The Best Advice Ever

What do you say to someone who is thinking about seminary?

How can you encourage someone who might be called to ordained ministry? 

Very often - for all the right reasons - those of us who love the church respond like vampires. Fresh blood! Quick, don't let it get away! 

And so we encourage. "You really should go to seminary." "Parish ministry is awesome." We talk up the best parts of parish ministry (and there are lots of them) and we talk up the gifts of the person we are trying to encourage (which also may be many). 

This is an important role to play. If you talk to anyone who is in ministry, chances are that countless people along the way encouraged them to consider seminary. With most clergy (although certainly not all), we experienced lots of affirmation of our gifts on the road to parish ministry. To be clear: For these encouragers and affirmers, I am deeply grateful. I would not be where I am without them. 

But while listening to a recent Freakonomics podcast, I was reminded of the greatest advice I received on my road to ordination. It came from my Grandfather, in the last months of his life. 

Grandpa Hansen was a pastor. 57 years of ordained ministry. He had served in the ULCA, the LCA, and the ELCA; he was a mission developer, a regularly called parish pastor, and an intentional interim. He was also a preacher's kid, growing up in parsonages as a child of the church. He was also the father of a pastor. Gramps knew the church. 

Toward the very end of his life, Gramps had some short-term memory loss. He remembered my parents, but as we gathered for Sunday dinner I had to be re-introduced to him. 

"This your grandson, David," said my Mom. "He's in seminary, preparing to be a pastor like you and Chris. Do you have any advice for him?"

Gramps looked up and thought for a moment, said, "Consider another line of work," then when back to eating his Sunday lunch. 

The best advice I ever got in my preparation for ministry: "Consider another line of work."

Here is the truth:

If you are called to ordination, nothing else will make you feel as fulfilled as ordained ministry.
And if you are not called to ordination, nothing else will make you feel as miserable as ordained ministry. 

Consider another line of work.

Is there another way to live out your calling? Are there aspects of parish ministry that appeal to you, but others that you hate to think about? Consider another line of work.

Are you pursuing ordination to make someone else happy - parents, pastor, or others? Are you considering ordination because you "should"? Consider another line of work.

Often, our first reaction when someone pushes back against a feeling of being called to ministry is to get defensive. But the truth is, the pushback is necessary. Sit with the idea of doing something else. Give it serious consideration. 

There are lots of important vocations (lived out to the glory of God, there are only important vocations). There are lots of ways to serve God. There are lots of ways to minister to God's people. Ordained parish ministry is just one. 

I'm not saying you aren't called to ordained ministry. Maybe you are - truth is, I hope you are. But give thought to where your mission in the world is. What would you do if not ordained ministry? What would you pursue if not this? And if you did those things, would you be just as fulfilled as you would in parish ministry?

Are you thinking about seminary? Listen to the wisdom of Rodney Hansen: Consider another line of work. Rule out all other possibilities. 

And if, having considered all other lines of work -- having ruled out all other options -- you discover that the call to ordained parish ministry still rings loudest in your heart, then jump in. 

What about you? What is the best vocational / career advice you have ever received? 

(Freakonomics Podcast, The Upside of Quitting, transcript and audio)

(Considering seminary? Here are some tools to begin the conversation. Talk with your pastor to explore your options.) 

Dealing with Questions

Many of the readers of this blog have either been to graduate school or are currently in graduate school. Many others have encountered this same problem in colleges. The problem: the person in class who monopolizes all of the time with their questions, usually to prove to the prof and/or classmates how very smart they are (or who makes comments because they are sure that the prof was unaware of their very important factoid).

Of course, this doesn't apply to adult education in our churches, where often I wish people would ask more questions and make more comments in order to get discussion going. But it is a welcome relief for those grad school/college settings. I proudly present the "Question & Comment Evaluation Chart" (click for larger image). Feel free to print out and discreetly place on the desk of your classmate who needs it most.

In Defense of Seminaries: Theology Matters!

The conversation seems to come up twice a year.In the spring, around graduation time, and then again in the fall as enrollment happens, a glut of conversations questioning the value of seminary education.And almost universally, the conclusion (at least in the public debate) seems to be that it is time to do away with traditional seminary education.

"We need new models!" "It's too expensive!" "We can't be tied to brick & mortar institutions!" And on goes the list of battle cries. To be clear: there are some very good, intelligent criticisms leveled against traditional seminary education.As the saying goes, some of my best friends are opposed to seminary education. However, I strongly believe not only that traditional seminary education can be a good thing, but that the church of the twenty-first century needs traditional seminary education.

First, many of the arguments against seminary education are fueled by the current milieu of anti-expert rhetoric. We want politicians who are not professional politicians. We are told to distrust "mainstream news" sources (usually expressed as a distrust of professional news outlets and commentators). We walk into the doctors office with our own diagnosis made from our own research. And into this mix comes seminary education - a system that asks people to devote three to five years to study, to become in some sense professionals or experts.

I don't want to spend too much space on this point, but simply put, we need experts. Not everyone who talks about the economy is an economist. I would not be a person who should make fundamental decisions about the economy. Sure, I have my opinions, based on my reading about our economy and my experiences. But you would be gravely mistaken to think that because of those opinions I have an insightful understanding of how an economy the size of the US economy works, let alone the global economy. Not everyone who talks about the body and health is a surgeon. My chiropractor has done wonderful things for my spine, and often helps me to feel much better. But when I go for a vasectomy, I want a professional, an expert!

And not everyone who talks about God is a theologian. Yes, I know, we've been told that since "theology just means words about God" everyone who talks about God is a theologian. But it is a logical fallacy. In the same way that my personal opinions about the economy (having my personal economic theories, if you will) do not make me an economist, our personal thoughts about God (having a personal theology) does not make us all theologians.

Theology, Christian theology, is a comprehensive system that shapes our understanding who God is, the reality of the world, and who we are in relation to that God and one another. Rooted in the Gospel, the theologian is informed by the great teachers of the church and (in our tradition) creeds and confessional documents.

Ok, ok. You could argue that anyone could do those things, without a formal theological education. And you'd be right (If you tell anyone I said you're right, I'll call you a liar). I certainly know some brilliant theologians who have not had formal theological education. They have, however, put themselves through a theological education. And - much more importantly - I would say that they are the exception to the rule. Most people who put themselves out there as "self-educated" theologians quite simply aren't. And - here's the point - it is dangerous to take them at their word.

Theology matters! In May of this year, thousands of individuals gave up on their lives, ready for the end of the world because that is what "theologian" Harold Camping said was going to happen. Many of us laughed at Camping, but the reality is thousands of lives were ruined because of bad theology. In April 1993, 76 people died in Waco, Texas, and even more lives were ruined because of the teaching of "theologian" Vernon Howell. Maybe these examples are extreme, but the point to an important truth: theology matters, and has the potential have serious effects on the lives we lead. There is also the family who will never return to a Christian community, because of the "theologian" who taught them that their daughter was sick because of the sins of their family. Or the countless individuals in our congregations, confused by popular "theologians" about death and resurrection.

When Harold Camping and NT Wright, or Oprah and Douglas John Hall, or Joel Osteen and Kathryn Tanner are considered to be equal authorities, something has gone wrong. If theology matters, then it also matters who we look to as theologians.

A seminary education provides the opportunity to immerse oneself in the roots of our theological tree. To study and read Scripture, to sit at the feet of the great teachers of the church, and to engage in theological exploration with other learners. One can, in the midst of life, do this on one's own; but traditional seminary education gives the opportunity to do nothing but this for three years. In addition, in a traditional seminary environment there are trusted guides who have been acknowledged as theological authorities, who provide direction and structure to theological inquiry.

Seminary education matters, because theology matters.

Next thoughts: Seminary education as formation. But until then, what say you? Is everyone a theologian? Does seminary education matter?