I came to seminary to be trained for ministry. One of the things I learned from coming to seminary is that they may not be the best place to train pastors or missionaries. I know, not the "conventional" wisdom of the time, but here's the deal - Jesus didn't model seminary life. Jesus did not tell people to go, sit in a class room, learn all these facts, then go do ministry. Jesus did ministry WITH the people he was training. He integrated it - he taught and did together so he could best teach these disciples.
I think this thought hit me my second semester here, and then it's smoldered ever since. It sprung a research paper and a Faculty Directed Study on ecclesiology (theology of the church). It led to confusion and many questions - how do we do church today? What's wrong with the local congregations that they can't train their own leaders? Where did seminaries (and other parachurch groups) come from and are they even biblical? And why on earth do we think people learning things makes them suitable for ministry?
I came to a few conclusions, but not absolute ones. I've realized that even if God didn't set up parachurch groups (and even if the local congregations should be more involved in some of the work the parachurch groups do), God can still use these parachurch groups. I've realized that we do live in a terribly broken and fallen world, and things won't be perfect... but it's good to dream, to challenge the status quo, to think things through biblically, and to pray. Oh, to pray should be the first thing done when one's heart breaks over the brokenness of the Church!
As for seminaries - I would not blindly recommend them to one considering ministry. I think there are other ways to just as effectively (if not more effectively) train and prepare people for ministry.
No comments:
Post a Comment