February 8, 2010 - Criticisms about Going to Seminary

 I speak at many events for college students, and consequently, have frequent conversations with them about ministry, theology, and personal issues related to helping them find and follow God’s will. 

One of the common conversations centers on objections students have about going to seminary. Most of these objections, when they are willing to reveal their source, have originated with people who either didn’t attend seminary or blame their seminary experience for problems they have experienced in life or ministry. College students (remember, they are in college) don’t necessarily object to formal ministry training at a seminary. But they have heard reasons why seminary is either unnecessary (at the least) or even harmful to their future ministry. 

Here are some of the common questions or complaints about seminary, along with some of my responses. 

*Seminary training takes too long. Seminary training takes about as long as law school and less time than medical school. Would you want your attorney or physician to short cut their training? We should not validate a short-cut method for training ministry leaders for eternal purposes. While three years for a Master of Divinity degree seems like a long time, it is really a very short time of preparation for a 30 or 40 year ministry to follow! 

*Seminary training is out-of-date. Seminary training focuses on the timeless theological and theoretical foundations for ministry. Mastering these will help you analyze contemporary culture and ministry methods, rather than being controlled by them or chasing after the latest, greatest how-to seminar. Seminars to teach current, flavor-of-the-moment programs are most helpful when added to a solid foundation – not when they are the only resource a leader has. 

*Seminary training costs too much. You’ve got to be kidding! Check Southern Baptist seminary prices against graduate or professional school tuition and you will be shocked. Seminary is the least expensive graduate training in any profession. 

*Seminary drains your spiritual passion. Some school, somewhere, might do this. Golden Gate will not. Passion will be harnessed and focused, but not intentionally diminished by formal training. Often seminary training becomes the scapegoat for lost spiritual passion, not the real cause. 

Sometimes, the people who speak negatively about seminary astound me. I was recently speaking on a program with a prominent pastor. He said, in his message just before mine, seminary was irrelevant to contemporary ministry effectiveness. He said the audience could be trained just as well in his church-based leadership program. Of course, it struck me as odd that he had TWO earned seminary degrees from a Southern Baptist seminary! Wonder where he got the knowledge, skills, discipline, and vision for creating his leadership program? Oh well, I guess seminary was good enough to give him a foundation for a lifetime of ministerial effectiveness but no one else needs it. 

So, before you decide attending seminary takes too long, is an out of date, costs too much, or drains your passion – go visit a campus and talk to some students. Not the recruiting office – just some regular students who are experiencing the process. You will be glad you did…and you will probably be joining them soon!



Questions or comments? Please email those to jeffiorg@ggbts.edu

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