Going to Seminary

Weekly chapel is an exciting rite of passage in the first weeks of seminary.  I can still remember many sermons where a pastor would talk about his own chapel experiences way back in the day.  This past year it was my turn.  My wife even came to the first couple of chapel services too.  I have to admit: the novelty wore off by the third or fourth chapel.

The first time I didn’t go to chapel I thought I had a pretty good excuse.  I missed my quiet time with the Lord that morning at home.  I was tired from not sleeping well the night before and my brain was already full from two hours of mind-boggling new information in hermeneutics class.

I was surprised to learn that I was not alone.  I walked around the campus feeling like I’d stumbled into a secret club.  Here and there, students were dotted around the campus.  I thought I’d missed the rapture—and I’m an amillenielist! Other guys and gals were talking on their cell phones, typing away on their laptops, or just clustered around a table in the corner of the student center talking sports…or Greek (and then back to sports).  When I asked one guy about why he didn’t go to chapel he shrugged his shoulders, “It’s an hour to get stuff done.”  By the next week, when I had an assignment due that afternoon, I found out he was right.

OK, forget me, forget the other student.  Forget even yourself.  What about Jesus?  He is our example for all things, but what about for attending chapel?

Think about the Lord’s experience growing up in Palestine.  In coming to fulfill the Law and being Himself a model Jew, Jesus would have certainly attended synagogue every Sabbath and journey to Jerusalem at set times.  Judging from what He had to argue against during His public ministry, I can’t imagine what He sat through before then.

Imagine Him sitting quietly, listening to Pharisees placing legalistic burdens on their hearers.  How He must’ve wanted to shake His head at the misguided Sadducees denying the resurrection.  How many eloquent-but-meaningless musings from the scribes, did He endure?  Sure, there had to be times where He thought joyfully to Himself, “This one is not far from the kingdom!”  But those moments were rare, unlike the religious hypocrisy of many teachers on display in the public places during the week.  How many trips did He make to Jerusalem, where He would see and hear all of these things on a grand scale?  It’s enough to make one never go again…

…but not Jesus.

Scripture gives no indication that He ever questioned/debated/argued with the religious leaders of His day before His public ministry began.  To do so before His appointed time would have been disrespectful.  It would have been dishonoring to His Father.  No, Jesus came “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15).  He did “all things well” (Mark 7:37).  In fact, for these same reasons, not only did He attend services, He would have paid careful attention too.  (As hard as this is for me to write–knowing my own shortcoming in this area—if He was a student today He also would not be surfing the internet during class lectures.)

Jesus, then, would go to chapel.

As I thought all of this through, when I came to the conclusion that Jesus would go to chapel (and pay attention in lectures) I was convicted.  I started going to chapel again.  Honestly, it is not always edifying.  Sometimes I don’t know the songs, sometimes the sermon is academic, maybe, but not inspired.  Other times I am simply pre-occupied with thoughts about what I just learned that morning, upcoming papers, or how I am going to pay for next semester.  But I go because I want to be obedient to the Lord.  He brought me here to seminary in the first place.  He also was obedient and faithful in far more than just going to mid-week chapel.  Do I not owe Him at least that?

What about you?  Will the Lord see you in chapel this week?

Can you name a team sport that starts with “s”?  (Think about it…I’ll wait.)

How about ‘seminary’?  Oh, you don’t think so?  Well, you’ll have another chance later.  Hopefully by then I will have changed your thinking.

Being married and attending seminary takes ‘team sport’ to a whole new level. While you are hard at study your God-given mate is equally busy.  He or she is taking care of the laundry, doing the grocery shopping, making coffee, paying the bills, making coffee, listening to your fears, schooling the kids and, once again, making you more coffee…  What was a smooth ride is now the Tour de France on a tandem bicycle.

You might be thinking, “Well, I’m not married; seminary is definitely not a team sport for me.” Ahhh, think again, mi amigo soltero.  Think how much has happened since you first considered seminary.  You floated the idea past key people in your life to get their impressions.  You were encouraged as loved ones said they were praying for you.  When the acceptance letter arrived in the mail your family and friends celebrated with you.  (Probably very few of them helped you move, but, hey, that’s OK; you still love them.)  Now that you are solidly into your studies these same people love to hear how you’re doing and what you’re learning.  It may be you doing the all the reading, but they are your teammates ‘til you reach the finish line.

Hebrews 11 stirs our spirits when we read the inspiring stories of courageous and faithful saints who have gone before us, but don’t forget about Hebrews 12.  The artificial chapter break tends to diminish the power of 12:1 where the writer summarily exhorts us to press on, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”  The author of Hebrews peels back the clouds to show our mortal eyes the vast throng of immortal saints surrounding us.  This verse is almost deafening with its cheers from the heavenly sidelines to “run the race with endurance.” Sound a little bit familiar?

I know you’re swamped right now.  I know that the last thing you want is one more assignment.  Can I give you a fun one though?  Over the next few days take time on your way to class to make a list of everyone on your team, those people who have cheered you on in some way this semester.  A few faces came to mind already, didn’t they?  Keep thinking…try not to forget a single one.  You might even want to write their names down.

Once you’ve remembered everybody on your team, do two things:  First, pray for them.  Give the Lord thanks for putting them in your life and pray specifically for each person.  You be on their team through prayer.  Second, write each one a thank-you note.  You don’t have to write and mail a thank-you card to each person (although that would be a nice thing to do if you have the time), but make some effort to reach out.  You can send each person on your list an email, or post on their Facebook wall, or however you think they would be most touched.  A simple note from you saying, “I thought of you today and prayed for you; thank you so much for all your encouragement while I’ve been in seminary” will bless them far more than you can imagine.

So, back to the original question…

Besides adjusting to the academics and general flow of your particular school, another challenge lies in meeting all of your fellow students.  It can be dizzying trying to remember so many new names and faces.  This too is God’s providence.  You’re at seminary because you’re going into some kind of ministry. Ministry in any capacity is personal.  Put succinctly (if not grammatically): Ministry is people.

So, meeting people and learning their names is hard, and ministry is all about meeting people and learning their names.  Hmm…  Thankfully, like everything else in your life and ministry, the Lord will richly give grace for this task too if you ask Him.  As believers, all of us are called to demonstrate the love of God to others.  One of the first opportunities to do this occurs when you thoughtfully, intentionally, and engagingly meet someone and take care to learn their name.  Besides asking the Lord to help you, here are some additional helps:

Use memory cues. For instance, if you can remember the first letter of the person’s name, you stand a better chance of remembering their whole name.  Or remember something about the person and connect it somehow to their name.  This means you’ll be actively listening to what they’re saying and processing the information they’re giving you at the same time.  (“Hmm, OK, Dave just said he was from Delaware—Dave from Delaware—got it!”)  Active listening is hard work at first but the dividends will pay off for the rest of your ministry.

Don’t just try to remember the name, remember the person. Take the time to look into their eyes and take a mental snapshot (it only takes a second or two, really). Listen for something they reveal about themselves in the conversation and be thinking of how you can make that detail something you can pray about for them whenever they come to mind.

If you forget someone’s name don’t panic–they likely forgot your name too.  Re-introduce yourself first. If they did forget your name, giving your name first is a way to care enough not to embarrass them.  Simply say, “I’m sorry…my name is —-.  I forgot your name.  What is it again?”  There you have it: In less than five seconds the social faux pas is acknowledged and remedied, and no one has to feel “dumb” for having forgotten yet another name.

What it all comes down to is: be more interested in meeting others than being met. Remember Paul’s word to the Philippians, “in humility consider others better than yourselves” (2:3).  James says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (2:8).

I’d like to include a final note about the international students you will meet.  Please, please, make a point of making friends with the international students on campus! They are thousands of miles away from home and light-years outside of their comfort zone.  Be encouraging about their commitment to follow God’s call on their life half-way around the world.  Be empathetic to their cultural struggles and sensitive to differences. (Everyday American tendencies may come across as overwhelming or boorish to students from more socially reserved parts of the world.)  Take the extra step to learn to correctly pronounce their given (as opposed to their Americanized) name—whether they use it or not.  If you have the opportunity, invite them to your home; share your life with them.  Your friendship, encouraging smiles, and prayers for them will mean more to them than you will ever know.

Every seminarian remembers visiting their seminary for the first time. Everything on the walking tour is mesmerizing. You crane to take it all in as you revere current students that pass by (secretly wondering if that could ever be you) and hang on every word from your tour guide. You’re on complete sensory and emotional overload…and loving it. A few months later and there you are: a real, live seminary student.

It’s common for us to have unrealistic expectations in new situations but perhaps none is like going to seminary. The new seminary student’s preconceived ideas about campus life take on an ethereal vividness. It’s not a college, it’s a beautiful place full of books about the Bible; where everyone is as bright and pleasant as your tour guide was and a coffee spring flows out from the campus bookstore. Surely this place must be the “third heaven” Paul talked about, right? It isn’t long before you learn this is definitely not that place.

The first weeks on campus can be hard on a new student. Seminary students can be just as clique-ish and rude as anyone else. Even Christian faculty can have huge academic chips on their shoulders, and the topics of lunch time conversations can be flat-out shocking. The myriad life changes that got you to seminary are hard enough to deal with, but then the realities of on-campus life can quickly lead to discouragement and regret.

As your personal tour guide to the realities of first-year seminary life, I have good news: There is hope. Remember: God has you there so that He can shape you into the person He wants you to be, for His glory. You’re the clay and the Potter’s wheel is just starting to spin. Here are five helpful ways for you to get your bearings:

1. Talk to the Lord about your cultural shock. While you are surprised by it all, He isn’t. You’re going to find yourself struggling to maintain your quiet times with the Lord amidst all your studies, so take your burdens as generous blessings that lead you to get alone with Him.
2. Be the ‘light in a dark place’—serve, love, and smile. It might surprise you to think of seminary as being a mission field, but it can be. Instead of hardening yourself against rude people, open up to them. Look for opportunities to lovingly serve them. Everyone enjoys a breath of fresh air; your enthusiasm to be there and genuine love may be just what someone needs. Again, if nothing else, it’ll help you be more like Jesus.
3. Apply what you know about people. Jesus said that there’d always be tares among the wheat. Undoubtedly there are seminary students and faculty alike who are not even born again. Also, Christians are still sinners. Until we are with the Lord we are growing in holiness. Remembering these truths and applying them to your relationships will go a long way towards teaching you mercy as you learn to extend it to others.
4. You still live in a fallen world. Much like “C”, keep this in mind. If you haven’t already, you’re soon likely to get frustrated to discover that your school can have its own bureaucratic red tape and redundancies. Misunderstandings, miscommunication, and a complete lack of communication do abound on campus. One day Jesus will do away with such remnants of Eden’s curse, but not yet.
5. Watch your pride. By now you might be thinking that you’re such a great person that you bet the Lord sent you to that seminary so He could use you to fix all of its people and problems. Well, He hasn’t. In fact, to someone else, you’re one of them! It is dangerously easy to become prideful. Don’t. The Bible says you are a slave to Christ and to all men, so jettison the ‘tude, joyfully reach for the basin and towel, and go enjoy this new adventure the Lord has given you!