Going to Seminary

In Cross-Shattered Christ, Stanley Hauerwas wrote in his introduction that, “Mystery does not name a puzzle that cannot be solved. Rather, ‘mystery names that which we know, but the more we know, the more we are forced to rethink everything we think we know.” (pp. 15). Prior to the statement, he has pointed out that within Christian theology, there is paradoxical tension. While what Christians believe “does defy reason and common sense,” what Christians also believe “is the most reasonable and commonsense.” (pp. 14).

Seminarians generally often sense that tension, especially when wrestling with theological issues that mystify us. Who doesn’t wrestle with how Christ should be manifested in both the church and the world? Who doesn’t rethink or reframe a theological issue, creating a new texture? Once we have an answer, it only opens more doors to unanswered questions. What was perplexing now makes sense, relieving us. When the opposition occurs, a sigh of frustration follows. And it’s exhausting. And sometimes, the whole wrestling business exasperates us, only to reveal the smallness of our minds.

We realize more and more how small our minds are when we are changing, or to put it properly, maturing. The work of theology, Hauerwas noted, is never finished, meaning more wrestling is to be done in this life (pp. 17). We are not immune to change, not only because we live in a continual changing reality, but also because Christ is not finished with redeeming creation, including us. The change embedded in us indicates that we reckon ourselves to think and become as Christ.

The answer to the mystery, that baffled both Jews and Gentiles, is revealed in the cross of Christ (Eph. 3:9). The terms such as “cross-centered,” “Christ-centered,” and “cruciformity” have been the buzzwords in the past years, reminding us of the preeminence of Christ. Our theology hinges upon the works of the God-man who appeared thousands of years ago. The redemption plan of God, once hidden, was now being proclaimed not through lofty wisdom or speech, but plain narration of Christ crucified (1 Cor. 2:1-2). Any theological issues, whether in church or seminary, are more clarified when our minds and hearts are set upon Christ’s redemptive role. When facing schism, injustice, favoritism, and disorderly worship in the Corinthian church, not only did Paul direct them to seek Christ, but also that they would to seek Him together. It is not a one-man show, but a one-church show. We are not meant to wrestle alone, but together. Paul wrote that we have the power by the Spirit to comprehend the “breath and length, and height, and depth” of Christ’s love only with all the saints (Eph. 3:17-19).

In Hauerwas’ recent memoir Hannah’s Child, he comments that he is not even sure what he believes about particular doctrinal issues, which renders him ecclesiologically homeless in a sense, but he is interested in what the church believes. His theological influences include those who are Methodists, Episcopalians, Mennonites, and Catholics. Many of these influences were also his companions, praying and spending time together. This was how Hauerwas learned about how Christ has taken care of him during his wrestling bouts—through brothers and sisters.

With Christmas approaching soon, we seminarians celebrate the incarnation with our brothers and sisters, whether they are parents, elders, teenagers, or immigrants. They too wrestle to learn and grow to love the story of incarnation; so let us wrestle together to grasp the beauty of Christ cooing in a manger.

In Mark 12:30 Jesus said the greatest commandment was an echo of the shema of Deuteronomy 6. This is the first and greatest commandment that we are to follow. This implies that those of us in seminary with an eye toward leadership want to help people do that. But are we being prepared to do that ourselves?

Much digital ink is spilled on this topic in circles of seminary students trying to glorify God with their studies. I want to share my own story about this in hopes that it might be a blessing to others.

I came to seminary thinking that I had all my theological ducks in a row. I was ready to slap the heretic label on just about anyone who didn’t agree with me on most points. I had a little wiggle-room, but it was vitally important that folks agreed with me regarding counseling and soteriology, for example. To do less was to dishonor God and His Word, at least in my way of thinking.

Shortly after coming to seminary a couple of the younger pastors at my church introduced me to the Emergent Church movement. Of course, I initially wrote all of them off as heretics as any good conservative believer would (or so my thinking went). But it was also around that same time that I took my class on 1 Corinthians and learned about how many different viewpoints there are on the immoral brother and head coverings, even from conservative scholars. When you add in more liberal scholarship it starts to make the head spin.

Suddenly my dogma was not as sure as it once was. This led me into a very intellectual pursuit of God for a long time. I really wanted to study more devotionally, but I barely had enough time as it was. I really didn’t have time for deep meditation on what I was taught. I suddenly started looking at everything through an academic lens. I did not come from a dispensational background, but my school certainly does. My morning reading became a quest to see if they were right or not. I would sit in church and grade my pastor’s theology or mentally correct the lyrics to the songs we sang. Academia sucked the life out of my devotion to the Lord because everything stopped at my head and never made it to my heart.

While I have not gone back to my life of habitual sexual sin or gluttony, I have seen traces of the old unfeeling me that I really don’t like. When I started seminary I was much warmer with my wife and my children. I was ready to talk to people about the Lord every chance I had. I see how I’ve been on the return path to being cold and clinical. My study of theology started running everything through my head and it never made it to my heart. Rather than deepening my love for the Lord I started to hold Him at arm’s length.

This, of course, is backwards. The more I learn about the Lord the more I should love Him. I only have one year left at seminary, Lord willing, and I want to make this one count. It’s vital to think through all the heady topics we encounter at seminary, but ultimately I want to be like Paul who said to the Corinthians that he “decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Or, as Karl Barth supposedly said when asked what he learned after all his study of Romans, “Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so.”

Brothers and sisters, that’s what it is all about. Jesus loves you. Remember that always as you go through seminary. All of this is about Jesus and knowing Him better. Let your learning lead to love.

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!

Its time for another writing contest! We’re going to give away four e-readers or $200 toward books. (winner’s choice)

Have you thought about sharing your seminary journey with the world? Perhaps you are interested in pontificating about how seminary could be better, or have questions that you’re not finding answers to regarding your seminary journey. Maybe you already have a blog, but not the readership you’d like to have.

Now is your chance to build readership, pontificate about seminary to your heart’s desire, or give blogging your first go around.

Submit your 500 to 750 word article on whatever topic you like as long as it has to do with seminary. You must be a current seminary student and the articles must be original work not previously posted or submitted to another website.

Out of the entries we’ll select the four winners. Those winners will then submit three more articles, one per month, over the next three months. At the end of those three months they will get their choice of the e-readers. A Kindle, a Sony e-reader, a Nook, a Kobo, or a $200 gift certificate to purchase textbooks from Amazon, B&N, or Borders. All four writers will have their choice! Or if a new ereader is on the market at the $200 price tag we’ll gladly substitute it instead.

Submit your article by August 23, 2010, via email to justaguy[at]goingtoseminary.com. We’ll announce the four winners on August 30, 2010.

—–Update 8/20/2010—–

We’re going to extend the submission deadline until Friday, August 27. We’ll still announce the winners on Monday, August 30.

Need some ideas for writing about your seminary journey? We took a few “hot button” issues from past comments and experiences to help you get started. Feel free to use them.

• How do you deal with crappy profs who are teaching from notes that are 30 years old?
• What is a fair and unfair academic policy, or transfer policy, or admissions guidelines?
• Is it right for seminaries that hold certain theological positions to demand the same from students?
• What is the right balance between academic leaning and practical leaning assignments?
• How effective can a seminary student (who has never served as a pastor) be when criticizing a fellow seminary student who is a pastor?
• What is the usefulness of sitting around for hours gabbing about theological issues that won’t ever be resolved?
• How important is accreditation?
• What is the real dollar cost of seminary education?
• How many textbooks should be required for a seminary course?
• What is the ideal age for a seminary student?
• What role can mentors play in seminary education?
• How do I involve my spouse in my seminary journey?
• What if my spouse leaves me while I’m in seminary? What should I do?
• Is a seminary graduate better equipped to serve Christ than someone who didn’t attend seminary?
• What do you do about friends who are cheating?
• How do I keep my spiritual life alive in 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 wonder if you have a growing list of things you are going to do “when you get time.” For most people there seems to be at least a few things that are on a project list that are waiting for the right time or resources to be implemented. Some of these have more to do with the way we structure our priorities, and others are just waiting for the right pieces to fall in place. Either way, I bet that list (for most of us) is getting longer – not shorter.

My wife and I have experienced this at a couple of times in our marriage. We tried to get the timing right for me to step into fulltime ministry from a parttime role. We tried to wait for the right time to have a child. Once our boy came on the scene we wanted to wait for the right time for her to become a stay-at-home-mom.

In these few cases and SO many more, if we had truly waited for the “perfect” time – we would still be waiting. We have found it easy to find multiple reasons for delaying some life-changing decision; everyone does. But we have also learned that once we acted on those things – God provided. In fact, it became difficult to understand why we had not acted sooner rather than later.

I have had a similar experience with seminary and it became even more evident to me as I completed my journey at Rockbridge Seminary last month. For several weeks I had been longing for (and dreading a bit) the day when I had a week with no assigned reading, with no papers due at midnight, or some other seminary-related action to complete.
I just knew that once I graduated I would have tons of time to jump into the ever-growing pile of books I want to read. I would have more quality time to spend with my family. I was looking so forward to my well-deserved break of doing whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it.

My realization, however, was found on the opposite end of my assumption of all the free time I had coming. What I found is that I have absoutley no idea how I ever completed seminary! When I look at my schedule, there is no room for classes, homework, or papers. There is no time for me to engage professors or fellow students. And defintely no time to read page after page of something that I’m certain would make even God yawn two pages into it.

My point is that if you are waiting for the perfect time to jump in to furthering your education – that time might be right now. If you are thinking that you just can’t add one more thing or that your schedule is too cluttered – just ask yourself if that situation will be better, worse, or the same a year from now. My bet is that you will be just as busy or busier later as you are right now.

Now, admittedly, there are significant reasons to delay the timing of such an important decision, and the contributing factors are much broader than the scope of this post. But waiting for life to cease its incredible demand on you physcially, emotionally, and spiritually will be a long, long wait. Why not jump in and give it a go for a semester? See if you are able to do with seminary the same thing you do with every other hurdle life throws at you – face it head-on and conquer it through Him!

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.

When I began my online seminary degree three years ago, I was a bit hesitant because I feared that the substance that the final degree – the actual paper I would receive – might not be as “weighty” in the minds of those who had received a traditional degree from a brick and mortar institution.  I also feared that places I might have opportunity to serve would not consider my Master of Divinity degree from an online institution a “real” degree.  I must admit that even now after completing my online seminary journey, I get questions from would-be seminary students about my experience at Rockbridge and inquiries for my evaluation of the value of the experience.  I am so happy when someone opens the door for me to talk about it.

My first response to these questions is an answer that I came to when asking myself whether or not I should pursure training online.  I had to come to grips with the “why” of my desire to go to any seminary. When I enrolled in Rockbridge, my call to vocational ministry had been clearly affirmed many times and I had over 15 years of ministry experience.  But I didn’t have any formal training to support the calling that was so clear in my life.  This training was not critical for me to continue ministry as I felt confident God would open doors for me to continue to be his servant.  Rather, the larger realization for me was my desire to learn more to be a more effective agent in His Kingdom work.

The other affirmation was my assessment of other training opportunities at my disposal.  When I considered my options for training as a man with a family, serving in a ministry that I was certain God did not want me to disengage, and a budget that did not include Masters level training – my options were limited to online offerings or some other type of distance learning.  To help assess these options, I sought the counsel of someone who both valued continuing education and was a product of the traditional brick and mortar learning experience: my senior pastor who holds several degrees including two masters and a doctorate from Vanderbilt.

His encouragement to me was the value of the learning experience – no matter what the final paper might suggest to others.  We looked deeply into the mission of Rockbridge Seminary as well as other opportunities that were available to me.  Our discovery was that the quality of the learning experience at Rockbridge would fit well my learning style and my available schedule to complete my training.  But even more importantly, we found that the driving force and purpose of Rockbridge founders was not to provide a piece of paper at the end of an agreed learning cycle.  Their calling was to provide quality biblical training that would prepare and equip ministers to serve God’s Kingdom effectively and efficiently.

Over three years later, I have absolutely no regrets about the choice I made.  Had I not enrolled in Rockbridge I would still be serving at my current church and I would continue to be affirmed in my calling – but I would not be as effective as I am now as a direct result of the investment I made in seminary and that it made in me.  My experience at Rockbridge has made a significant difference in how I approach ministry in the local church and even how I engage my faith as a believer.

I am also watching other traditional universities chase the online learning model as pioneers of online learning continue to set the pace and confirm its validity.  Although I believe that their motivation is driven as much by the opportunity of another revenue stream than anything else, the result for the learner is still positive.  I am thankful that Rockbridge and other quality institutions are continuing to set the pace that will give way for opportunities for learners to get training.  But more than that, I am so thankful for what it has provided in my life as a minister.  So what value do I place on my education from Rockbridge?  Invaluable.

For those of you who have families of your own, you may very well recognize the blessing they are in your life. While these relationships can require a great deal of patience, grace and love at times, they can also be very rewarding and love-filled. In fact, because of my family, I have had a difficult time listening to God.

About three years ago, shortly after my mom passed away, I kept hearing messages about sacrifice. At the time it wasn’t clear who or what was to be sacrificed but that a sacrifice would be required nonetheless. I came to realize that it involved my spiritual walk. Beyond that, I was clueless.

Not long afterward, a training opportunity was presented to me to become a lay speaker for my church which, among other things, would allow me to serve as pulpit supply. While I don’t clamor for opportunities to speak publicly, there was something about this invitation I felt led to pursue. About three months later, my pastor asked if I would bring the message at our two services one Sunday while he was traveling. I did end up speaking and knew almost immediately that pastoral ministry was what I was called to do.

Despite this sense of call, I kept hitting the brakes when it came to my family. I felt it was okay for me to make sacrifices but how could I ask my family to do that? At the time, we had two young children–ages 3 and 5–for whom we had waited countless years to hold in our arms. Understanding that children at this tender age need special love and nurturing, how could I step away from that to pursue what seemed like a selfish desire on my part? Also, I had been married 21 years at that point and clearly recalled the vow I made to my husband at the altar. How could I provide a balance between what it would mean to pursue several years of study to become a pastor (and an itinerant one at that) yet remain faithful to the vows and responsibilities I had as a wife and mother? If that weren’t enough, I had been in the workforce for a number of years. Could we manage on one income? After all, we had bills to pay just like everyone else.

With all the questions floating around in my head, I realized that these were decisions I couldn’t make on my own. To help me sort things out, I began candidacy studies (a discernment process within my denomination) to help me crystallize this call as well as to dig deep on this ministry-family struggle I was encountering. I spent several sessions with my mentor trying to understand what was best for my family. Should I forgo ordained ministry and continue my volunteer bible study teaching? Should I consider a lay staff role at a church? Should I just forget it all?

As time went on, it became evident that I couldn’t ignore the call God had placed on my life. But, despite all my longing for answers, I still couldn’t reconcile how I could “do” schooling and ministry and still meet my commitments. Should I take an alternate track toward education, attending weekend classes a few times per year? Should I pursue seminary part-time? Were there seminaries that I could commute to or that offered online programs? Could we afford it? It seemed like every time I turned around I had more and more questions.

Finally, I surrendered. After a lot of prayer, consultation, and a nearly two-year-in-the-making candidacy process, it finally dawned on me that it wasn’t my responsibility to make those decisions for my family. Just as I had relied on God to speak into my life about his plans for me, I had to trust that he would do the same for my family. And, over time, he did just that–in ways that I could not even begin to imagine.

My husband had always been supportive of me and, in time, he came to his own understanding of what this change might mean for our family and for him personally. He not only encouraged me to pursue seminary but offered to relocate to do so–this from a man who had lived in the same area all of his life. I knew then he was called, too. Within a matter of two months, God paved the way for us to respond:  I applied and was admitted to seminary, we listed and sold our house, we found another one in our price range, the girls were transferred to a new school, a scholarship was provided by the seminary to provide much-needed support and we found child care for those times that my husband would need to be gone for his job while I was at school.

It’s been said that God is interested not so much in our abilities as in our availability. In other words, he’ll provide the gifts and graces. We just need to say, “Here I am, Lord.  Send me.”

I grew up like a lot of guys in full-time ministry. I was in church every time the doors were open – my mom made sure of it. I did my part as a good Baptist by visiting with her and helping out in ministries that had captured her heart. She was an excellent model of a good, Christian woman and laid a godly foundation on which I could base my life choices.

After navigating through some tougher times in my late teens and early twenties, I landed in ministry as a bi-vocational youth pastor. I found quickly that due to my rearing in church I was prepared for most of the questions I received from both young people and parents, and found myself being so thankful for the background I had that well equipped me to minister to others. What I didn’t know, however, was what I didn’t know.

I had heard older ministers and laymen talk about education among “preachers” when our church was preparing to fill a staff role, and the conversation was always two-sided. Educated professionals talked about the value of an education and seminary degree while less educated men and women (who, I might add, were just as successful as their well-educated co-committee members) spoke of the need for a down-to-earth person who was educated by life experience and the church. I could best be described as the latter. In fact, I entered seminary after having served bi-vocationally for more than seven years and full-time for almost as many.

Having grown up around all kinds of ministers, I had a great deal of respect for their seminary degrees. In fact, the older I got the more cheated I felt personally for not taking the opportunity to experience the classes and seminary life I heard them speak of on multiple occasions. I felt that I had no “cool” seminary stories or experiences from which to pull. But not one time did I ever feel like I was less equipped or prepared for ministry than those guys. In fact, I considered myself their equal. I did not have their training, but I was certain that I was called and that Christ was using me effectively for advancing His Kingdom.

When I began my seminary journey, however, all of that changed. It did not take very long for me to realize just how ill-prepared I was for so great a task as training, teaching, and being a pastor of any kind. I remember having this moment of self awareness where I realized just how little I knew before I began seminary and how little I was going to know after I received my degree. It was awfully humbling.

And then my mind shifted to the gifted individuals who had received extensive seminary training but had allowed me to enter ministry without the same experience. These individuals recognized God’s call on my life and set me free to do ministry under their care. When I realized that these men knew full well what I didn’t know, it made their willingness to trust me to serve God’s Kingdom as a trusted pastor all the more humbling. And the fact that they allowed me to serve freely under their care – not as an hireling, but as an equal – helped me see that the scope of their training and calling far surpassed the paper they had hanging on their office walls. These men understood the heart of Jesus and owned the responsibility of modeling His heart to those called to serve Him.

My seminary journey is now nearing an end, but my thirst for knowledge has not been quenched. In fact, the more I learn the more I have a desire to learn more. And the greater my understanding becomes of the chance others took on me when I answered God’s call on my life, the greater responsibility I feel to nurture the same in others. I am thankful for what I have learned and for what I have yet to learn and experience. But I am so much more grateful for others who allowed me to answer God’s call on my life long before I actually knew what I didn’t know.