kceaster
Puritan Board Junior
What I find lacking in most seminaries is practical hands on practice.
People go through 4 years of Bible school, 4 years of seminary and then feel called as a missionary and come out and have no idea what to do or how to work with others. I actually prefer working with folks that did another degree besides bible as their bachelors before seminary or had some sort of real-life job before entering the ministry, these people tend to be more hardy and more able to be flexible and deal with adversity.
Sir, I wish I knew more about you. I do not know if you have attended seminary, are in the ministry, are Baptist or Presbyterian. So far, I can only gather that either you yourself or some people you know have been disappointed by seminary education or a seminary-educated pastor.
I believe that ministerial training is more than seminary training. If there is a perceived lack in training, especially on the practical side, we must ask whether the local church did not fulfill its end of responsibility.
However, my experience is that both Bible colleges and seminaries provide ample opportunities for practical learning experience. What I am about to say, I do not say to exalt myself but to defend the institutions I love, as well as give weight to my words.
I am 21 years old. My churches, Bible college, and seminaries have given me wonderful opportunities (and great responsibility) to advance in my ministerial training. Not only have I had theology classes that have covered every genre and systematic category of the Bible, I am also fluent in Greek and rapidly becoming so in Hebrew. I developed and implemented an expository Bible study in my high school. I have had the opportunity to participate in short-term missions in New York, Chicago, Ireland, Nassau Bahamas, St. Lucia, and Nova Scotia. I was able to work an entire summer as a children's evangelist. I have counseled at church camps. I have been an assistant to a pastor (not assistant pastor), where I taught adult Sunday School, formed an evangelism class and community outreach program, and directed a teen and children's Saturday evangelistic outreach. I have preached in churches, youth groups, women's shelters, rescue missions, on streets, in buses, and in jungles - totalling over 200 times. I have personally been a tool in bringing several people to Christ and discipling them.
I understand if you feel that my "hands on experience" is lacking, but I still have several more years before my formal training is complete.
Charlie,
I almost had the same resume at 21 as you do. However, I can tell you that I would trade all of the experience I had at 21 with all the experience I've gained in the last 10 years. I really did believe I was ready, but I know now that I wasn't. God had other plans for me and providentially hindered me from the current paradigm. I'm not saying that has to be a rule for everyone. As I said, there are exceptions. If M'Cheyne had waited until 30 to start his ministry, we'd never have known the great man of God he was. But again, that is an exception that can and should be made for certain individuals. Perhaps that is an exception the church should make for you.
However, on the whole, we can see that history is not necessarily on your side. God in His providence and sovereignty make men like M'Cheyne, but He also makes quite a few men who fail utterly due in part to their own pride and churches who rush men into the gospel ministry. There is a pattern to successful church leaders and that pattern is discipleship. In my own case (as I can see now), I was discipling people before I was really discipled.
In the end, an elder of the church is not necessarily made by the passage of time, but there is a reason why Paul says elders should not be new converts and should not be novices. What did he mean by "new", I think there is a general rule behind that, but there are also exceptions to those rules. And I think it is fair to talk about other countries than just America. We shouldn't push rules on all societies and "westernize" elder training. But the church needs to be prudent and wise in this manner. In the west, I think churches have bowed too much to letting the seminaries train men primarily, instead of the church primarily. And that is the reason for most of our woes, theologically and spiritually speaking.
Charlie, I'm not saying you need to quit GPTS and wait awhile. But, I would tell you, based on my experience, that I'm glad I was hindered from doing it at your age. With training for the gospel ministry, it is better to take the long view. Don't let your eagerness get in the way of really being seasoned for your flock. The Bride of Christ deserves a well-seasoned and educated eldership. And theological education will never be the remedy for what ails the church. Only good and godly trained men will give her what she needs and deserves.
In Christ,
KC