Top 10 for New Seminary Students

A new semester is upon us and I thought, in a gesture of good will, that it would be nice to write a "Top Ten" list for new seminary students.  These are things that I did which worked well, things I failed to do which I regret, and things that I wish I had known when I showed up in Saint Louis.  The list could be expanded (it is mostly focused on the classroom side of things), and if any other seminary students or pastors read this, feel free to add things in the comments.

My top 10 pieces of advise for new seminary students:

10.  Get organized - You will be busy.  You will be very busy.  If you have a job, you'll be busier.  If you have a wife, you'll be even busier.  If you have kids, you'll be busier still.  Believe me, if you have none of those things, there will be plenty of things to keep you busy.  I've yet to meet a student who has had too much time to work on a paper or project.  One of the most important things that you can do is to get organized.  As soon as you get your assignments, plan your semester.  Know when things are due and guess at how long they will take.  Organize files for papers and notes.  Organize the files on your computer into semeseters and classes.  Start organizing your library.  Organize your personal life as well (bills, calender and so forth).  The better organized that you are at the beginning, the easier life will be in crunch time.

9.  Find a church home - Here in St. Louis the number of PCA churches is staggering.  Add the other good churches in the greater St. Louis area, and you could be looking for a church home well into your third year. In my opinion, this isn't an ideal situation.  Visit some churches.  Ask your neighbors where they go and what their church is like.  Visit the ones where you think you can worship and minister.  Once you find one, stick with it. You will need the spiritual support of a good church.

8.  Go to chapel - Chapel here at Covenant is outstanding.  It is one of the best ways to keep all of the knowledge that you will gain in proper perspective.  We aren't here just to learn, we are here to become closer to Jesus.  In chapel you will hear the gospel in word and song.  You will hear from some of the best preachers around.  It is worth your time.  Don't be legalistic about it.  If you need to study for an exam, study for an exam, but try to get in the habit of going as often as you can.

7.  Serve - A professor here told me that one of the best ways to ensure that the knowledge that you gain here is not just academic is to serve.  Serve in anyway you can.  It may be ushering for your church, serving in nursery, participating in mercy ministries, helping with youth group, or any number of other things.  It does not really matter how you are serving, but your time here and all of the knowledge that you gain will be put to better use if you make service a priority.

6.  Get to know your classmates - During seminary you will likely form bonds with people that you will carry through your future ministry.  Spend some time and get to know people.  Study with them, help them if they are in need, pray together, eat together, have fun together.  Your classmates here are not your competition, they are your support.  The seminary does a wonderful job of facilitating this, so use the resources that they provide.  Not everybody here is wonderful.  There are some bad eggs.  There will be many people whom you will meet here that will be growing in grace just like you.  There are very few people (though there are some) who are the same now as when they got here, so get to know your classmates and grow with them.

5.  Do the reading -This may be the single most difficult aspect of seminary.  It was for me.  I don't read very quickly, so it was a real struggle to keep up, but try your hardest.  You will get more out of your classes if you do the reading.  You will understand the subject matter better if you do the reading.  The professors here are pretty smart.  They know what a good book is.  Trust them.  If they think you should read it in preparation for ministry, you probably should.

4.  Go to office hours - I did not do this during my first semester here and it is one of my greatest regrets.  Sign up for office hours.  Your professors are intelligent, experienced, graceful pastors.  Any time that you spend with them is time well spent.  Don't waste thier time.  Go into the office prepared with questions and items that you want to discuss.  Then, just see where the conversation goes.

3.  Ask for help - Do not be afraid to ask for help.  If you are stuck or struggling in class, use your professors, classmates, teacher's assistants, upper class-men, and pastors as a resource.  There is no shame in admitting that you aren't quite understanding.  It is okay to ask for an extension if something serious comes up (but do so knowing that the professor may say no).  Form some study groups.  Do research as part of a group.  Be willing to help others as well.  If you find something great, share it with your classmates.

2.  Be humble - This one is not easy.  If you get a good grade, it is easy to let it go to your head.  If you grasp a topic that one of your classmates is struggling with, it can make you feel superior.  When you go to church on Sunday, you'll have more knowledge and more resources at your disposal than most people in your church.  It can be tough to be humble.  Remember two things: 1. There are a lot of people at the seminary (classmates and professors) who are smarter and more talented than you.  2. Seminary is not a competition.  You are here to learn to serve and use your gifts.  If a classmate is struggling and you could help him but choose not to, then you have failed.  This is a time to strengthen and encourage each other in the Lord.  We are all hear to learn, and learning is difficult without humility.

1.  Be patient - You will not "get" everything.  There will be subjects and parts of subjects that will be difficult, or that you might not understand fully.  You will be confronted with a lot of new ideas and faced with new ways of thinking, and you will not understand them all the first (and sometimes second or third) time.  Be patient.  Seminary is the beginning of a journey, not the end of one.  You will not leave with all of the answers.  Seminary is a place where you learn how to seek the answers, how to read your Bible well.  Be patient with yourself as you are challenged and as you grow.

Finally, and this should be a part of all ten of the things mentioned above, don't forget to seek God.  Do not forget to pray.  Do not forget to read your Bible.  Remember that you are here to be trained as a minister and servant of God and His people.  Place your heart in God's hands and seek Him throughout your seminary experience.

Seminary can be a wonderful.  Covenant certainly is.  Enjoy the time you have been given to learn from your pastors, teachers, books, and friends.  But, above all else, seek the Lord.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Pastors or Scholars?

When I was accepted to Covenant Seminary, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I had been told by many people that it was a great school.  Every Covenant graduate that I met was extremely happy about the time they spent here.  When my wife and I visited the seminary, we came away very impressed.  Instead of "selling" the school during our admissions interview we were advised to confirm our calling to ministry before we decided to come.  In spite of these great endorsements, however, one never is quite sure if a move halfway across the country is really ever a great idea.  I have been here for about six months, and the question "was it worth it?" has been met by an emphatic, "YES!"  I am quite sure that God led me to the right seminary.


There are plenty of seminaries that will give you a good education.  Covenant is no exception.  A quick browse through the faculty shows degrees from Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge, and so forth.  This is not exceptional.   Our professors write articles for journals, have books published, and speak at conferences.  In class we interact with the thoughts and writings of important Christian thinkers and ideas.  We talk about accusativus cum infinitivo in Greek, about Schleiermacher in systematic theology, about critical realism and speech-act theory in our hermeneutics class, and about Aristotle's "On Rhetoric" in homiletics.  All seminaries do these things.  With all of this academic rigor in any seminary curriculum, it is little wonder that many people jokingly call seminary a cemetery.  In fact, Google returned 3.7million hits in 0.36 seconds for the phrase "seminary cemetery."


This, though, is far from the case here at Covenant.  While Dr. Bayer did strongly hint at the existence of a cemetery on campus for students who died learning Greek (a situation that he made sound quite common), Covenant has been a place where one not only grows in knowledge, but in love and faith as well.  At our orientation we were told that the seminary's pedagogical goal was not to put facts in our heads (though they certainly do), but to make us closer to Jesus.  One imagines that many seminaries say this, but here, they mean it.  


Every class in every course is designed to help us not only know about God, but to show us why and how to love Him.  Our professors demonstrate this love of God everyday.  They preach the Gospel to us and show us how to help others understand it.  This is not just something they know in the abstract, it is something they believe and trust in.  Just this past week three professors in different classes were brought to the point of tears when talking about the beauty of the Gospel.  It is real and it is powerful.


The Gospel should change us.  It should change how we view God, of course, but also impact how we love other Christians, our neighbor, and the creation.  Here, at Covenant, one catches a glimpse of what lives transformed by the Gospel really look like in an educational setting.  Here is a community where the Gospel is the center and the effects are pervasive.  I am very thankful that I was led to this place, and I pray that my life will exemplify the change wrought in me by the Gospel.  If it is reflected in me even half as powerfully as it is reflected in my professors then the seminary will have met it's goal: producing people who love Jesus more.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Competition at Seminary

It was an odd way to begin an academic career.  Almost from kindergarten, school has been a competition.  But when Dr. Guthrie addressed the incoming class at Covenant Seminary at the beginning of this past semester, the tone was markedly different.

He stood up before a room of eager incoming students and told us that our career in seminary was not about us.  It isn't about us looking good.  It isn't about us looking smart.  It isn't about having our intellectual itch scratched.  It is about the people that we would be pastoring when we leave seminary.  It is about our brothers that we will minister with.  It is about growing in our love of the Lord.

Because of these things, our experience at Covenant  is to be an experience of community.  Instead of competing with each other, we support, love, and care for each other.  The professors intentionally give us group assignments, and even finals, because it's not about us, but about the community of believers called the church.  If we do not learn this here, we may never do so.  If we don't learn this at seminary, we will do damage to our churches when we leave.

It is a lesson that is hard to learn.  Most of us at seminary have a certain type-A personality and a drive to learn.  It can be hard to take an exam and not wonder how you measure up.  It is difficult to unlearn what our educational and cultural institutions have taught us for so long.  But it is an important message.  It is something that, once grasped, will benefit others.  And that is a good thing, because, after all, it's not about me.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Finals Week

Things have been a bit stressful around here.  The pace of life has been relentless for the last month.  The last couple of weeks have seen a couple papers, a final project, and four final exams due in quick succession.  It has been some time since I have had to wrestle with this kind of stress.  I graduated from college in 2003 and I did not have children then.  These past few weeks have been a real learning experience in several ways.


First, and most obviously, I've learned and consolidated a lot of information during my preparation for finals.  My professors did an excellent job of choosing exam questions and assigning papers that underscored the major aspects of the lectures and readings that we had this semester.  


Secondly, I learned a lot about working in community (a big focus at the seminary).  In my beginning homiletics class, we had to write a sermon in a group of six.  The goal of this assignment was that we would teach each other, help each other understand more of the material, and to show us how to work together and compromise.  It was a good experience.  Our finished project is an interesting collection of different styles and diverse backgrounds.  Then, in my Introduction to Covenant Theology class, we took an oral exam as a group of three.  We learned to rely on and support each other, and to work for the benefit of the others in the group.  Both of these exercises help to prepare us for ministry.  In the future, as a member of a session, I must know how to work with others to lead the church.  These assignments are designed to begin to teach me these valuable skills.


Finally, I learned that my grades are not the only, or even most important thing.  There is certainly enough to do during finals that one could easily spend every waking moment studying, preparing for exams, and working on papers.  But, as a father and husband who is preparing for ministry, acing my exams while failing as a father and husband is not really preparation for ministry.  The qualification for being an elder is not academic brilliance, but faithfulness to one's calling, both as a Christian and as a husband or father (cf. 1 Timothy 3.1-7).  Not that I should be lazy and fail to work in my studies, but I should not study to the detriment of my family.  I am certainly not sure that I succeeded in living this out, but it is certainly a lesson for life in ministry that I will take out of the process.


As my first full-time semester at Covenant Theological Seminary comes to a close, I am thankful for all my professors and classmates who helped me learn these valuable lessons.  I am grateful to be at a place where teaching does not only occur in the classroom. I am thankful that the school is so focused on practical preparation for ministry and not just academic ability, while simultaneously pushing us to be scholars.  I am thankful that my family is patient with me as a learn to balance academics, family, and preparation for ministry.  Mostly, though, I'm thankful that my true worth is found in Christ, and not in my own efforts.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Greek

It seems appropriate, in light of the exam that I took yesterday, to write about the experience of taking first year Greek in seminary.  It is a right of passage for all first year seminary students.  A crucible to refine and soften us.  I have no military background, but I think the analogy of boot camp for your brain would be appropriate.  


It is a frustrating process.  The majority of the task is relentless memorization.  Memorization of vocabulary.  Memorization of noun declensions.  Memorization of verb inflection.  Memorization of rules.  Memorization of when to break the rules.  And worst of all, memorization of principal parts.

On the surface, this seems like a mere academic endeavor.  Sure, you get to know the feel and meaning of the New Testament more fully, but you don't need it to understand the Bible, especially with the many language tools available.  In fact, I imagine at some seminaries and graduate schools, Greek is mere academic exercise.  Here, though, things are different.

Two weeks ago I met with Dr. Bayer to discuss preparing for the exam.  While we talked about learning the language I mentioned how much I appreciated his exegetical insights and his wonderfully devotional prayers.  He responded by sharing the motivation that he and his colleagues share in the language classes.  Greek, he said, is not just about learning a language, but about building community as we study and struggle together.  It is about learning humility.  It is about managing stress and time.  It is about relying on God.  It is about our sanctification.

As much as I enjoy being able to read a Greek New Testament, and as valuable as that will prove in my ministry, the process of sanctification that I am going through and the peers who share that experience with me are the real benefits of learning the language.  I have made some very good friends as we study, struggle, and learn together.  These are relationships that will be with me long after the fourth principle part of ἐρκομαι has been lost somewhere in my memory.

I am truly blessed to have professors who see their task of getting facts into our heads as secondary to growing Jesus in our hearts.  I am blessed to have classmates and friends who encourage me when I'm down, motivate me when I'm tired, commiserate with me when I'm frustrated, and celebrate with me when I manage to pass a quiz or test.  Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who is my Father.  A Father who has graciously put people in my life who can help me see the spiritual benefit of a seemingly "academic" task.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

A Lecture Worth Hearing

On Thursday at Covenant Seminary, Dr. Sklar lectured on the Exodus community.  We are beginning to study hermeneutics.  Since the Pentateuch was written to the Exodus community, the professors want us to know and understand that community.  In so doing, we can better understand the text and how it related to its original audience.

We began our discussion with God's revelation of His name to Moses at the burning bush.  He is YHWH.  He is the God who is known by His action in the world.  He is the one who made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  He promised Abraham in Genisis 12.1-3, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”


 As the Israelites in Egypt looked around, they could see that they were indeed a great nation.  If God kept this promise, surely He will keep the rest of the promises of His covenant.  The God of promise, Yahweh, is their king.  He is all-powerful.  He keeps His promises.  He is Israel's covenant-keeping God and Lord.

As they wandered out from Egypt into the desert and faced trials, they knew that they had a Sovereign, all-powerful God who had adopted them as His children.  As His children, they were to be about the Father's business.  As Dr. Williams said, "What God is doing in Abraham redemptively is what God intended to do with Adam creatively."  Israel was God's redeemed people.  They were part of His re-creation through a redeemed, covenant people.

Because God is who He is, each and every Israelite could look back to this event, the Exodus, and know that God keeps His promises.  They are to remember this during the Passover.  They are to confess the Lord's grace to them.  They are to remember His salvation.  They were called out of Egypt to the land, not just for rescue, but to do something.  They were to be a nation of priests, a holy nation.

The Exodus was God's great redemptive act for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.  As this community received the Pentateuch, they were to look back on God's faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham and have faith that he would uphold His word.  And in that confidence, they were to be what Adam failed to be.

The Pentateuch, then, answers the questions of a people half way to the destination, a people wandering in the wilderness.  "How do we know we will inherit the promises?"  "How do we praise God?"  "What is a faithful member of the community?"  "What is a kingdom of priests?"  And most importantly, "Who is Yahweh?"

Today, there has been yet another great redemptive act of God.  God Himself has come to earth to be what Adam could not, and what Israel could not.  God, through Christ, was reconciling us to Himself.  Jesus fulfilled the promises made to Abraham.  He is the "seed" of the promise.  He has reconciled us to God and has made us, His church, a nation of priests, a holy nation.  And so we, like the Exodus community, are to be about our Father's business.  Out of love for God we are to live lives of service to Him.  We should live as a thankful people.  That thankfulness should cause us to live a life that is pleasing to Him.  As Calvin said in his Institutes, “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law." (1,2,2)

As Paul says in Romans 12.1, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Stress and Contentment

I have been in seminary for about half a semester.  In those two months, I have learned that life in seminary is very stressful.  New seminarians face time pressure, financial pressure, academic pressure, and family pressure.   Many of us are coming from good careers into a world of uncertainty.

As I interact with talented professors and peers thoughts creep into my mind that question my sufficiency for the calling to vocational ministry.  There are many here who are better equipped than I, and I wonder if in four years time I will have done well enough to find a church calling.  There is no doubt that most of my peers would concur, seminary is stressful.

What is ironic about the stress of seminary, though, is that the remedy for this stress is preached to us daily.  In class, in chapel, at church, and in our reading seminarians are faced daily with the Gospel.  Our sufficiency in Christ is demonstrated daily.  The realization that we are never good enough is proclaimed and accepted.

In the first lecture in my beginning homiletics class, Dr. Chapell highlighted this.  It is not until we realize our insufficiency that we will be able to preach with any efficiency.  If I do not know that I need God's grace, I'll never be able to proclaim that grace to others.

As I stay up until after midnight studying, or wake up at 5:00am to review paradigms, I must remember that I am not here working for myself.  I am here working for Christ, His kingdom, and His church.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

My heart I offer

In my first systematic theology class at Covenant Seminary, one of my professors suggested that each of us in the class choose one modern, and one ancient pastor/theologian as mentors.  His intention is that we get to know two of our fathers in the faith as intimately as possible.  Mostly, this means that we read everything that they put on paper.

I am still undecided about the modern theologian (any suggestions would be welcome), but I knew straight away who the ancient would be:  John Calvin.

I first became acquainted with Calvin's work during my undergrad.  I didn't really read him until the summer of 2010 when I started reading the Institutes.  Instead of the stodgy, rationalistic, ethereal man I expected to find, I found a passionate pastor who loved the Bible.  He is brilliant, to be sure, but his writting is pastoral and deep.  It takes some time and work to read him, separated as we are by nearly 500 years and different languages, but the effort is worth it.

The title of this blog is "My heart I offer."  I took this from Calvin's motto, "My heart I offer, Lord, promptly and sincerely."  For me that is a prayer and a goal.

This blog will contain reflections.  Here I hope to reflect on theology, on life at seminary, and on preparation for the ministry.  It may be a bit amorphous at the beginning, and as schoolwork piles up, my blogs may be sporadic as well.  In all of it, though, I hope it will live up to the title.

My heart I offer, Lord, quickly and sincerely.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."