# Questions concerning Christian academic careers



## Davidius (Jan 30, 2007)

This thread is a bit of a spin-off from Scott's (PB handle: Theoretical) recent post about which seminary a student who may or may not be going into pastoral ministry should consider. A few of the men who responded made the argument that seminary is a place where pastors should be trained and that therefore only those who are going into pastoral ministry should attend. Scott and I both tried to specify that we were interested in knowing what a person who is looking into a more academic career should consider but I don't think the question was really answered. I thought that it might be helpful to split off and make my own thread to ask some of the questions that the other discussion brought up in my mind.

1. Should students who may not feel called to pastoral ministry consider seminary as an option? On this track, seminary would be the place to get an MA (e.g. an MA in Historical Theology at WSC) before going on to get a PhD in something like Church History from a secular university. This is the track I have personally been considering.

2. If the answer to question 1 is "no," what should a person do who is interested in teaching something like Church History either at seminary or at a Christian undergraduate institution (like Wheaton, Calvin, or my denomination's university, Geneva)? 

3. Should all seminary professors be current or former pastors? 

4. If I don't feel called to pastoral ministry, should I begin to plan my graduate studies around teaching something other than Church History/Systematic Theology? For instance, I am also very interested in teaching German and Latin. If the path toward a PhD in Church History isn't the right one for me, should I pursue graduate studies in Classics instead of whatever else I might do? 

I think I've covered all of the things that were on my mind. If anything else comes up I'll just add it later. I've been thinking about making Classics my second major anyway. My reason for doing so would be to become a master of Latin and get my foot in the door with Greek so that I could either pursue Church History/Historical Theology if that seems acceptable or go on to do whatever would be necessary to teach German and Latin at the high school or university level. This would require me to graduate in May '09 instead of May '08 but I think the benefits would be worth it.


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## Theoretical (Jan 30, 2007)

Definitely add me to the list on this question as well.


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## R. Scott Clark (Jan 30, 2007)

Hi David,



> 1. Should students who may not feel called to pastoral ministry consider seminary as an option? On this track, seminary would be the place to get an MA (e.g. an MA in Historical Theology at WSC) before going on to get a PhD in something like Church History from a secular university. This is the track I have personally been considering.



Sure, as long as you realize at, e.g., WSC, the primary focus is on training pastors and we won't do anything that interferes with that focus. That means that sometimes MA students can feel a little "forgotten," and we appreciate that, but it cannot be helped entirely.

That said, we do have three MA programs and a pretty good track record of sending students on to do advanced study. You can earn an MA and go on to doctoral work so long as you do well here and demonstrate that you have the ability to do the work. 

Most Christian PhD students would benefit from theological training. I've seen some pretty bad historical dissertations that would have been helped immeasurably by a couple years in seminary, especially if one is intending to write on religious topics.



> 2. If the answer to question 1 is "no," what should a person do who is interested in teaching something like Church History either at seminary or at a Christian undergraduate institution (like Wheaton, Calvin, or my denomination's university, Geneva)?



If one didn't go to seminary, then one should at least get some training at a Christian college somewhere.



> 3. Should all seminary professors be current or former pastors?



Our view is yes, though we have had Ruling Elders serve as faculty members. One should at least be active on a session/consistory. Again, our primary vocation is to train pastors. It's theoretically possible for folk to train pastors without having pastoral experience themselves (and that's how most seminaries do it) but we find it helps a great deal for a prof to know how what they are teaching relates to pastoral ministry.



> 4. If I don't feel called to pastoral ministry, should I begin to plan my graduate studies around teaching something other than Church History/Systematic Theology? For instance, I am also very interested in teaching German and Latin. If the path toward a PhD in Church History isn't the right one for me, should I pursue graduate studies in Classics instead of whatever else I might do?



That's a matter of vocation. You need to decide whether you're called to teach folk what to think and do (theology) or what people have thought and done (history) or perhaps how to communicate (languages).

Blessings,

rsc


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## Davidius (Feb 1, 2007)

R. Scott Clark said:


> Hi David,
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for that thorough reply, Dr. Clark. How would you (or anyone else who wants to answer) differentiate between just being interested in something as a hobby or personal intellectual pursuit and something that you are called to teach and of which you should impart a passion to others?


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