Going to Seminary

Big news in Bible software today: Logos Bible Software has announced the release of the newest version of Logos Bible Software, Logos 4. I’ve had my hands on the Beta version for several months and, let me just say, it is amazing. With far too many upgrades, features, and resources to cover in a single post, you can visit www.logos.com/4 to see what Logos 4 can do for you. If you’re already a Logos users, be sure to check out the amazing crossgrade and upgrade options available for you. All the base packages have new books added to them and there are even some new levels that offer AMAZING resources at an incredible discount… check out Platinum!

NIC on the Old and New Testament

My first real introduction to the New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (NIC)  was in Dr. Kistamaker’s class on the Epistle to the Hebrews. The assigned reading for the class was, compared to my others, quite light. We were to read Hebrews, FF Bruce’s Epistle to the Hebrews from the NIC, and one other commentary. I thoroughly enjoyed Bruce’s commentary as it was very approachable, yet technical when it needed to be. Over the course of my seminary days I added a few more NIC volumes to my library, and was always happy with the addition.

The NIC Goes Digital

Bible software users have long awaited the day when the NIC would be made available digitally. A few months ago Logos Bible Software announced that they were bringing NIC to the Logos format. The production process has been completed and the set is scheduled to ship on 10/15/09 (note – If you place your order before the 15th, you can lock in the pre-pub rate, which is more than $800 off retail).

I managed to get my hands on an advance copy and wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts with you.

NIC Overview

If you’ve been around Going to Seminary for any length of time, you know that I went to Reformed Theological Seminary. The main reason I went to RTS was that I wanted to go to a seminary where, for the most part, I could simply trust my professors. Sure, there are some people who go to seminaries outside their tradition and belief structure in order to challenge themselves… I wasn’t one of those people. I’m the kind of guy who just wants to sit down and not have to worry too much about “should I believe what my professor is saying?”

The same is true for commentaries. Sure, I like to have commentaries in my library that I might not necessarily agree with, but I also like to have commentaries that I know I can generally trust. As a conservative,  protestant, evangelical, the NIC is just that kind of commentary. With authors like Fee, Bruce, Moo, Longman, Waltke, and others, the NIC sets me at ease before I even crack open a book.  Backing this up is the mass of support behind the series. Reading the recommendations on Logos’ product page reassures me that, indeed, this is a series that is right up my ally. Along with this it is good to note that 29 of the 40 commentaries from the NIC are listed on the BestCommentaries.com “best” list.

The books of the NIC all include an introductory section that pay excellent attention to the authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology of each book. After this, each book of the NIC will offer a verse-by-verse commentary. Now, this last point might seem like a “duh” kind of thing… but how often have you opened a commentary to a difficult verse, only to find no entry? What kind of help is that? Not with the NIC, every verse is dealt with.

If there was one critique I’d offer of the NIC, it is the decision to transliterate the Greek and Hebrew. The fact of the matter is that you either know the languages, or you don’t. Transliteration isn’t much of a help for people who don’t know the original language, because even if you can pronounce it, you still don’t know what it is. And if you do know the languages, then odds are you’re not a fan of transliteration. Also, with regards to the digital version, while Logos often can understand the transliteration and, when you double click a transliterated word it will open a lexicon, occasionally I found that Logos had trouble with the transliterated version. Thankfully I have Greek and Hebrew Bibles in my library, so when really needed to get to the original language, I was able to via the Bible text.

40 books in your backpack

One thing I noticed about my print edition of Bruce’s commentary was its size. It wasn’t the biggest book I’ve ever had, but with my laptop, ESV, Bruce, and my lunch in my bag for class, my bag was heavy to say the least. Not to mention I had no room for anything else! That’s what I love about having the NIC in Logos. Now I can carry all 23,832 pages with me all the time with no added weight.

Think about it. Just carrying two or three of these commentaries would fill a bag. Granted, how often do you need to have an entire commentary set with you? Not too often. But isn’t it nice to know it is there if you want it? No matter if you’re sitting in class or at the coffee shop, it is always nice to know that you can instantly look up a verse or reference in a high quality commentary.

Links, Languages, and Library

Links
Having the NIC in Logos is so much better than having it in print. Granted, from time to time I like the feel of a book in my hand, but when it comes to studying God’s word, there is a lot to be said about the efficiency Bible software provides.

To begin with, the NIC is linked to a number of other resources within your Logos library. In particular, the Bible. When I’m studying a passage I can have both the text and the commentary open. As I move through the scripture, the commentary tracks with me. Not only that, but every scripture reverence in the NIC is tagged and, when I hover over it with my mouse, the text will be revealed. This feature alone is worth the price of admission!

Think about it–how often do you actually take the time to look of the scripture references that an author puts into his book? I said be honest! Me, I’d say occasionally at best. But the author put them there for a reason, right? With the NIC in Logos, to see the reference, all you have to do is mouse over the verse and there it is.

Language
Along with interacting with the Scripture, the NIC also delves into the original language. As I mentioned previously, the NIC’s decision to transliterate leaves me a little wanting. While reading the transliteration is easy enough, in order to really interact with the original language that the commentary addresses, I find myself going to my original language text to be the base for my searches and study. If there was one thing I’d change about NIC, this would be it.

Library
One of the many beauties of having the NIC for Logos is that I literally have a library at my fingertips. While you can buy the NIC as a stand alone product, the great thing about Logos is that you can actually have an entire theological library with you as well. This is extremely helpful when you want to explore outside the NIC. With just a click of the mouse you can open theological dictionaries, lexicons, and hundreds of other resources to study and passage or subject addressed by the NIC.

Finally footnotes

One of the things I really like about NIC is the footnotes. The first reason I like them is because I despise end notes. I hate having to flip to the back of a book to find out this hidden knowledge that wasn’t quite right for inclusion in the text itself. Footnotes make it much easier to engage when I looking for the deeper nugget of information.  The second reason I really like the NIC footnotes gets back to something I mentioned earlier. The NIC is a very approachable commentary that gets technical when it has to. This often occurs in the footnotes.

The NIC in Logos increases my love of footnotes by providing them as I’m reading with a very simple mouseover. Simply hovering over the footnote gives me a pop-up window with the entire footnote right there. This is so wonderful as it allows me to stay right on track with my reading. No need to look down at the bottom of the page, only to have to then try and find my place back in the text after I’m finished with the footnote. Now I can mouseover, read the footnote, and keep on trucking!

Conclusion

The NIC is an amazing scholarly, protestant, evangelical, commentary series. It gives verse-by-verse commentary on almost every book of the Bible, including immensely helpful introductory information. The only thing better than the commentary series itself is being able to have the entire thing with you, on you laptop, wherever you go. The NIC for Logos is a great resource that every seminarian should consider.

NOTE: If you’ve followed my life on this blog, you know that I now work for Logos. That in no way changes the fact that the NIC in Logos is sweet and that you could totally consider buying it!

I’ve been looking forward to this interview for quite a while now. Below is my interview with Ed Stetzer:

Well, I feel it is only appropriate to start with Twitter. You are obviously a fan (Follow him here). Whenever you’re teaching a seminary class, does it bother you that on one of those laptops in the room, someone is likely tweeting or on Facebook?

What? Why would you start with Twitter? It’s not like my friends have debated whether or not I need a Twittervention!

Seriously, I very much enjoy how social media can create instant conversations with such a variety of people. Knowing that what you say can be broadcast around the globe instantaneously has a certain effect on my prayer life and preparation methods. God allows me to speak in many arenas and write for multiple sources, and I’m honored to know that something I say is helpful enough to bear repeating.

So, it would seem a bit hypocritical if I objected to others being on Twitter or Facebook while I am talking.

In all seriousness, what role do you see technology playing in the pastorate and what role do you think the seminary has to play in preparing pastors for ministry in a Twitter and Facebook world?

It was Marshall McLuhan who coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” We must acknowledge that how a message is communicated affects the message itself. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are nothing more than tools, like the printing press, radio, television, and the mobile phone. They can help in small bursts or can become a bane to relationship building. Their usefulness is determined by the manner they are used.

Seminaries would do well to focus their students’ attention to how the Scriptures define relationships and hold them in high regard. In striving for a biblical ideal of Christian community, we will then show proper discernment as to where the fun and usefulness of social media starts and ends.

Now, you have two masters and two doctorates, so you’ve spent more than your fair share of time in a classroom. Along with that you’ve planted and pastored multiple churches. Looking back, what role or impact did your formal education play in your pastoral endeavors?

Obviously, I am a big fan of formal education. I spend significant time subjecting, I mean teaching others in higher education settings. Today, I have the privilege of doing so at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago and Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.  In both cases, I serve as a visiting professor.

For me, going to seminary was a necessity. I was a terrible student in high school (barely graduated and ended with a 1.7 GPA) and I didn’t have a basic biblical foundation because I wasn’t raised in a Christian home. But once I discovered what could be learned in college and seminary – well, you’ve already noted I have more degrees than really seem necessary.

My seminary training helped me understand the nature of the church and God’s mission. That’s where I was taught to learn and to think critically about issues that deserve our attention.

Something I’ve noticed is this slight shift away from the traditional seminary model. We’re starting to see more programs like The Bethlehem Institute and Acts 29′s recently launched RE:Train, where you’re teaching. What do you think about this seemingly non-traditional approach to pastoral training? Is the traditional seminary model an old paradigm that needs to change or are these new programs a supplement to what the traditional seminary offers?

Glad you brought your softball questions with you today!

I find it encouraging to see local churches taking up the responsibility to train people who feel called to ministry leadership. The work of preparing the next generation of leadership is always with the church first. But, as we know, through much of modern Christian history this work has been accomplished by collections of churches – denominations or networks.  I believe it is a healthy sign that churches are stepping up to train new leaders and yet still are advocating other formalized training, as The Bethlehem Institute and RE:Train do.

Should seminaries change? Yes, and I think history shows that they have repeatedly changed. Strong schools carefully look at the challenges of their day and adjust both educational theory and methodology to accomplish their task of educating students in eternal truth. To use your phrase, the “traditional seminary model” does need to change to stay strong and prepare students for today’s work. Otherwise, they will use outdated models and prepare students for work that no longer exists. I believe traditional seminaries and the new church-based training programs can coexist in a way that benefits each.

You spend a lot of time with church planters. Has LifeWay done any research on formal education and church planters? It seems to me, and this could just be the circles I run in, that a lot of church planters will plant their churches and then, several years down the road, begin to work on their degrees. Is that just my perception, or are there any stats that would support me?

We have not done any formal research about that particular question. But my general observation is that seminaries are talking more about church planting, so more church planters are heading to seminary. In general, the training that seems critical for church planters comes in the form of “boot camps” or “basic training” about planting a church, and then ongoing mentoring through the first few years of planting.

Following up on that question, and really all the previous questions, how important do you think seminary training is for pastors and church planters?

Obviously, I believe formal training in a seminary setting is helpful for a number of reasons. Perhaps first and foremost, our culture in America no longer has the “home field advantage” of everyone holding to a Christian worldview. For church leaders who want to take their congregations on the journey of reaching and changing people, formal training in seminary can prepare their minds through theological courses and their hearts through the study of church history.

I realize some people are suspicious of seminary because they feel it institutionalizes the work of ministry. I would say to them, “You’re right. Sometimes it does do that.” Seminary can make us into ministry professionals who are more concerned with the organization of congregational life than the people of the church. But I would push back against that attitude and say that most graduates will tell you the education they received has helped to shape a proper theology, ecclesiology, and missiology.

Seminary also offers something personal that we tend to lose as pastors and planters: camaraderie. As a planter, I was constantly around people and, at the same time, I was utterly alone. The time spent in seminary gives you the opportunity to learn how to seek out strong friendships and remain accountable in them. It is a side benefit to the education but a helpful one nonetheless.

That being said, I think that seminaries alone cannot provide all the pastors and church planters needed to reach North America and the world for the gospel.

We need to give people permission to pastor and plant churches even if they have not been to seminary.  And, I believe, seminaries need to find ways to help equip those already on the field serving in mission and ministry.

My final question is one that I think you are particularly equipped to answer. From what I can tell you are married and have 3 daughters. Along with that you are a columnist for Outreach Magazine and Catalyst Monthly, as well as serve on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today’s Building Church Leaders, and are a Contributing Editor at Christianity Today. You are a Visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and are on the faculty of RE:Train.  You serve on the Church Services Team at the International Mission Board and you speak at like a bazillion conference each year. Along with that, you just finished serving as interim teaching pastor at a 10,000 member church in Hendersonville and then there is that other thing… oh yeah, President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence. (Did I miss anything?) So, my question is this: Many seminarians face the challenge of busy schedules. With classes, jobs, church responsibilities, and often young families, what advice do you have for them to find balance? How do you do it?

Apparently I don’t do it! I feel convicted just hearing your question!

Seriously, my travels and responsibilities do pull me in a number of directions, so my wife and I are very intentional about our personal time. When I’m home, I’m home with my family and we go fishing, play in the back yard, and eat Saturday breakfasts at Cracker Barrel. As long as I travel for a living, my wife and girls go as often as possible. Trust me, nothing keeps me more humble than taking one of my daughters on a trip where I’m the “honored-guest / hired speaker” and spending half the morning helping with hair and wardrobe for her.

Besides, balance is a myth. Every day, we all have to decide what is most important and then try hard to make it happen. For me, God comes first.  My family second.  Then, it’s writing, research, and encouraging pastors and church leaders. For a planter, it’s winning hearts and building a church. For others, it’s counseling and teaching. Whatever your calling, distractions abound, so we must allow the Gospel to guide our steps to the core of life’s work: God’s fame spread to the nations, beginning in our households.

Plus, I’ve learned something else: Ministry and life will be there tomorrow; my daughters will not. They will be grown and gone before I can turn around. So it’s an easy choice to make.

Ed, thank you SO very much for your time. I know you have a limited amount of it. I believe this interview will be an encouragement and help to many people who are in or are considering seminary as part of their journey. Many thanks!

I love this website. I started it a couple years ago as I began my transition into seminary. Finding helpful information about the seminary life on the internet was hit or miss. My goal was to create a site that would provide current and future seminarians a place to get the inside scoop on the seminary life. As the site grew, more and more people got involved and it became a site that has helped, encouraged, and challenged many of us.

Alas, my seminary journey was cut short and, despite no longer being a seminarian, I continued to manage the site partly as a ministry and partly as a hobby. However, as I managed Going to Seminary along with my web development company and full time job (oh, let’s not forget my family) I began to feel like it was time to pass the reigns to someone else.

Over the last couple months I’ve gotten to know the folks at Rockbridge Seminary. Following them on Twitter and watching them engage and serve the seminary community, not simply for their own gain, but for the good of Christ’s kingdom really impressed me. So, a few weeks ago I approached them to see if they would be interested in taking over the site. In the course of our discussion, the thing that most encouraged me was their desire to keep the focus of GtS the same. They weren’t interested in turning it into the official blog of Rockbridge or anything like that. Rather, they wanted to, more or less, keep it the same.

That said, last week we reached an agreement and Rockbridge Seminary is now the owner of GoingtoSemianry.com. I’ll still be involved with the site, as will the other authors you’ve grown to love. In fact, I’m really excited because now GtS has someone who can really work to take it to the next level. I really believe that the only changes you’ll see from this transition is that GtS is only going to get better!

So, that’s it. Just wanted to let you know.  This isn’t goodbye. None the less, thanks to all of you who’ve made the last 2 years a true joy.

_ryan

This is a guest post written by Rev. Michael Shanlian.

In my fifty six years I have never met an accomplished person who did not overcome adversity. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

I am sure my struggle to obtain a Seminary degree and other educational pursuits was not unique, but it was unique to me. I graduated from Bible College in 1976. I supported myself by working forty hours a week for General Motors and taking classes by day and working second shift. I managed to graduate in four years.

After graduation I became the pastor of a church plant in my home town at age twenty three. I continued to work at General Motors. Fast forward thirteen years to 1985. My wife Karen collapses in church and is rushed to the hospital. The diagnosis was she had Multiple Sclerosis. I knew what that was because one of my sisters had it. Less than six months later she lost the use of her legs and has not taken a step in twenty four years.

During these years I worked as a bi-vocational pastor and church planter. I have worked as a financial planner, salesman, manager and business owner. One of my life long dreams was to attend Seminary. I quickly realized as a young pastor how woefully unqualified I was to be a senior pastor. The years went by quickly and still no Seminary degree. Finally at age fifty-four the door opened. I was able to attend Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and earn an MA in Pastoral Counseling as a distant education student. I completed the thirty six hour program in two years without skipping a semester. At the same time I worked two days a week for a local jewelry store as the staff Gemologist and jewelry appraiser. I also was the pastor of a small Southern Baptist Church plus providing care for my wife.

These few paragraphs are the Readers Digest version of these events that spanned almost forty years. My purpose in writing this was not to illicit sympathy. I wanted to encourage that Seminarian that is ready to throw in the towel; or the discouraged pastor who wants a Seminary degree, but is blocked by the circumstances of life.

Hang on to your dreams. The only person that can kill your dreams is you. My wife and I on our wedding night chose Romans 8:28 as our life verse. “For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose.” Someone has said, “It is not what happens to you that matters, but how you handle what happens to you that matters.” Obstacles are just opportunities in disguise.

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
–Sir Winston Churchill

Rev. Michael Shanlian is a thirty three year veteran as a bi-vocational pastor and church planter. He is an accomplished Gemologist and has obtained the highest credentials in Gemology for gem identification and jewelry appraising. He holds a B.R.E. from Midwestern Baptist College and an M.A. in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He also has been honored with an Honorary Doctorate and will be completing his doctoral dissertation through South African Theological Seminary.

This guest post is by Daryl Eldridge, President of Rockbridge Seminary.

Seth Godin wrote an interesting piece about education at the crossroads today. And he raised an interesting point:

School was the big thing for a long time. School is tests and credits and notetaking and meeting standards. Learning, on the other hand, is ‘getting it’. It’s the conceptual breakthrough that permits the student to understand it then move on to something else. Learning doesn’t care about workbooks or long checklists.

In another blog, Craig Groeschel raises this question, “How important is seminary?” All of us know people who have become successful without the benefit of a degree. Is “success” the criteria for why someone should get an education? Seth Godin says the point is not education or schooling, but learning. Is education different from learning?

I am a lifelong learner. I read a book a week, attend continuing education conferences, research on the web, and write. I believe in the admonition: “Leaders are learners.” People can sit in a classroom and not learn. People can get a degree without getting an education. People can learn a lot of things, but not be educated. There is a difference between learning and education; both are important. Here are some reasons why I believe it is important to get a seminary education.

1. A seminary education exposes students to fields of learning beyond their interest. Most of us read and learn about things we are interested in. I love to learn about leadership. If it were up to me that would be all I studied. However, my education would have been incomplete without my studies of theology, psychology, ethics, algebra, history, chemistry, and biblical courses. There is more to ministry than leadership. A good education provides a well-rounded experience. A good education lays the foundation for future learning.
2. A seminary education provides structure and encourages self-discipline. People can find out what books are required of seminarians and establish a learning goal to read all those books in 3 years. They could discuss their learning with veteran ministers in their geographical area. However, what percentage would structure their life to accomplish that? In the busy-ness of jobs and ministry, sharpening the saw through a self directed learning program is usually the first thing to go. Some people need the structure of a formal education. It is because schools have deadlines, provide accountability, and have standards that students learn to excel. A good education teaches students discipline and self management. I have several friends who have become very successful in life without finishing a degree in higher education and seminary. They would say they received their education in the school of hard knocks. However, every one of them have insisted and paid for their children to get a college or seminary education. They understand the value of a formal educational program.
3. A seminary education sharpens your thinking through interaction with others. Just because we have an idea, doesn’t make that idea right. You may like an author because you agree with his or her point of view. That doesn’t mean your view is the only correct view on the subject. A wise sage wrote, “Iron sharpens iron. So one man sharpens another. (Prov. 27:17, NIV) A seminary should be a sacred and safe place to explore ideas and have them sharpened through the interaction with others. A school is a community of learners seeking truth. A good education will expose you to a wide range of views and interpretations and help you develop critical thinking skills.

Don’t misunderstand me. I believe our educational system (including seminary education) is broke and needs an overhaul. The term “higher education” in some cases is an oxymoron. All education is not created equal. I have sat through boring lectures and taken exams that were poorly constructed and didn’t help me learn. There is much we can do to improve learning in higher education.

A residential seminary education is not the right learning pathway for some people, nor is online learning the best model for others. If I have learned one thing in life, it is that education humbles you. The more I know, the more I realize how little I know. I don’t have it all figured out. To not learn and not get an education is arrogant. It is saying I know all I need to know. Figure out how you can further your education and be a lifelong learner.

SPECIAL NOTE: Rockbridge Seminary is currently waiving tuition for all new students beginning seminary in the September 2009 term. To get in on the free tuition madness before it ends go to their site.

This guest post was written by S. Daniel Smith. He blogs at http://differentfrequencies.blogspot.com and is a US Navy sailor.

A few months ago, Going to Seminary covered the four schools that offer an entire online degree program at the master’s level. I know how this works first hand because I am going to one of those schools as a distance learner myself. Because of this interesting combination of US Navy sailor and seminary student, I’ve learned a few things about surviving in a distance learning seminary. If you’re on active duty, or even if you have an otherwise demanding civilian job, then I hope you’ll find some valuable information in this article.

I am a lot of things. First, I’m a believer, and while that sounds contrite to put it first, it is the most important truth of my life. Secondly, I’m a husband and a father to two children. Thirdly, I’m a sailor who has made two deployments in a 3.5 year tour.  Furthermore,  I’m a concerned sailor who wants his shipmates to come to Christ. Finally, I’m a distance learning seminary student at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, where I’m studying for a Master of Divinity. This, in a nutshell, is who I am, and it’s as busy as it looks.

Sure, I would rather be at a brick and mortar seminary, but with my schedule and my career, I need to  “go distance “. After a dozen semester hours to my credit, I have learned five things that I believe you can take away from my experience.

1. Seminary is an academic institution. My chaplain on board the USS Antietam made me painfully aware of this fact. Seminary doesn’t exist to do anything other than give you an education. You’ll need your own mentor, your own accountability partner, and your own work ethic. It’s not the job of the seminary to make sure your supervisor on your ship gives you an opportunity for ministry. That’s up to you. And just saying, “I’d like to be in ministry,” doesn’t make it so. The military context is in many ways different from the civilian context. What would work in the “real world” might not work here. What you can know, however, is that the seminary is there to teach you the scholarly parts of ministry.
2. Make sure you have a good internet connection. Take it from me: Do not try to take seminary classes with a very low bandwidth connection in the Persian Gulf! Please make sure you have the necessary bandwidth to complete all of the research, writing, and message posting you’ll be required to complete. If nothing else, remember that you need enough bandwidth to take your final!
3. It’s harder than you think it is. I earned a good portion of my undergraduate degree online as well, and while I had to work for those grades, nothing could have prepared me for the level of work I saw in seminary. No matter how hard one might think seminary is going to be, the student needs to understand that it will probably be harder. There is more reading, writing, and research to do in a seminary class than in an undergraduate class. It will trip you up if you’re not careful.
4. Don’t forget who you work for. As a sailor, I work for the United States Navy, and more directly, for my supervisors on the USS Antietam. Whether you are a military person or a civilian, always remember your employer will continue to expect good work from you while you’re in seminary. In fact, this is the best example of Christian life we can give to some of our unbelieving friends and coworkers. Producing good work in the secular job while getting good grades in seminary is a great witness.
5. Don’t forget your life. One of the controls my wife and I have put in place for our marriage is that marriage and fatherhood trumps seminary. For that reason, and a few others, I’m a part-time student. While raising two kids and being a good husband and sailor is not the time to be thinking about how fast I can get through seminary by taking more hours. Back off a little…your family will thank you.

I realize that not all of these apply exclusively to the military community, but all of them do apply in some way to the military community. Committing these five lessons into your seminary preparations can help you in more ways than you can imagine. And since I’ve already learned those lessons for you, all you have to do is take note of them! As my grandfather used to say, “You don’t have time to commit all of my mistakes, so learn from them.”

Best wishes for a successful seminary semester!

It has been a while since we’ve had a book review on Going to Seminary, so I got in touch with the good people at Crossway and requested that they send me Adopted for Life by Russel Moore. I requested the book because adoption is not only something that my wife and I are considering, but it is a subject that we can’t get very far into the scriptures without being confronted with.

While the book just arrived today and the review will be a few weeks out, I wanted to let you know that Crossway was kind enough to send me a couple extra copies. So, here is the deal, if you’d like a free copy of Adopted for Life, drop a comment on this post. On Friday I’ll pick a commenter at random to receive the book. To make things interesting, explain your personal thoughts on adoption, either in the theological sense (God’s adoption of us) or the practical sense (our adoption of children).

The other day I received an email from a mom who was planning on starting seminary. She mentioned that she had trouble finding any sites or resources online that helped her with her unique situation. So, I did some investigating and was able to find some women who had some advice to give from their seminary experience. Today is the first of those interviews.

Name: Susan J. Hetrick
Seminary: Phoenix Seminary
Age: I was 39 when I enrolled in Seminary (Aug. 2003) and 42 when I graduated (Dec. 2006).
Where you are in your seminary journey: I earned my Master of Divinity in Counseling & Family Ministry, graduating in December 2006, with Highest Honors.
Kids and ages while you were in seminary: We have four kids (2 girls, 2 boys): Zoni was 11 -14; Tanner was 9 – 12; Lysa was 8 – 11; and Chase was 6 – 9 when I was in school.

So Susan, why did you decide to go to seminary?
Short answer: God told me to go. Longer answer: I felt God’s call on me from the time I was about 10 years old. By the time I was in my mid-thirties it seemed like everyone at my church was encouraging me to pursue Seminary. It felt like God was hitting me upside the head with a 2 x 4! When I finally decided to go for it, all the pieces fell into place. I lived in Las Vegas at the time, and oddly there are no Seminaries in Vegas, so my kids and I had to move to Scottsdale, AZ. (My husband and his kids lived in Michigan, and they joined us in AZ after our wedding in February, 2004.)

What was the greatest challenge of going to seminary while being a mom?
Missing out on things like “Back to School Nights” at my kids’ schools, because they conflicted with my class schedule. I learned to set limits on what I could and could not do. I promised the kids that I wouldn’t be away more than 2 evenings each week, which was tough – I had to rework my course schedule several times in order to get all my requirements in, while still keeping the promise to be home most nights. I also had to make a concerted effort to keep date nights with my husband without bringing along a theology book.

What has been the greatest joy of your seminary journey?
Showing my kids that it’s possible to achieve something great, and that hard work and discipline pay off. (Not that they were at all impressed with any of it…)

Any unique stories from your seminary experience as a result of your stage in life?
When I was taking a Biblical Sexuality course, my son was in 7th grade at the time and also taking Sex Ed. at school. He said to me, “Mom, why do you have to take sex ed? You have kids – doesn’t the Seminary know that you know all about sex already?”

What advice do you have for moms who might be considering going to seminary?
Go for it! At the same time, have realistic expectations. You can’t do everything, and it’s OK to ask for help. Let the housework go, let someone else teach the Sunday school class. Also, flashcards are very helpful when it comes to memorizing Greek and Hebrew vocabulary!

What advice do you have for students who are in the class with a mom?
Try to be understanding if the Mom in your class sometimes answers questions with anecdotes about her toddler – not all of us are employed full-time in ministry yet! God works through us in the stage of life we are in at the moment – and those lessons are just as valuable theologically as any other.

How did you balance school and family?
I have a fabulous husband who loves to cook – he cooked dinner every night. He also drove the kids to soccer practice and guitar lessons when I was in class. I learned to take my homework with me wherever I was going, and would study in 5 – 20 minute increments as I waited for doctor’s appointments, kids in guitar lessons, etc. My saving grace was a color-coded calendar system: a different color for every person in the house, so I always knew who needed to be where, at a glance.

Any regrets about the decisions you made regarding seminary?
Nope! It would’ve been nice to have unlimited time or funds in order to take ALL the classes I wanted, but I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 _ years in the M.Div program.

If your kids were old enough, how did they feel about you going to seminary?
My kids were as ‘supportive’ as they could be, although they kept asking me over and over “exactly why” I was doing this. When I graduated my oldest daughter said, “Do we have to call you ‘Father Mom’ now?”

What do you do now that you’ve graduated?
My first book, Advice From The Blender: What to know before you blend so nobody gets creamed, was published in 2007, by Xulon Press. The book was awarded the 2008 Christian Choice Book Award, in the parenting category. I run an online ministry for blended families, (www.advicefromtheblender.com) and write and speak on the subject frequently. I lead stepfamily support workshops at my church, and teach others how to do the same through the Association of Marriage and Family Ministries (AMFM).

I am the President of the Phoenix Seminary Alumni Association, and I am currently working towards ordination in the Reformed Church in America, with the goal of becoming an ordained pastor by next summer. I also try to keep up with our kids’ schedules, which isn’t easy since they are all teenagers now!

This guest post was written by Daniel F. Wells. Daniel is a twenty-something year old with a B.A. in Bible & Religion and Philosophy from Erskine College and is currently a student at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He blogs at Cosmic Christianity.

Seminaries are well-known for giving their typical speeches to incoming students. Whether it is about balancing one’s schedule, making sure spiritual devotion isn’t neglected, or that the classroom does not take priority over family…most seminarians have at some point received a talk concerning viewing the seminary curriculum in light of the truths communicated in the Wesminster Smaller Catechism Question 1, “What is the chief end of man?” Answer: to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Glorifying God is to be a chief purpose in seminary academics. Verses such as 1 Cor 10:31 and Rom 11:36 are repeated so often that they are ingrained in the seminarian’s mind. Not only does the catechism and God’s own Word show us that Bible classes are ultimately done for his glory, even tedious subjects such as languages or those practical theology classes you’d rather not take are not to make us grumble but instead to make us glory in God’s goodness and wisdom. (Remember, as John Frame has said, we are sitting at Jesus’ feet.)

However, I would like to add another dimension to this typical talk that you may have heard, or will hear, as a seminarian. All things are done for the glory of God, true enough. Yet, the seminary life (particularly the classroom) is to convey, appropriate, and exemplify a doxological quality to it. In other words, what is learned in the classroom should normatively cause both student and professor to throw one’s voice and arms heaven-ward to the praise of the triune God!

In one respect, to glorify God and to participate in doxology is one and the same. The Greek word for glory is dóxa, and the verb to glorify is doxáz?. But I intend to communicate an additional connotation that would have the seminarian. If theologians such as John Frame and David Peterson are correct in recognizing that Scripture calls believers in the New Covenant to not only view worship and doxology as specialized public worship but also as something to constitutes the entire livelihood of believers in union with Christ, then that would give one a perspective regarding classroom life that is probably significant different than previously thought. For it is in the classroom that one is engaging in “spiritual worship” through the renewing of one’s mind. (Rom 12:1-2)

So I would ask that all of us seminarians, us physicians of the soul in training, would take this biblical prerogative and apply it so that we may find more than simply enough motivation to “get through” certain classes. Let us instead have our thoughts ascend to the heavenly places and say of Christ, “Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honour and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created.” (Rev 4:11)