Why go to seminary? Why not just take classes
online, or learn what you can from your pastor? Why not just get busy
doing the work of ministry and learn as you go? Why take the time,
why spend the money, why uproot your life?
These are the same questions (minus the online
thing) Timothy Dwight had in mind when he stood to address an
assembled crowd at the opening ceremonies of Andover Seminary in
Massachusetts. Andover, the first seminary in America, opened its
doors in 1808. Until its founding, aspiring ministers desiring
theological education usually learned what they could through an
apprenticeship with a local pastor. However, Dwight, the president of
Yale College and grandson of Jonathan Edwards, believed something
more than a liberal arts education and a mentor were needed to
prepare future pastors. So before the first seminary class was
offered in America, Dwight sought to answer the question, Why go to
seminary? His answers may be 204 years old, but they can still help
us today.
1. Time to Study
Dwight explained that the new seminary would give
future ministers sufficient, undistracted time to learn. Too often,
he lamented, men began their ministries “very imperfectly fitted
for their profession,” because they didn't have enough money to
“pursue their studies through a sufficient length of time.”
Andover sought to address this problem by providing instruction, use
of books, and, “at least to a considerable extent,” housing and
living expenses.
The times of free seminary tuition, food, and
housing are long gone. Many today go into ministry “very
imperfectly fitted” because they don't think they can afford the
years or money needed to obtain a seminary education. Of those who do
attend, too many are burdened with excessive student loans.
Seminaries that can keep tuition low and provide substantial
scholarships and grants provide a great service to future pastors and
their churches. This kind of investment should be a priority of every
denomination and local church. By serving students in this way,
churches will also bless themselves with pastors who have taken the
time to prepare for ministry.
2. The Library
One of the greatest strengths of Andover Seminary,
Dwight argued, was that it would have a library “sufficiently
various, and extensive, for the purposes intended.” Full-time
students have lots of time to read—-more than they'll ever have in
full-time ministry. Broad and deep reading is one of the main
purposes of seminary. Professors are there to teach and mentor, but
also to force you to read. As you read, you learn and grow, you learn
how to read, and you learn what's worth reading.
You can't afford all the books, journals, articles,
and dictionaries you're required to read. That's why strong
seminaries and divinity schools have extensive and growing libraries.
A good library gives you access to vast amounts of knowledge and
distilled wisdom you cannot find online. If you're in seminary, take
advantage of the library—-you'll miss it when you're gone.
3. The Faculty
Mastering any one of the “branches of theological
learning” (Bible, apologetics, systematic theology, church history,
practical theology) is enough to exhaust “the utmost talents of a
single man.” Therefore, Dwight observed, it's impossible for a
single pastor to teach all these disciplines to those he mentors. If
there were a pastor “ever so competent,” his other pastoral
duties would make it “impossible for him to command sufficient time
to communicate the knowledge, which ought to be considered as
indispensable.”
The seminary, on the other hand, has professors who
devote themselves to a level of study and teaching that isn't
possible for a single pastor. Don't misunderstand Dwight (or me).
There are things your pastor can teach you that no seminary professor
can. That's why local churches must not outsource pastoral training
to the seminaries. But there are also things that a good seminary can
teach you that most pastors have neither the time nor ability to
teach. In most cases, it takes both a good local church pastor and a
good seminary faculty to train a good future pastor.
4. The Other Students
“All ministers ought to be friends.” And in
order to develop friendships, they have to know each other. However,
Dwight explained, when “ministers are educated separately and
solitarily, this knowledge, in ordinary cases, cannot exist.” But
at a seminary, “being educated together, being of the same age,
pupils of the same instructors, tenants of the same buildings,
engaged in the same delightful pursuits, and actuated, as we may
reasonably hope, by the same spirit, they can hardly fail to be
of one accord, and of one mind.”
Good seminaries strengthen the unity between
churches by building bonds between ministers. The friendships you
build while you're in seminary will strengthen your ministry for
years to come. The guy who sits next to you in 8 a.m. Hebrew class
may someday lead his church to support your missionaries. The couple
you meet at orientation may pray for you and your family for the rest
of your life. The classmate you study with for a final may someday
labor beside you for reformation in your denomination. So go to
seminary, devote yourself to reading, and learn all you can from your
professors. But don't fail to invest time in relationships while
you're there.
5. The Doctrine
In making his case that such a thing as a seminary
was needed, Dwight concluded by assuring his hearers, “The
doctrines, which will be taught here, are the doctrines of the
Reformation.” He went on to explain how Andover's teaching
would be biblical and orthodox and beneficial for building up the
church. The seminary, Dwight assured his listeners, would exist for
the benefit of the churches.
In 1808 there was only one seminary in America.
Today there are dozens. But the fact remains that a seminary's most
important task is to pass on sound doctrine to the next generation of
pastors for the benefit of the churches. Choose a seminary that takes
this responsibility seriously, and you will bless both yourself and
your future church.
All citations are from
Timothy Dwight, A
Sermon Preached at the Opening of the Theological Institution in
Andover (Boston: Farrand, 1808).
No comments:
Post a Comment