Don't let the picture fool you
The Gospel Coalition asked some prominent leaders how they would change the seminary process. Here is one of my professors’ response:
What’s the one thing I would change about seminary education? If I were king and could wave my magical scepter, I would radically change the basic agenda of seminary.
After 22 years of teaching in a seminary, I slowly began to realize something. We were not preparing the kinds of leaders that evangelical churches in North America need. Let’s face it; evangelicalism has seen better days. God is at work in many places and in many ways, but on the whole, the news is not good. Our numbers are dwindling; our theology is unraveling; our zeal for Christ is dissipating. Now more than ever, we need seminaries to give the church leaders who are empowered by the Spirit for radical, sacrificial devotion to Christ and his Kingdom. And they’d better do it quickly.
I was recently in China, talking with the president of a house church network of over one million people. He asked me for advice on preparing the next generation of pastors. I looked at him and said, “The only thing I know is what you should not do.” He smiled and asked, “What’s that?” My reply surprised him. “You should not do what we have done in the West. The results of that approach have become clear.”
The agenda of evangelical seminaries are set primarily by scholars. Professors decide how students will spend their time; they determine students’ priorities; they set the pace. And guess what. Scholars’ agenda seldom match the needs of the church.
Can you imagine what kind of soldiers our nation would have if basic training amounted to reading books, listening to lectures, writing papers and taking exams? We’d have dead soldiers. The first time a bullet wizzed past their heads on the battlefield, they’d panic. The first explosion they saw would send them running. So, what is basic training for the military? Recruits learn the information they need to know, but this is a relatively small part of their preparation. Most of basic training is devoted to supervised battle simulation. Recruits are put through harrowing emotional and physical stress. They crawl under live bullet fire. They practice hand to hand combat.
If I could wave a magic scepter and change seminary today, I’d turn it into a grueling physical and spiritual experience. I’d find ways to reach academic goals more quickly and effectively and then devote most of the curriculum to supervised battle simulation. I’d put students through endless hours of hands-on service to the sick and dying, physically dangerous evangelism, frequent preaching and teaching the Scriptures, and days on end of fasting and prayer. Seminary would either make them or break them.
Do you know what would happen? Very few young men would want to attend. Only those who had been called by God would subject themselves to this kind of seminary. Yet, they would be recruits for Kingdom service, not mere students. They would be ready for the battle of gospel ministry.
Dr. Richard Pratt President, Third Millennium Ministries
I would agree that we spent far too much time in classrooms, and not enough doing field work. I remember reading Iain Murray’s biography on Jonathan Edwards. At times he actually lived with a pastor who was his tutor in theology/languages. He would also follow the pastor. There was much learning “on the job” under the wing of a more experienced man.
In seminary I had an internship. Since I was still in transition from Calvinistic baptist to Presbyterian I didn’t really fit anywhere. I did my internship at the Rescue Mission where I worked. I got to preach far more than most seminary students (apparently I needed the practice more than they did), often with no notice. I did plenty of counseling. I had to go make sure someone was dead and call the police. I held the arms of a man who attempted suicide with a broken light bulb until the EMTs arrived. I had to help people after seizures.
Thankfully I was also able to teach SS. I was worshiping at a church that didn’t seem to want to use me. One of the Associates would offer me opportunities, but the Sr. pastor largely shut me out. I’m grateful for my time at the Rescue Mission. I guess it didn’t prepare me to deal with widows, power brokers and the well-dressed. But I dealt with many things my peers did not.
But churches didn’t see it that way. They thought I had “no experience”.
I think we need to do plenty of reading- but Pratt is right. We need to spend far more time sweating, serving, praying and evangelizing. I think we could even do away with degrees. The point is competency: in knowledge and ability. Both can be gained without a formal education. Perhaps we should shift back to the old days- an experienced pastor assigning work in theology and languages, and overseeing their development of skills “on the job”.
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I’ve just started reading Baptism: Three Views. Burned out on baptism books after years of studying this topic, I was drawn to the fact that Sinclair Ferguson is one of the contributors. So far I have read Bruce Ware’s defense of first baptism by immersion and secondly credobaptism. The pages are filled with red ink as I took exception to some really lousy arguments by someone I otherwise respect. Ferguson’s response to his essay exposed some serious flaws in this thinking and his inconsistency with his own denomination’s definition of baptism. But all of that is for another day. This book is only $3.20.
In the 3rd chapter of his little book, 
Cavman Considers 