Granted, my seminary experience is long past, but I can honestly say that my seminary time did little to prepare me to what I was going to face when I got into local church ministry. Perhaps there should be more classes on finance and time management and conflict resolution. Don't get me wrong--I'm a sola scriptura guy. I understand the necessity of studying the Scriptures and being able to share that information, but I was woefully under-prepared with some of the realities of "real" ministry. Perhaps we need to have more pastors teaching classes. That might cut back on the drop-out rate of pastors as well.
As a pastor that is not doing their doctorate, I absolutely agree with you. The theology is absolutely necessary, but so is all the other stuff like "conflict management."
When I attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, every single professor I had except for Marriage counseling and Family Therapy was an ordained minister active in pulpit ministry from Naine to Marylamd and Los Angeles to London. True Story.
I don’t know why we would expect to learn finance and time management from a theological school. Pastoral ministry is complex. If you expect one school to “do it all” for you, it’s probably going to be sub-par in everything.
Why aren't the churches helping to pay for this? If a church is to receive an ordained pastor, why shouldn't they sponsor said pastor during his training?
Hello brothers, I just got excepted to Spurgeon College for the Excelerator program. I am very much against any form of debt, and as my wife and I are about to enter the mission field in Iceland, being supported and doing fundraisers, living on other support...My question is why or how does the price get so high to learn how to expose the word of God in these settings? Thank you for your time.
Tuition per semester hour AT RTS. $585.00. Just reduce the price. PERIOD. Secular schools and degrees have several funding support. Healtcare, Educational facilities and many other jobs pay for continuing education but not for Biblical and/or religious studies.
I support academics but anyone can paint but not everyone is an artist. Sadly, many seminaries produce house painters but not artists. Practicing medicine is an art more than a science so is pastoral ministry. My comment after auditing a class from a prominent seminary was "and this had to do with what?" We need to really need a second reformation.
Great discussion though I would have really appreciated if there were professors from other Reformed seminaries also brought to the table to talk on this topic eg WesCal, Covenant or WesPhil considering it's about the "state of seminaries"
Currently enrolled in an online seminary program but I hope to attend a brick and mortar institution after my completing my current program. Dr. DeYoung expresses my thoughts exactly. RTS is toward the top of the list 🙂
Once again the comparison of a medical doctor to a preacher…not the same. Any christian who is saved should be able to share the gospel and not need a doctors degree. That is why there is a downfall in seminaries that attitude
Don't worry the Holy Spirit will teach us all things.. 1 Corinthians 2: 9-13 .. v9. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”- the things God has prepared for those who love him- 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
Segregation into different denominations plays a part in this, not only reduction of Christian population. Catholic seminaries don’t have much problem as the Protestants do. So it would be helpful if Protestants strive to have evangelical interdenominational seminaries.
Questions: where is one seminary in the Bible? Did the Lord Jesus Christ had one or He trained His disciples for free? Did Paul an apostle charged a lot of money to Timothy or Titus for teaching them biblical theology? Did Peter accepted money from Simon later on? (Acts 8:17-21) Seems to me, seminaries are money making business because equipping the saints and pastors should be free. Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
One of the major problems is that many Bible colleges and seminaries that are supposed to be theologically conservative are embracing CRT. Christians in China pray that Christian institutions will remain biblically and doctrinally sound.
There is a difference between reading books about the Bible and learning to be a medical doctor. If this is the best illustration you can come up with, then this seminary is in trouble. You did not offer a solution; your response did not do anything to entice students to spend 100 grand. You guys are stooges.
Need more of seminary education. Need to bring more Pentecostals into seminaries. I am talking about Indian Pentecostals. They really dumb down the faith.
