A piece on the changing nature of seminary as published by the Christian Standard.
I am a statistical anomaly. I am a young minister who went to seminary almost immediately after receiving my undergraduate degree. More and more, people like me are opting to bypass seminary and go directly into full-time ministry.
Some of these individuals have been spectacularly successful. The incredible stories of new churches being planted and existing ones becoming vibrant again make me think about the time, effort, and resources spent on a seminary degree, and I wonder: Was it worth it?
Has a world of blogs, conferences, and books made a seminary degree obsolete?
You can read the rest of the piece at the ChristianStandard.com
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I’m one of those combinations where I’m entering (at some point, hopefully soon) ministry, while starting seminary last fall.
While I agree that there are many successful people that are in ministry that didn’t attend seminary, (and I pray that I will be one of those folks), I still want to go to seminary, so I can be a better pastor and servant
I grew up in a Christian home, where I was taught the Scriptures from an early age. I went to a Christian school for 10 years. I’ve been saturated with the Word through weekly worship and daily reading since I can remember.
Yet…
After being at seminary for just seven months, I can safely say I knew very little before coming here. The in-depth approach to everything about the Scriptures and ministry is a must for future ministers. For the sake of time, I had wished I could skip these three years. However, now I fully understand the importance of what I am learning, and I am grateful that I will know these things when I am shepherding a church in the near future.
I would, however, recommend a seminary that makes sure you are working with a local church. My seminary requires 400 hours of internships. Most seminaries do, but just make sure you are working at the practical level while learning at the intellectual level.
From a professional and financial perspective, it is obviously better to have a Masters degree, preferably an MDiv. Some seminaries only require the bare minimum, which is around 75 credit hours. My advice: find one that is 90-100. RTS Charlotte is where I attend, and it’s 106 credit hours. Westminster in Philly is even more than that. It’s a lot, but it’s well worth it if you can do it!