality of men and women, including in their role in the church, in the work place, and at home Refraining from any overt attempt to solicit financial donations
When guest speakers are brought in for Sunday School, we strongly encourage classes to combine together so that the greatest number of people can benefit from the speaker. If you are interested in help with promoting a guest speaker, please contact the Administrative Coordinator for Discipleship & Emerging Generations at least 3 weeks prior to the session in question.