Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I first met Dr. Nick Willborn when he was still a PhD candidate at WTS in Philadelphia and I was a student there. Nick was a good friend of my pastor, Mark Herzer, and I found him to be not only a humble and godly Christian man, but a wonderful individual to sit down with and discuss issues. He's also one of the foremost living authorities on Southern Presbyterianism and in particular, John L. Girardeau. In the years since I first met Nick, I can't count the times I've called on him to discuss a pastoral issue I've been working through, or just to ask a question about something I've been studying.
Recently, I asked him if he wouldn't mind addressing the subject of the theological education of ministers on the planting Old School Churches Blog, given that he is a seminary professor at GPTS and comes from the same Old School Presbyterian school of thought that the blog is seeking to advance. Anyway, he recently sent the following essay for publication:
“Thoughts on Ministerial Education and Preparation” by Dr. C.N. Willborn « Building Old School Churches
I hope you find it useful or at the very least thought provoking especially where he suggests some of the weaknesses of current methods of seminary education and proposes a slightly modified approach.