Church offers free classes

You might expect someone with an associate degree, two bachelors degrees, two masters degrees and a Ph.D. to go by Dr., Mr., or even sir, but, in this case, something much more informal will do.

“Most people just call me ‘Rev,’” said Reverand Dr. M.J. Nicolaus of the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Mission (SVLM) in Thompson Falls.

Nicolaus’s arsenal includes not only his impressive educational pedigree, but an equally astounding professional resume including over 40 years of pastoral experience and 35 years of counseling expertise.

In the free Christian Marriage and Christian Parenting Family Life Seminars sponsored by SVLM, Nicolaus combines each ingredient from his past experience to leave community members a full-bodied, not to mention tried and true, taste in their mouths.

“We put the best of psychology and the best of scripture together,” Nicolaus said of the classes. “You have sociology, how people interact, and psychology, why they interact that way, and that really helps you understand whom you are working with.”

Nicolaus, who has degrees in humanities, psychology, sociology, and systematic theology, uses every tool in his belt in observing students and applying his knowledge base in a practical way.

“You’re always working with human beings, so if you can observe them a little bit and how they interact with other human beings and understand a little bit of why, and then bring the gospel to that situation, it’s very effective,” Nicolaus added.

Having recently moved to the community from Ronan, this will be the first time Nicolaus has offered these Seminars in Sanders County. He has, however, shared his expertise in many of the places he has previously been a minister including: Szechatuan Canada, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and other communities in Montana.

According to Nicolaus, the seminars are not exclusive to church members with children, but would be beneficial to those without a religious affiliation, or to single parents.

“They will get more than one perspective,” Nicolaus explained. “All ages, all family situations, we address them all.”

“Marriage and family are the center of any community. Even if a person is a single mother or a single father, they can still benefit from both [classes],” Nicolaus said. 

“A Single parent can look backwards at what went wrong in a previous marriage and they can look forward to what they might expect out of an future marriage,” he said.

Similarly, the classes are not only for people who are in struggling marriages or for people who have lost connection with their children as a last ditch effort to save a family, but can be preventative or enriching to a healthy family and marriage.

“People with troubled marriages have come people with seemingly fine marriages have come and said that their marriages were even improved,” Nicolaus said.

By offering free classes Nicolaus hopes not only to educate community members, but to improve the quality of life in the whole community by attacking the problem of broken families at their source.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is directed at everybody and not just church members,” Nicolaus said. “Home and family is the foundation of community, to have something like this to enhance what is the central focus of a small community… can be really is a blessing to the entire community,”

The classes will go from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday evenings Nov. 12 and 19. Atendees are encouraged to bring their Bibles and a notepad with a writing implement in order to take notes.