Make Yourself at Home

In an earlier post, Ryan discussed how seminary can sometimes come to be viewed more as a means to an end or as a stepping stone than a time of formation and growth. Asking questions such as what plans we have after we are done with seminary only fuel this kind of perspective.

One of the problems with having this mentality is that you will not properly establish yourself in whatever area you move to in order to attend seminary. Understanding seminary as a stepping stone to something else will only lead you to view your whole life at that particular time and place as a stepping stone. You will never fully unpack the boxes, so to speak. Your apartment will be more like a hotel room than a home.

As a result, a few things might happen. First, you will likely not develop many solid and authentic friendships. Perhaps you are thinking about returning to wherever you came from, and so you focus your energy on maintaining those friendships and those ties. While there is not anything inherently wrong with this, it will keep you from building bonds between the people around you for the next several years. Those friendships are essential for getting through seminary. Your close friends will challenge you, encourage you, strengthen you, rebuke you, and just be there for you like your friends back home cannot practically do. If you do not establish those sorts of friendships, your time in seminary will be very lonely. If you are married, this will likely be an even greater struggle for your spouse.

Second, if you do not make that place authentically “home” for the time you are living there, it is likely that you will not develop the type of relationship with the church you choose to attend that you need to. You will certainly be a part of a church, especially as you are required to serve a certain number of hours as an intern at a church in order to get your degree, but you will not really become part of that church. You will do your duties, but you will miss out on the type of communal fellowship that belongs to the local body of Christ. Again, to miss out on this will make for a very lonely experience–not to mention the fact that this will seriously impede your spiritual growth and development.

These are only a couple of things that may happen if you take this perspective, but they are significant things. And while maybe you have plans to return to where you came from or to move somewhere else once you are completed seminary and serve in ministry there–and these plans are good–do not let them be your sole focus while you are in seminary. Cherish this opportunity with all your heart, and seek to immerse yourself in the blessings that come with being in this situation. Make it home for you (and your family) for the next few years, with all the connotations which that word conveys.

For some people this will be easier than others. If you have moved around a lot, making a new place home is maybe not that difficult. If you have lived in the same place your whole life, this will be more of a struggle. If you are newly married and this new place is where you are starting your lives together, the transition will be a lot easier. If you have friendships going back to your childhood, it will be tougher. But this is where God has placed you and has called you to for this point in your life, and you will mine all the riches of this experience if you allow yourself to. It may only be three years. But a lot can happen in three years. Grab hold of it.

Get To Know Your Seminary Professors

Before I came to seminary, I asked some men who have been in the pastorate for some years and have graduated seminary some advice on what I should look for and accomplish while I am in seminary. Of the many tips I was given, one of those tips was

Find the professor(s) with whom God desires to unite you in a special way. Most professors pour themselves into students outside of class, but they obviously can’t pour themselves into every student. God seems to provide connections with certain professors/administrators that He uses to sanctify and grow you. Keep your spiritual eyes open for these opportunities. They may be for your entire seminary career or they may be for a season. Both are wonderful.

To be honest, I had no idea how this would work-especially at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Seriously, most of the professors on campus are actively engaged in other ministries as well as writing books. The thought kept going through my mind of why would one of these professors want to get to know an untimely-born, turning-30, seminary student who took 12 years to finish his undergrad (it is legitimate!)? Little did I know how God would “unite [me] in a special way.”

Just Ask

I was told by at least five different teachers, pastors, and friends to get to know a certain professor outside of class if I had the opportunity. Now, I would not recommend what I did to everyone (I have been told that it is not the ideal approach), but I sent this particular professor an email telling him I was instructed to get to know him outside of class if possible. I continued by telling him I realized how busy he was and that if there was anything I could do to help him in his ministry I would love to help. Guess what? He took me up on my offer.

Since then, a friendship has bloomed in a way that I never thought would be possible. This man has become a mentor to me as I continue my journey through seminary. While he is the one that I can say I have a special bond with, I have met with many other professors outside of the classroom. Quite a few of them have not even been my instructor.

In my two semesters at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I have had lunch and or dinner with at least three different professors (hey, we all eat!), I have set up appointments to discuss personal and theological issues with two professors, and I have caught one professor in the hallway and asked if I could have a word with him because his name came up in a conversation and I wanted to know his view on an issue. We talked in his office for 20 minutes and pretty much disagreed the whole time!

They Are People, Too

The one thing I have learned (perhaps it is my old age?) is that these men are people just like you and me. I have talked with Dr. Mohler in the halls a few times and have always found him to be “just a regular guy.” Sometimes, it can be intimidating when your professor is a past president of the state convention. It is humbling to be able to ask your professor if he would sign the book he wrote that has been so influential to your life. In the end, these men have families and lives just like the students. While God has used them in a mighty way, they are usually more than willing to engage the students. After all, we are that next generation and the baton must be handed down at some point.

My advice would be to humbly ask your professor(s) if there is anything you could do to help them outside of class. Do not expect a “yes” every time or from every professor. Take advantage of where God has you and who He has put into your life. If you are active and engaged in the classroom, you will soon discover that the faculty and staff have a favorable opinion of who you are as a person. That being said, be careful that your goal is not to “get in good” with the professor. Rather, seek to drink from their well of knowledge and experience. Learn from these godly men every chance you get both inside and outside the classroom.