Going to Seminary

The year is 2015. Flying cars and hoverboards are everywhere, and most of us will have graduated from seminary. Maybe most of the world’s problems will be fixed in this short amount of time. There could be self-drying clothes and pizza that takes just seconds to hydrate… but probably not. And regardless of whether life is any easier five years in the future, Christian ministry will remain a tough task. So what are some of the challenges we will face in the future as we lead churches and ministries? It’s impossible to predict exactly what issues will face the church in the years to come, but it is highly likely that three problems which currently plague the church will only continue to be a problem if we don’t do anything about it.

Apathy against holiness- The first of these three problems is a general apathy: a nominal version of Christianity. The church doesn’t have a problem getting people into the pews—the real problem is getting those same people out of the pews and into the streets as ambassadors for Christ and sold-out disciples. The problem lies in a consumerist mindset found in our culture: that we go to church only to receive a service, and we need not make any contribution. There are many today who say that they believe in Christ and that they have been born again, but their life testifies that they have never truly been changed. They rely on a past conversion experience to get them by as a form of “fire insurance” to save them from hell, but there is no true fruit of salvation in their lives. If we look closely at Matthew 7:13-23, we see the danger of living no differently than the world and not having any fruit that accompanies genuine repentance. This faulty mindset that says holiness and a changed life is not a necessary fruit of salvation is often a result of…

Illiteracy concerning the Word- A second major problem in the church is a lack of knowledge about Scripture. The Bible might be the best-selling book of all-time, but unfortunately it isn’t as often read. If we don’t teach our congregations to dig deep into the Scripture and hide God’s Word inside their hearts, they will not be affected by God’s truth, convicted by the Spirit, encouraged by God’s promises, and strengthened to fight daily against sin and temptation. The danger here is evident. Christians who don’t know the Word will lack discernment, and will be spiritually malnourished. And without discernment, many will be deceived and led into…

A distortion of the gospel- Possibly the greatest danger facing the church now and in the future is a distortion of the gospel. When people see God as some sort of all-powerful Santa Claus who exists to shower them with earthly riches and make them feel good about themselves, we have reduced Christianity to nothing more than one great therapy session, and when we do this we leave the key doctrines of our own sinfulness, Christ’s work on the cross, and his victory over the grave far behind. I was once told to “never preach a sermon that would still be true if Christ has not been raised.” This is the greatest advice I have ever received. If we lose sight of the gospel and of the glorious work of Christ, we have lost the essence of true Christianity. If Christ had not died on the cross, we would still be dead in our sins, and if Christ had not been raised, we would have no hope at all. We must keep these truths in the forefront of our minds and our teachings.

Of course we do not know what the future will hold, and it would be silly to make the claim that we do. But if these trends continue, they will remain serious issues for the church to contend with for many years. As those entrusted with the gospel and pursuing Christian ministry in some form, we need to lead the charge against these faulty ways of thinking. We must preach expositionally, teach and disciple individuals with fervor, and set the example ourselves. If we do not take a stand for faithful discipleship and sound doctrine, revival in the church will seem as unimaginable as flying cars in five years.

I once thought seminary was an impossible dream. After four years of undergrad, I had a Bachelor’s Degree in religion—but I also had thousands of dollars in debt thanks to student loans. Looking for a job out of college was a challenge, and I was only able to take on two part-time jobs. My plan was to work for a couple of years after college doing what I could to save, and then to attend seminary when I had made enough money to pay for it. However, before long my loans were no longer in deferment, and I had a monthly loan payment that was nearly a quarter of my income. I was barely able to save anything, and it soon seemed that I was at an impasse. Seminary seemed necessary for me to find a job as a pastor, but it seemed I would never be able to afford to go.

Maybe you’ve been in the same situation, or you are currently. Maybe your desire is to go to seminary and grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and practical ministry skills, but it just seems impossible. Either the money isn’t there, or the timing is off, and you wonder… will I ever make it? Will I ever be able to go to seminary? While going through a trial of this nature is certainly challenging, there are great lessons to be learned. I found that my time between undergrad and seminary was actually a very valuable experience.

The first thing I learned was practical world experience. Going to a Christian college, it was easy to get trapped in the Christian bubble for four years. If I had gone directly to seminary, I never would have had the experience of relating to and working with so many unsaved people on a daily basis. During this time I learned how to be a bold witness and to look for ways to share the gospel with others at every opportunity. I also gained a new perspective on many things. It’s easy to get caught up in Christian quarrels over minor points of theology, and while theology is extremely important, I learned that eschatology and Soteriology aren’t exactly points of concern to the unsaved. My focus was no longer on debating theology, but on getting the gospel right and sharing it in an understandable way.

Possibly the most important thing I learned during the time I spent between undergrad and seminary was to trust in God, and to wait on His timing. This was my only option when things seemed bleak. I knew that while I had my hopes and plans, God was and is sovereign over all of His creation, and that His plan far exceeded my own in both goodness and perfection. When things are going well and according to plan, it is easy for us to rely on our own strength. It is in the difficulties of life, the trials and struggles, where we are brought to our knees before God and learn to trust in His unfailing love.

My story had a good ending: after a year of working and saving whatever I could, someone from my church stepped in and offered to pay for my seminary education. I am extremely blessed, and I never would have expected such a thing to occur. Would I ever have planned it that way? Not a chance. But God had a far better plan than my own. I wouldn’t trade the year I spent in the secular workplace for anything, as I learned many valuable lessons.

If you are struggling to find a way to make it to seminary, or if you’re wondering if you’ll be able to finish, take heart. We serve a great God, and with Him directing our lives, we have no reason to doubt His plan or to become discouraged. He will see us through, and more importantly, by the precious blood of His Son Jesus Christ, our greatest need has been met. We have been redeemed, and we can rejoice in the great God we serve, even in hard times.

Anytime I think about how to make the most of my time, I am reminded of an episode of the popular television show The Simpsons. In the episode one of the main characters, Homer, has a near-death experience. He is told that he has been poisoned and has just 24 hours to live, and so he makes a list of the things he wants to do before he dies. Unfortunately, Homer starts his day by oversleeping his alarm by 5 ½ hours, and after numerous distractions can only complete the most important tasks on his list. After waking the next morning surprised to be alive, he exclaims, “From this day forward, I vow to live life to its fullest!” But as the closing credits roll, he is shown planted on the couch eating pork rinds and watching pro bowling. This humorous look at Homer’s attempt to spend his last hours in a meaningful fashion also highlight one of the greatest struggles for any seminary student: time management.

Every day we are faced with tough choices on how to manage our time in a way that is prosperous and glorifying to God. Although we may be tempted to think of this as a new struggle in our technology-saturated age, time management has been around since the very foundation of the Church. Paul exhorted the believers at Ephesus to “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time” (Ephesians 5:15-16a, ESV). Appropriate time management is not only wise, but it is also a Christian mandate. It is also an incredibly challenging discipline. Oftentimes as seminary students we are faced with a choice between good, better, and best. Do we start doing research for that paper that’s due in three weeks or do we spend a night growing closer to our family? Should I go to that baseball game with my friends, or should I mow the lawn? Rarely do we have an easy choice to make when it concerns how we allot our time. On top of all that, we have time that we intend to use for good, and end up wasting. We know we should be studying, but we find ourselves on Facebook yet again. But in order to use our time wisely, we have to gain a biblical perspective.

Psalm 90 is all about the brevity of life. Moses compares the years of man to grass that sprouts up in the morning and has withered by nightfall. The climax of this discourse on the temporal nature of man is verse 12, where Moses prays, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” We’re accustomed to counting our days forward, celebrating birthdays each year, but Moses cautions us that when we look at our life, it should be a countdown. After all, as James says, we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Time management begins when we look at life from God’s (and Kansas’) perspective: as dust in the wind. When I started realizing how short my life is, I started thinking twice about hitting the snooze button. I lamented the time I wasted playing videogames and wasting my time on a thousand different meaningless pursuits. Richard Baxter gave a wise reminder concerning the redemption of time: “Do not let worthless recreations, idle talk, unprofitable company, or sleep rob you of your precious time. Be more careful to escape that person, action, or course of life that would rob you of your time than you would be to escape thieves and robbers.”

When we’re faced with the tough decisions where both options look equally enticing and equally beneficial, we mustn’t forget that time is one of the greatest resources God has given us. It can be our greatest enemy or our greatest ally. If we don’t take inventory of how we use our time, we can let it slip away. We can procrastinate and race the clock to turn in assignments, or we can redeem the time and let not a single moment pass by. At the end of my life (and my studies), I want to be able to say that I numbered my days with wisdom and that I used the time in such a way that Christ was glorified and made known among the peoples. And that will be time well spent.

So you’re in seminary. Your journey has included countless hours of study, late nights tucked away in seldom-visited corners of the library, and copious amounts of caffeine to keep you going. Ancient Greek draws you closer to insanity, and you feel if you learn one more Hebrew stem, your brain just may explode. But if you’re a brave enough soul, you may want to supplement your class work with additional reading. Perhaps your seminary subscribes to a theological bent different than your own, and you’d like to do some research on the subject. Maybe you just want to be able to keep from saying, “Because my seminary taught me so,” when someone asks why you believe in a particular doctrine. If that is the case, you’ll want to develop a reading plan to hone your beliefs. This has been my experience, and I humbly submit to you several tips concerning developing a reading plan.

1. Create a plan you can handle, and stick to it- There’s no point in creating a reading plan if it’s something you’ll follow for a week and give up on. Chances are, if you’re taking a full load of classes, working forty hours a week, and raising a family, you won’t be able to read a book a week. Also if your goal is to read through Calvin’s Institutes or Grudem’s Systematic Theology, you may want to give yourself ample time to work through those. So figure out how much time you have to devote to additional reading, and create a plan that will stretch you, but at the same time won’t overwhelm you.

2. Take notes- If you’re anything like me, you forget 99% of what you read the moment you flip the page. So it helps to keep a notebook handy to jot down anything you find to be particularly important. Remember, reading is not a race; it’s okay to take your time as you go through a book if it helps you to keep from forgetting what you’ve learned. It may even be helpful to summarize each page or chapter in a few paragraphs if what you’ve read is especially heavy.

3. Vary it up, Part 1- It’s important when studying a particular doctrine to read authors which approach the doctrine from various angles. For example, if you’re a cessationist, don’t read books on the spiritual gifts written only by fellow cessationists. Check out something by a continuationist. It will give you a better understanding of the arguments made by the other side, as well as dispel any misconceptions you may have about the other viewpoint. It’s not the easiest thing to read something you disagree with, but in the end it will strengthen your own view, or even cause you to reconsider your position.

4. Vary it up, Part 2- You should also consider reading other types of books occasionally. If you are reading only deep theological books, you may be refreshed by picking up something lighter from time to time. This doesn’t have to be hard: if you like baseball, read a book on Roberto Clemente. If you are interested in literature, pick up Little Women. This is especially helpful if you are planning to read many books in a short period of time, as the change of pace can keep you from losing a zeal for reading.

5. Don’t forget the Word!- This is the most important tip concerning a reading plan. Remember that your purpose in reading is to serve you as you study the Word, and to prepare you for ministry. It’s not intended to replace Bible reading with something else. Whatever your reading plan, it must not take a bite out of your time in the Word.

Most seminaries offer excellent libraries where students can find books on any subject imaginable. Make use of the extensive collection offered in your library while you have this wonderful opportunity. A reading plan can benefit any seminary student, if well-planned and carried out. By following a reading plan and abiding in God’s Word, there is potential for great growth in seminary apart from and in addition to the rigors of class work. May these tips be helpful; may you grow in grace and truth through your supplemental reading endeavors, and may God always be glorified and honored!