15 Things Seminary Couldn't Teach Me

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Pub Date 31 Mar 2018 | Archive Date 05 Mar 2018

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Description

This book aims to help young pastors bridge the gap between seminary training and ministry in a local church, offering real-world wisdom from the experience of veteran pastors.

This book aims to help young pastors bridge the gap between seminary training and ministry in a local church, offering real-world wisdom from the experience of veteran pastors.


A Note From the Publisher

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Advance Praise

“Many come to seminary thinking that it will teach them everything they need to know for ministry, but seminary is the foundation, not the entire building. Some things are learned only through on-the-job training; which is to say, some things are learned only in life and in ministry. Hansen and Robinson have brought together a number of essays that convey the struggles and joys of pastoral ministry. They remind us that all successful pastoral ministry is a miracle, that apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Here we find words of wisdom that will help prepare future and present pastors for the road ahead.”
Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“What would it be like if you could sit down with a dozen or so veteran pastors who have learned from their own successes and failures? What would you ask them, as an aspiring pastor or other church officer? This book is very helpful for all who realize that seminary can’t teach them everything.”
Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California; Host, White Horse Inn; author, Core Christianity

“In the few years of instruction it offers, a seminary cannot do everything. Often what is missing is getting oriented to the relational things that come with ministry, something a classroom does not teach us. Here is a book that tackles those other, mostly relational things. It does so with sensitivity and wisdom. I commend this book for the heart it can give to your ministry.”
Darrell L. Bock, Executive Director of Cultural Engagement, The Hendricks Center, Dallas Theological Seminary

“We are blessed in our modern day to have some wonderful seminaries. And yet even the strongest seminaries fall short of equipping men with the practical tools every pastor needs in ministry. That is one of the many reasons this book is a brilliant, needed resource. 15 Things Seminary Couldn’t Teach Me is a gift not just for every seminary-trained pastor, but also for every man laboring in the trenches of pastoral ministry. An all-star cast of pastors has been assembled to fill this long-exposed gap in the training of pastors.”
Brian Croft, Senior Pastor, Auburndale Baptist Church; Founder, Practical Shepherding; Senior Fellow, Mathena Center for Church Revitalization, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“I’ve come to realize that no matter how much seminary teaches us, there remain some massive lessons that no number of degrees can impart. Since the first step to learning is finding out what we do not know, open this book and begin a ministry-long educational journey in fifteen of the most important subjects of your life.”
David Murray, Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

“Going to seminary is about more than picking up a few skills and getting an education. It is about getting a life. This book is about the contours of such a life, a life of ministry replete with swerves and curves, but sustained all the while by the grace of a God who calls and keeps. Every seminary student should read this book.”
Timothy George, Founding Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; general editor, Reformation Commentary on Scripture

“I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to receive seminary training. Learning from men who have spent years thinking about biblical and theological matters can be invaluable. Tools and disciplines that I took away from my years of formal education have served me well. But no amount of seminary training can completely prepare a man for pastoral ministry. This book, by faithful men who have both years and scars in gospel ministry, is full of wisdom. Every pastor and aspiring pastor should read and benefit from their experience.”
Thomas Ascol, Executive Director, Founders Ministries; Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, Florida

“Many come to seminary thinking that it will teach them everything they need to know for ministry, but seminary is the foundation, not the entire building. Some things are learned only through...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781433558146
PRICE $17.99 (USD)

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INTRODUCTION

One of the temptations that many young seminarians (and even churches!) will face is the temptation to believe the lie that a seminary degree(s) fully prepares a man for all the rigors of pastoral ministry. At just over one year into my first full-time ministry position in the context of the local church, I’m fully aware of how helpful seminary was for me with respect to rightly handling the word of God in Christ. I’m also more aware than ever that there are aspects of my ministry position that seminary never came close to addressing. In order to help young ministers understand both the limitations of seminary training and the need for training in the context of the church, Collin Hanson and Jeff Robinson have edited 15 Things Seminary Couldn’t Teach Me.

SUMMARY

15 Things Seminary Couldn’t Teach Me is comprised of fifteen chapters from fifteen different pastors and churchmen that each articulate valuable ministry lessons learned not in the seminary classroom, but in the classroom of the local church. The chapters collectively come down to relational leadership lessons. The local church is the crucible where a pastor learns concretely how to lovingly lead his wife and kids to Christlikeness. The local church is where a pastor understands how to lovingly lead people, people who may be suffering, people who may be in conflict (even with him!), and people who are different from him for the glory of Christ. It’s even in the local church where pastors learn about themselves and their need to fight for their relationship with God, where the idolatries of making a name for one’s self can be exposed, and where humility is tested regarding ministry positions one applies for upon seminary graduation that may or may not result in being hired.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

Overall, the book is helpful as men who’ve served in ministry positions for various tenures pass along gospel wisdom to young ministers to help prepare them for the challenges that come with leading sinful-but-redeemed people in this already-not yet age of the kingdom of Christ with faithfulness, joy, longevity, and love. Leading in love is a repeated theme throughout the book. One may begin to learn how to study, exposit, and preach the Bible well in seminary; yet, the seminary isn’t the church. It’s only in the context of applying the truths and principles learned in seminary to flesh and blood people in the church where pastors learn, work, and grow to love and lead fallen people in a fallen world to look more like King Jesus. Seminary can teach a man about loving and leading well, but serving the body of Christ is where loving leadership is learned experientially.

One of the most challenging statements of the book for me came in chapter 7 on raising one’s kids to love the church. Matt McCullough writes, “If our children feel like the church is their competition for our time and affection, it will always be difficult for them to love the church. So we have to prove to them in the structures of our normal lives that we prioritize them” (71). The same can be said of our spouses as well. What I’m not sure I or my family expected with the current ministry position I have as Church Administrator is just how much I would enjoy it. There are ministry opportunities I get to do that I would gladly do in my free time if I were not on staff at a church, which means that, for me, it’s often really hard to stop doing this pleasurable “work” called ministry, even more so when ministry doesn’t have 9-5 hours that tell me when to stop for the day. Yet, as a man who loves the church and who wants his family to love the church, I have to constantly work on putting down the phone or the laptop when I’m home with no emergency ministry needs to address so that my family doesn’t feel like they have to compete with the church for me. McCullough’s words were a helpful reminder of a truth talked about in seminary but learned through application in the church.

While this book could contain an endless number of chapters, one worth consideration for addition would be a chapter on local church finances. While my seminary experience included one class session on church budgeting, it did not sufficiently train me to oversee millions of dollars in giving revenue; work with ministry leaders to craft a yearly budget; or to navigate the financial, legal, and leadership issues regarding the acquisition and selling of church property respecting our church planting and growth efforts. Yet, pastors must be prepared to lead the church in all capacities for the sake of the gospel, including financially, and it’s often in the local church where such an education occurs.

CONCLUSION

15 Things Seminary Couldn’t Teach Me is one of those books that would be helpful reading for current seminary students and for those who’ve graduated from seminary within five years. A seminary degree is helpful, but it’s not sufficient for pastoral ministry. The local church, served by seminaries, is where pastors are made, and the churchmen who contribute to this resource clearly demonstrate this reality. May the wisdom presented in this book help reorient our understanding of the roles of seminary and the church for ministry preparation, and may pastors be equipped to love the bride of Jesus better as a result.

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