Going to Seminary

We like to think, during times of challenge or stress, that life will get easier.

I have bad news. Are you sitting down?

It doesn’t.

Not without intentionally letting some things go.

It took me a long time to see this. College was a huge step up in difficulty compared to high school, where homework problems were tidy and simple, and A’s came without studying. Then grad school made college look like a walk in the park. Surely things could not get any worse than this? I told myself  “It’s just for a season, I can suffer through for 4-5 years.” Finally, life as an Assistant Professor. To my great surprise, the life of a junior professor was worse than that of a dog. I longed for the ‘easy’ days of grad school. As the crazy hours started to take their toll, I began to ask tenured profs how they liked their jobs now that ‘things were finally easy.’ They laughed. They had to keep doing all the hard work I was doing, but now had the added responsibility of having other mouths to feed. The careers of their students depended on whether or not they could keep getting grants. Why was I learning this only now?!

I made some very big changes in my life, switched careers, and found that once again I had a life — this time with me defining success instead of the world. Fast forward a decade, and I’m back at grad school – seminary this time, and with a changed perspective and priorities. Here are a few things I’m seeing differently this second go around…

Know why you’re doing this — you may waste a lot of time pursuing something that was never right for you in the first place if you don’t understand both your calling and the true nature of the work you seek to do as a profession.

Stepping stones are often stumbling blocks in disguise — I had way too many fellows students and co-workers convinced that putting in their time, paying their dues, were the price of success, and that a joyless present was the price of a future of bliss. They (and I) were mistaken. God may very well see you go through a difficult period that will prepare you for future service, but choosing a path where you find no contentment or where you put ‘on hold’ vital things he expects of His followers is surely no way to live, or to honor Him.

Balance in life is more about integrating than becoming good at multi-tasking — it’s far better to kill two birds with one stone than to juggle attention between two distinct tasks. Tie-in your studies with the rest of your life and ministry. Pass on what you’re learning with others rather than developing two separate lessons. Serve together with your spouse or family when possible rather than seeing the two in competition. Be a little less concerned with what’s going to be on the test than what you need for your ministry later and what God is teaching you to serve someone else right now.

Back to my main point at the start of this post… don’t put your life on ‘hold’ for studies or anything else. Don’t wait to get involved in ministry. Don’t wait to tithe, to invest in the lives of others, to love the most important people in your life, to incorporate a true Sabbath and times of reflection in your life… today! If whatever you think you are preparing for is so demanding that you feel you need to kill yourself now, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

I’m not at all suggesting you shy away from challenges, but in accepting them make sure that as you go through this season of preparation and learning that you love what you do, are energized by the learning, and apply what you learn in significant ways… now. If that doesn’t seem possible, take some time and think about what you need to let go of in your life to really pursue what you feel passionate about and what you hear God calling you to become. It could change your life.

Instead of beginning with how we judged I’ll just tell you who won.

Congrats To:

• Nancy Wilson – Pregnant With Purpose
• Larry Baxter – Seminary? Who, Me?
• Gregory Hartnett – Developing a Reading Plan for Seminary
• Michael Eubanks – I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know

All submissions were blindly ‘graded’ by three seminary professors and myself. Just like seminary:) All four scores were totaled and the top four were deemed our winners. (Blindly= all names and references were removed before grading.)

If you’re a real seminary geek and want to know the score curve post in the comments and I’ll oblige.

Thanks to all who entered. We feel this was a great success and will be holding another contest, open to all previous entrants and winners, in June.

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. AND, we’re going to give you your choice of an e-reader to do it.

Submit your 500 to 750 word article on whatever topic you like as long as it has to do with seminary. You must currently be a 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, or a Nook. All four writers will have their choice! Or if a new ereader is on the market around the $259 price tag we’ll gladly substitute it instead.

To submit your article email it to justaguy[at]goingtoseminary.com. We’ll announce the four winners on April 1^st. And this is most certainly not an April Fool’s joke.

————Update 3/9/10———–

Submission deadline is 3/30/10

————Update 3/30/10———-
Thank you to all who entered. We’ll announce the winners on Thursday April 1. We had several entries in the last few days so it will likely be Thursday afternoon before we announce.

Jack was frustrated as he stared at his laptop screen. He was on an annual personal retreat planning his twelfth year as senior pastor at Christ Community Church.

The screen showed all his learning activities from the year before – the conferences, seminars, and classes he had attended; the books he had read; the sermons he had studied; and the leadership groups he had joined. He was passionate about learning and kept himself accountable by compiling and checking this list each year during his retreat.

But this year he was not satisfied just having a list – he wanted to know if it was the right list. God was stirring his heart about fresh ministry horizons, and he knew he wasn’t prepared. Shouldn’t he be matching his learning to his future journey? All the items on the list had been helpful to him, but had they been strategic?

For instance, the books he read were chosen more by accident than by planning – he overheard someone talking about one and happened to see another advertised online. Could other books have been more helpful? And one of the conferences he attended was more out of habit than for ministry development.

Jack thought to himself, “I need to get a better handle on my learning choices.”

Can you relate to Jack? If you are reading this article, you are probably a leader with a long list of completed seminars, conferences, books, and courses. The continuing education possibilities for leaders today are endless – and that is the problem. A busy leader may be tempted to choose learning based on opportunity, schedule, and cost rather than according to personal development needs.

I call this “shotgun learning.” It may have worked well a generation ago when you could choose a seminary program, seminar, or conference simply because it fit your schedule or your pocketbook. You could always count on stumbling across information somewhere that was helpful to you. Today, your choices are too many and your time is too valuable to make “shotgun learning” decisions. A better way is to develop a learning focus based on your ministry development needs.

But how do you do that?

A “Personal Learning Plan” can guide you to make strategic learning choices and serve as a tool to evaluate their usefulness later. The effectiveness of your plan depends on how well you tie your learning to your calling. Here are four steps to help you get started:

Step 1: Rediscover your ministry horizon
How is God stretching you? What do you see on the horizon of your journey with God? How is your call unfolding? What is the direction of the faith steps God is asking you to take?

No matter how long you have been in ministry, God has a ministry horizon for you – future ways he wants to stretch you and use you. Sometimes leaders make the mistake of connecting all of their strategic planning to their current ministry position, causing them to lose touch with their personal calling. They forget that their calling is a journey of experiencing God that is greater and lasts longer than any ministry position.

Step 2: Conduct a personal assessment
Assessing the gap between where you are now and the future ministry horizon you envision is important. Yet it may be the most difficult step, since personal assessment can be so easily influenced by denial and self-deception.

Daniel Goleman defines “emotional intelligence” as “the ability to know yourself.” Spiritual leaders develop emotional intelligence through the discipline of personal and spiritual reflection, through the practice of journaling, and through relational channels of accountability and feedback.

Honest personal assessment is most difficult for the leader not yet free to be that unique person God designed and shaped. Trying to be someone you are not, even after years in ministry, can keep you in denial about the “real you” God wants to develop. Rediscover your personal ministry horizon and honestly assess how prepared you are for the challenge. Then think about the ministry competencies that need further development.

Step 3: Identify priority learning pathways
Once you rediscover your ministry horizon and honestly assess your starting point, you are ready to identify priority learning pathways. These learning pathways will guide your personal ministry development in the direction of your calling.

Keeping the number of pathways to three of four at a time will help you focus your learning. Once you are pleased with your development in one area, you can replace that pathway with another.

For instance, Jack saw on his ministry horizon a greater emphasis on mentoring future leaders. Yet his tendency to be emotionally distant made close, authentic relationships difficult. One of three priority learning pathways he chose was “to learn how to authentically express my feelings in community.”

Step 4: Consider the resources available to support you
With his learning pathways identified, Jack saw with “new eyes” the learning resources available to him. He immediately thought of books, conferences, study programs, and learning clusters with other leaders that could help him develop. Choosing resources became much easier with his learning pathways identified first. Now he could get a better handle on his learning choices!

Jack opened a new file on his laptop and smiled as he typed at the top “Personal Learning Plan.”

This article is adapted from the Rockbridge Seminary course “Developing the Focused Life.”

Today’s guest post is by Dr. Sam Simmons. Dr. Simmons is co-founder and vice president for learning design at Rockbridge Seminary. ©Copyright 2010. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We’ve heard hundreds of horror stories of students losing their paper. Whether it is computer theft or a hard drive crashing, we are all vulnerable to loss of intellectual property. Days, even months of work can disappear in an instant. Each term we exhort students to back up their data frequently, but faculty members are just as guilty of not taking the necessary precautions to preserve data.

Thankfully, there are some free or inexpensive solutions to this problem. You can rest easy at night knowing that your documents, email, contact, calendar, and all other data are safely backed up; not just once, but four different ways.

Items to keep in mind regarding Backups.

The first thing you must remember when selecting a backup system is that it must be a “Set it and forget it” system. Anything that relies on a human to start the backup each time will never work. We get distracted and forget. The second thing to remember about backing up is to have more than one system in place in case one has a hiccup. Lastly, have at least one back up in the same location as your machine, and at least one in a completely different geographical location as the machine you are backing up.

The Hardware & Software of backing up

In the old days we used to use tapes to back up and we would rotate them out to a safe deposit box once a week. Was that ever a pain? Working for a digital seminary like Rockbridge brought new challenges since all our staff work in separate locations. We have used MozyPro for about three years and it has worked well. It’s Mac and Windows compatible and centrally managed through their website. It also fulfills our need for an offsite backup.

Alongside Mozy, we each use Drop Box to store all our documents. Drop box not only stores your documents, but also automatically syncs them across any computer you wish. It also allows you to share files with family, friends, or coworkers. Let’s say you are traveling without your personal computer, but you need to access a document. If you can borrow the use of a computer get on the Internet, you can access your account containing all of your documents. Any changes to the document will be sync with all of the computers that are storing your data. You can use the free version of Drop Box (2 gigs) or purchase additional space (50 gigs costs about $10 a month).

You may also want to use NAS (network attached storage) device to back up all the computers in your house. This device is simply an enclosure that has both wireless and wired network access and houses a hard drive. Mine has two hard drives that mirror, or automatically copy each other, in case one of them decides to stop working. However, if you are just concerned with one computer, a USB connected external hard drive? works just as well. Nearly all of these come with backup software. Apple provides Time Machine for Macs that creates automatic backups and works wonderfully.

Archiving the most important files

If you have files that need archived and are critical must haves, such as tax filings or a movie of baby’s first steps, it’s always a good idea to burn a CD or DVD and label it with as many descriptors as you can. In a year when you are flipping through the disk on your desk and can’t remember what’s on a specific disk, you’ll thank yourself for being so detailed. There is also some new technology that we have yet to try, but it’s on our to do list. DVDs that can be burned by personal computers last around 5 years before becoming corrupt so don’t count on them to work in 10 years. Cranberry 1,000 year DVDs are for the documents, images, or database files that must be safe.

What do you use for backing up? What have you used? What didn’t you like, or worse, didn’t work when it needed to? Sing praises or vent in the comments.

May I confess something before we get started? I assume this is a safe place. I am terrible at time management. There, I said it. I am not an expert at it in the slightest. This is borderline embarrassing, but I was given the “ok,” to write this article back in February! It is now November and I am just now getting to it. I didn’t even make time to write an article on managing time! Notice that I said, “make” time, as oppose to “have” time. I had the time. We all have the time to do whatever it is we need to do; we just simply don’t do it at times. My wife, Natalie, says, “We make time for the things we want to do.” So when I try to use the excuse of, “I didn’t have time to go run.” She replies, “No, you didn’t make time, because it wasn’t important to you.” Stings, but it’s true. Why don’t we do _________ ? It’s not because we didn’t have the time, it’s because we didn’t give it time. So whether it was an assignment, a ministry deadline, or time at the gym, it comes down to giving not having.

Instead of using words like, “making,” “balancing,” or “management,” let’s use the word “delegation.” We all have 24 hours in a single day. Our fruitfulness hinges on how well we delegate our time between our different activities and roles.

Was not writing this article back in February a bad thing? Was it a bad delegation of time, or was it a proper use of my time? This is precisely what we need to explore and apply to our lives. “How do we use our time in accordance with the responsibilities God gives us?” Our roles and priorities answer this question. We must strive to organize our lives in such a way that our various roles receive the appropriate amount of love and attention needed to glorify God and love others.

Whether you are only one semester into your journey at seminary or you’ve been attending for several years, balancing your studies with other responsibilities is of utmost importance. God-glorifying time management is a task we will pursue for the rest of our lives.

Here is reality. With every new season or life stage, life only gets more loaded with roles and responsibilities. Those of you who are married know exactly what I am talking about. And if you have children you know what I am talking about even more! Being married with children is a busy and wonderful life! Then add ministry into the recipe and we are cooking up some busy schedules.

Let me give you a quick snapshot into my life and see where you can relate.

• Married for only two and half years
• One year-old baby girl
• One of the Pastors at a church planted less than two years ago
• Preach roughly 15-20 Sundays a year
• In the process of appointing elders
• Setting up membership
• Attending to discipline issues
• Leading a college ministry
• Discipling multiple groups of guys
• Leading a ministry team
• Seminary (5-6 hours a semester)

That’s just to name a few things I’m involved in! Consider your involvements.

Honestly, we are all busy. And we ought to be. Our lives or not our own, they belong to Jesus (1 Cor. 6:19-20). We’re to work like an ant (Proverbs 6:6-11), ox (1 Timothy 5:17-18), a good soldier, an Olympic athlete, and a fruitful farmer (2 Timothy 2:4-6). However, it seems that busyness has almost become a badge of honor. In response to, “How are ya?” people often say, “Great! Really busy.” This begs the question, “With what?” Are we busy with: Facebook, Twitter, blogging, reading blogs etc…? We must not confuse being a busy with being fruitful. We need to aim at being faithful with our time and lives for Gospel work, not just active. (Acts 20:24).

Church history provides amazing examples of hard workers, oxen-like persons, who impressively delegated their time. In a biographical sermon on George Whitefield, John Piper said Whitefield would sometimes preach forty hours a week! That’s forty hours of actual preaching, not preparation, but preaching! Steve Lawson, in his wonderful book on the preaching of John Calvin, shared how Calvin felt like one month he had hardly done anything. Calvin felt ashamed and useless. What’s amazing about this is that Calvin had preached twenty sermons and delivered twelve lectures that month! (Steve Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin, Reformation Trust, FL. 2007, 45.)

How busy are we? We’re probably not as busy as Calvin or Whitefield. But this begs another question. Was it right for them to be that busy?

At a recent Acts29 boot camp, Matt Carter, lead pastor at Austin Stone Community Church, preached a message on the lives and ministries of Wesley, Whitefield, and Edwards.
In that message he shared how Whitefield’s wife, lamented how much her husband labored. She said she loved George, but felt like a widow. Should he have been that busy?

If we give great chunks of time to our studies, books, and ministry but neglect our family, we are not honoring God. God is gracious and still does amazing things, but I don’t want my wife to feel like a widow or my daughter to feel like an orphan. We need to be very careful. Here we find our lifelong tension. How do we do everything we need to accomplish, do it well, and remain faithful to other areas of our lives?

This is where we get really practical. We need to think about prayer, priorities, and roles. In the next installment, we will discuss practical tips for managing our time.

Guest Writer: Jeff Medders is in his first year of studies at Dallas Theological seminary, and has hopes to transfer to Reformed Theological Seminary in 2010. He has been married to Natalie since, March 3, 2007. Between being the college pastor and a member of the preaching team at Redeemer Bible Church, a new church plant in Tomball, TX; he loves playing with his little girl, Ivy, born on November 21, 2008. Check out Jeff’s blog: EatBible.org

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!