Talk about being a slacker… One measly post this week and it was merely a job ad. Hopefully I can get my act together this week, but I guess only time will tell if I can do that… Until then, since I was a slacker this week, I’ll try to make up for it in one post.

Two Cent Tuesday - Saturday Edition

Saturday is always strange for me because I never know what to expect. On any given Saturday I am as likely to have a project for work, as I am to have school work to do, as I am to have a list of honey-do’s around the house. While I always have something on my plate, I do typically try to spend at least half the day with my wife and kids. I also attempt to get a 30 minute nap in there somewhere. In the end, Saturday is like a half day off for me. Mix that with, typically, a whole day off on Sunday and I am usually ready to go come Monday. So, what’s your Saturday like?

Thrifty Thursday - Saturday Savings

Well, tomorrow is Mother’s Day and my mom happens to be in town tonight. So, in true best-mom-in-the-world fashion, she has offered to watch the kids and give Just a Gal and I a date night. As I was looking online to decide where we should go for dinner, I was reminded of a really great date resource: Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com is a great site that offers you some instant savings on dinner. The gist of the site is that you can buy a gift certificate to a restaurant at a very discounted price. Typically you can get a $10 gift certificate for $3 or a $25 gift certificate for $10. Now, you can only use one per visit, but that is a pretty nice little savings on dinner. Also, if you sign up for an account, they typically send out discount codes towards the end of the month and you can get an even greater discount. Major score on those nights.

One final note… when you buy your gift certifiate and print it out, don’t forget to take it with you! Sad to say I’ve done that more than one! Sheesh.

A link for all you would-be-Ph.D’s

Here is a great post by Sean Michale Lucas on Ministrial Students, Calling, and PhD Studies. It is incredibly insightful and is worth reading for all seminarians. Along with the original post, there is a LENGTHY comment section that I suspect will only get longer once you visit the post. Enjoy.

I realized that it has been a while since I’ve written a post for all you out there who are considering seminary. Since the summer is approaching and there are a number of you applying and making final decisions about the fall, I thought I’d throw out an idea I was thinking about the other day… namely, interviewing current students.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, it is actually quite easy to hunt down seminary students online (hmmm…. that sounded shadier than I intended). Anyway, my point is that if you are considering a seminary, it is highly likely that you can find a student (or students) who attend the seminary and have a blog. Simply google: “I attend Seminary Name” or Seminary name blog student and see what you get. Odds are, the search will get you on the right path.

Once you’ve found a seminary blogger, find their contact info and shoot them an email. Explain that you are considering attending their seminary and wanted a students insight. Most bloggers are are MORE than happy to give you their opinion. It is kind of the whole concept behind blogging…

Now, in giving this idea I feel it is also important to also say that you should take any replies you get with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, you don’t really know the person you contacted… they could have just bombed a test and, at that moment, have very unhappy thoughts about their seminary. So, keep that in mind. But, none the less, this is another way for you to navigate the tricky and sometimes overwhelming waters of selecting a seminary.

(If you give this a try, report back to us and let us know if it was helpful!)

I got an message via the contact form this morning that is certainly worth sharing. A web developer, John, from Dallas Theological Seminary sent me a link to a cool little program they wrote that will compare a number of seminaries across various criteria. While it doesn’t have every seminary or every category of information you might want, it is a really cool tool for those in the process of trying to select a seminary.

Also, I really appreciated that John said,

Of course, one can never choose a seminary based on these factors alone, but we thought it would helpfully summarize a lot of data that future seminarians are trying to wade through.

Remember, choosing a seminary isn’t as simple as clicking some checkboxes and waiting for a computer to tell you where to go to school. However, a tool like this can certainly help provide some good information, and better yet, let you see that information compared to other schools.

This post was written by Paul of The Long Way Home and Reform & Revive. Paul recently got accepted to Westminster Theological Seminary and is currently in his last semester at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Hello world, my name is Paul. Just A Guy asked me to help out while he was gone on vacation. Why me? Well, I represent a potentially significant portion of the visitors to the site that may seem underrepresented - the unmarried undergrad about to go into seminary. Just a couple of weeks ago I received my acceptance e-mail, phone text message, and letter from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. I am hoping to earn my Masters of Divinity in Pastoral Counseling there and then return to Richmond, Virginia (my current home) and help with counseling services in my church.

I only have three points in this post (I’m already getting my preaching experience in, huh?): an introduction, a story, and an exhortation. Seeing as the introduction has already occurred, a story is now due. I grew up being the guy who had such a passion and zeal for God it annoyed others, but nevertheless knew he was not called to be a pastor or hold any real office in a church. God made it very clear my entire life that He had not called me to that, while everyone else around me said otherwise. Then it happened. I don’t know when, exactly; I don’t know why. All I know is that about a year ago, God slowly started stirring something in me he hadn’t before. Nothing external in my life changed, He just started moving and changing me.

I see now God works in this way, and I’m okay with that. He never lied to me or deceived me, He simply had not called me yet. He allowed, ordained, and desired for me to develop under this assumption, because it caused me to hone skills, knowledge, and abilities to engage an unredeemed culture that I otherwise may not have. I realize now that God’s will is first and foremost what He works in and out of us, not where we go to school. We often see what He works in us as means to effect the environment around us. I see now quite the opposite is often true. The externals are the means to accomplish God’s primary goal, which is your sanctification. To work in You something that otherwise would be lacking, eternally preventing you from enjoying God in all His fullness and splendor. He is committed to not letting this happen, thus He will do all it takes to work those things in and out of you.

So now the exhortation. I’m moving north in a few short months. I have no place to live, no money for a place to live, no friends, no church, no support, no nothing in Philadelphia. Not only that, I’m terrified about the effect seminary will have on my spiritual life. I’m already “intellectual” and “theological” enough to easily make those things idols. I’m terrified. I’m scared. Add to that the reality of God’s preparation for all of this including a purging of my soul in such a way I’m seeing parts of myself I never knew were there. Parts so dark and depraved I wouldn’t be able to live apart form the grace of God that accompanies these “insights.” But you know what? For one reason or another it’s okay. Not because everything is going to work out with a nice ribbon on top. It may, or it may not. It’s okay because of who He is, and because I know that if this whole thing weren’t so difficult, I wouldn’t need Him, and it’s in my need I have Him most.

That’s the strange mystery of this whole Christianity thing: in the end, the goal is not anything that happens to you. The goal is a man, Jesus Christ, and so it is to that end that He works in and through and for and in spite of us daily, that we might look a little more like Him at the end. That is why, brothers, this whole ministry thing can not and should not be simple or easy. It should ruin us, crush us, drive us to our knees to taste the dirt falling from the sandal of our Master. Praise God there’s regeneration, that changes us so even dirt falling from Him taste sweeter than the finest pleasures and satisfactions this world has to offer. So be diligent, persevere, repent always, and know that you are more sinful than you could ever dare imagined, but more loved and accepted than you ever dared dream. To God alone be the glory. Thank you for you time in reading this.

Lord, let humility reign, truth remain, and set our affections upon You. Amen.

I don’t know what the deal is, but I’ve been reading a lot of research about seminary lately. This latest reading was a dissertation by Charles R. DeGroat who teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS). The work (made available here) looks into expectation versus reality among male graduates of seminary who entered the ministry.

In the work, DeGroat focuses on 7 graduates of RTS who, after graduation, went into parish ministry. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between expectations formed in seminary and the relationship to the reality experienced within the pastorate. For those of us who are M.Div students or those consider the pastorate after seminary, I would HIGHLY recommend reading the dissertation. Specifically, since I know you’re busy and probably aren’t looking to add another 156 pages to your reading list, I would recommend that you focus on the meaning units expressed by the 7 participants and DeGroat’s textural and structural descriptions (p.40-123).

In this section you can hear the thoughts of men (read the limitations section for why the study only included men) who have been in our shoes (as seminarians) and have since gone on to experience the reality of what we seek (the pastorate… and yes, I know that we’re not all going into the pastorate, I’m just talking to those who are.). In studying what these men share I believe that we have the opportunity to see the weaknesses in our seminary experience and, on our own initiative, take steps necessary to ensure that we will be better prepared to serve those to whom God will call us.

As a word of warning, don’t discount the study by saying, “oh, well my seminary is not like that one.” The reality is that no seminary truly provides a holistic preparation for ministry. Hearing the experience of these pastors will help you to see where their seminary failed to prepare them and will allow you to examine your experience more critically… hopefully resulting in a more successful seminary experience for you.

For those too lazy to download and read for your self (shame on you) here are just a FEW quotes from these pastors that I found enlightening as a seminarian and future pastor:

• I had to do a funeral three weeks into my first gig in ministry and I didn’t have freaking clue what to do.
• I wish I learned more about a number of practical ministry things - Weddings. Pastoral counseling. A dude’s kid was molested at one point, and I thought “some good my class notes are for this.” I mean, are you getting the disconnect?
• I expected that I’d grow spiritually in seminary. I didn’t. And then, I expected that I’d grow spiritually after seminary. And that happened a little. But it mostly didn’t happen. Because the busyness just doesn’t stop. You move from the busyness of papers and essays and exams to the busyness of getting a job to the busyness of preparing for ordination to the busyness of phone calls and hospital visits and teachings and kids being born and interviews with guys like you.
• If I could say one thing to the seminary, I’d say it’s no use graduating pastors who know how to pass an exam but are spiritually dead.
• And now I’m realizing that, as I reflect on my seminary experience, is that it was just too much information to absorb and process. So, you scramble to perform to pass tests, and to get credentialed, and to become a preacher. My seminary experience became a means to an end.
• Nothing in seminary helped with the relational difficulties I’d experience in ministry. The bulk of it I gained in my first ministry position. I saw the level of pain, level of fragmentation, level of brokenness in people’s lives.
• I didn’t realize how much emotionally energy this (ministry) would require. It’s gigantic.
• Seminary provided important information for theological and ecclesiastical exams, but not for ministering to broken people.
• I spend far more time, for good or bad, worrying over how to deal with conflict, or help marriages on the brink of disaster or the best way to accommodate more people, or how to get a group of men who are all older than I, and whom I fear a bit, to get on the same page about something, all relational sorts of things than I do about the exegesis of particular passages of scripture.
• It is awfully tempting to give one’s time and energy to the things that make it look like you are on the job. I don’t believe I had a good sense of just how much this would be a temptation.

These aren’t four magic steps. I just thought it might be helpful for those who are wondering how to start the process of finding a seminary if I gave a couple “first steps.”

1. Pray - Seminary is a big decision. So much of what you learn at seminary will greatly impact your ministry down the road (whether vocation or not). With so much riding on this season of your life it is only proper to being your search in humble prayer before your loving Father God. Place your life and decisions into his hands and commit the whole process to his glory. From first to last, keep prayer a central theme in your journey to find a seminary.
2. Talk - Now that you’ve talked to God, talk to people. Start with your pastor. Set up a meeting with him to discuss your desire to attend seminary and ask for his prayers, insight, and thoughts about what a good seminary might be for you. Along with your pastor, talk to friends, family, and acquaintances who might have some insight on the subject. Also, if there are a few schools you are particularly interested in, call the school and ask if they have any alumni in the area. Try and contact them and discuss the school.
3. Surf - Hit the net. All seminaries have a website (well, that is an assumption… but a pretty safe one I hope). Check out their site and find out as much as you can about the programs they offer, the professors on staff, and any other info you can glean. Many sites will also have a contact form that you can fill out online to get more info in the mail and to have an admissions officer contact you.
4. Pray - In case you already forgot… pray.

These steps are a great starting place in looking for a seminary. There are lots of seminaries out there and I know it can be overwhelming, but stick with it and you’ll find the right one.

Anyone else got some good first steps for the folks just starting down this road?

Trying to decided if God is calling you to seminary or not can be difficult. While you could give the magic eight ball a try, there is probably a better way to determine what God is calling you to do.

For me, I found Finding the Will of God by Dr. Bruce Waltke to be tremendously helpful. While I already knew a lot of what Dr. Waltke had to say, it was refreshing to be reminded that I was on the right track as I sought to discern God’s will.

In the book Waltke reminds us that God is not some conman trying to hide his will from us… Rather, God is our loving father and his will is probably easier to discern than we sometimes think.

Waltke spends the first 1/4 of the book bringing correction to what he calls “Christian divination” that appears to be nothing more than what every pagan does when trying to conjure the will of the gods.

After his professorial/pastoral rebuke, Waltke offers biblical council on how we can rest assured that we are hearing and following our glorious and loving father.

Incredibly practical and biblically based, I often recommend this book to friends and family who are struggling to make big decisions.

Going to seminary has always been a desire of mine. Well, maybe not always… but for a long while. I’ve even tried my hand a taking seminary classes online. In the end it never panned out for me. So, when and how did everything change for me? Well, the story goes something like this:

About 4 years ago my wife and I moved from the south to the not-quite-north. The move had lots of factors… FAR too many to go into here. But we packed the car and headed on the journey with a couple thousand dollars in the bank and an apartment waiting for us. The main reason we ended up in our city was because of a pastor and friend who had recently started a church was here and had mentioned that, at some point, there might be a job for me.

So, my wife and I started working off jobs and just scraping by. After abut a year I spoke with the pastor and discussed my desire to return to full time campus ministry (that is what I had been doing in the south for the 3 years prior to the move). We agreed that it was good timing and started to work towards me coming on staff. The one catch is that, as a campus minister, I had to go out and raise a financial partnership team. Some of you know what I’m talking about… for those who don’t, basically I went to lots of people (friends, family, friends or friends, and so on) and explained my passion to see college students impacted with the gospel. I then asked if they wanted to partner with me financially. And, low and behold, some did.

Now, the problem was that I was REALLY bad at the whole process. While I managed by God’s grace to get enough money to live, it was always tight and difficult… then we added little man… then a house… then sweetpea… then a mini van… over the years our expenses increased, yet income didn’t quite keep up. I was forced to work second jobs and long hours. It was always stressful… We were getting by, but we weren’t sure how long we could keep it up.

Finally, last summer we spent some serious time asking God what we needed to do. I could not see spending another year working 60-70 hours a week to just scrape by… not knowing if it would be a “good” month or a “bad” month. We felt like the grace might be up for this season of life. So, we asked God, “if not this… then what?”

Seminary.

It seemed like an odd answer. We can’t pay the bills now, how will we pay them there? How could this work?

Well, we prayed, talked to friends and family, and thought about it a lot. After about 3 months of consideration… I quit my job. Now, that sounds harsh, and it really wasn’t. My pastor was very supportive and agreed that this seems like the right thing at the right time.

So, here we are… 6 months later… according to our plans we should be packing boxes and preparing to move back south… none the less, that is not what seems to be happening.

So, that is how it went down for us. We’re still in the process. God used (uses) His word, our situations, our friends, and the passions he has given us to help us know where we need to be and what we need to do…

and, by the way, while the story might have sounded rough, I must make it abundantly clear that we have lived a very comfortable life and God has never left us unprovided for. There were times it might have been a little tough, but God has taken care of our every need and many of our wants… To Him I am grateful forever.

The fact is that seminary is expensive.

So, when trying to make the decision on going to seminary, it is important to spend some time crunching the numbers. Now, this isn’t the determining factor, but it is certainly one you must consider before making this decision.

So, what should you do?

Well, first, you need to figure out you current cost of living. This means taking ALL your monthly expenses and get them on paper. Here is a list to get you thinking. List how much you spend per month on:

• Rent/Mortgage
• Groceries
• Power
• Water
• Trash
• Internet
• Cable
• Auto Insurance
• Car Payment
• Gasoline
• Student loans
• Clothing
• Entertainment
• Eating out
• Tithe/Donations
• and so on…

Now, if you don’t know exactly how much you spend per month, then estimate. The key here is to estimate HIGH. So, if you think you spend $100 a month clothes, but you aren’t sure… go ahead and estimate $125.

Once you have it all listed out… add it up. This is a good idea of your current cost of living.

Now, the fun part. Ask yourself how you plan to pay the bills when you go to seminary. Here you need to be realistic. You’re not going to be working a 40 hour a week job making $60K while you’re in seminary. The coursework will be grueling. I estimate (current seminarians help me on this one) that you can work 20 +/- hours a week. This alone will limit your job options. So, honestly evaluate your income potential on a monthly basis. Here, again, you might need to estimate. This time, however, estimate low. Better safe then sorry. Also, if your spouse plans on working, figure that it too. Add it all up and you have your estimated monthly income.

Now, take your estimate monthly income and subtract your current cost of living. This number might scare you… it’s probably a negative. That means you won’t make enough to support your current lifestyle while at seminary.

Now, don’t take that to mean seminary is out of the picture for you. Now the fun begins.

Take your current monthly living expense and begin to trim the fat. What areas can you cut down? Entertainment and eating out are the first easy targets. However, don’t be foolish and drop them to zero. Unless you are super-human, you’ll eat out from time to time… or at least get a coffee or tea. To say zero is just dumb. Be rational and cut the excess, but don’t drop to zero.

Now, I’m not going to talk about all the ways to cut cost (I’ll do that on another post) but you get the picture. As you cut the cost you’ll notice you’re inching closer and closer to making that negative a positive.

Now, as our decreasing the gap here, (warning, bad news ahead) don’t forget to add some of the expenses that might not have been on your first list… like books, health insurance, tuition, etc. These are certainly going impact the monthly budget.

Now, what happens if you’ve cut all you think you can legitimately cut and the numbers still don’t work? Well, I can’t tell you exactly. This is where prayer, council, and discernment kick in. Just because it doesn’t work on paper doesn’t mean it is out the window. Pray and be wise.

For me… well, the paper (aka the “can this work” excel spreadsheet) says no. We’re about $700 a month short. However, we’ve decided to take the step of faith. We’ll have some equity to cushion us for a bit to test the water, so our decision is not reckless… but it isn’t ’safe’. But I feel like that is part of the experience. Stepping out and trusting God. It isn’t for everyone (you know what I mean)… just do your homework.

Now, some of you might read that and think, “that’s a stupid question.” And of the ones who think that, half of you think it is stupid for one reason and half think it is stupid for another.

However, the fact is that whether the question is good or not, it’s one I think we should tackle.

My short answer is yes. In fact, my answer is so much a yes that Just a Gal (my wife) is going to seminary with me. And by going, I mean attending.

The longer answer is that I think anyone who has the ways and means should attend seminary. And if you don’t have the means, I’ve already blogged about the ways… so, there is really no excuse. So, why everyone? Well, I guess mine is kind of a reverse logic… meaning, why not? Why not take time to study the depths and beauty of our redeemer and his gracious word? If you are a Christian, why would you not take the opportunity to do that?

Now, sure, we can have all kinds of debates about who can be an elder or deacon or sunday school teacher… and all the other debates that surround woman, men, and gender roles… but we can’t debate with Jesus.

Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Is this a proof text for women to attend seminary? It has to be:

1. Uh, yeah Dr. Insert Your Professor’s Name is great… But this is JESUS!
2. Jesus was teaching. Again, better than Dr. Insert Your Professor’s Name.
3. Jesus said that Mary chose the good portion. He like that she was attending his seminary class.

So, there you have it ladies. Go to seminary. Jesus thinks its a good thing and so do I… but Jesus’ opinion is probably the better one to go with… I’m just a tag-a-long.