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Originally Posted by Wannabee  I suppose much of this depends upon one's ecclesiology. The problem with seminaries that have no church oversight is that they become the "experts" that we send our men to in order for them to be trained in the ministry. But liberal thinking seldom develops in our churches. It usually begins at the seminary level and filters down. Academics teach men to study outside the pressures and reality of day to day ministry, which can lead to a host of problems, central to which are pride of scholarship and notoriety.
On the other hand, it is clear that the church is to be training up it's members to minister (Eph 4, 2 Tim 2:2) and should be raising up teachers and preachers within her own ranks. But the "expertise" of the seminaries is intimidating to many pastors, who then relegate the training to the seminaries. It would be better if the churches trained men up in the ministry and then used the seminary as a sort of finishing school, with constant surveillance and accountability during their seminary training. After a man's training he should then be sent out by his church, rather than an academic institution. This way the "official education" is secondary and the frosting on the cake, rather than the whole cake. And his ministry is supported by the church rather than a school.
Having said that, I know that there are several churches out there that are doing an excellent job of training men. But, generally speaking, most churches don't have a vision for it anymore. |
Thanks Joe,
I was thinking about the same thing, but couldn't seem to find words to express my thoughts. This topic has been revisited many times at family gatherings, as I have a brother-in-law who went to two years at BJU, then completed a two year Bible institute, and two (yes) seminary programs, ten years in all! (Hey guys any of you up for Greek and Hebrew twice?). During his training, he had no real church oversight. In one case, he had a pastor who recommended him, but then never bothered to spend any time with him while he was in seminary (even though he was a member and attending each week the pastor's church). It wasn't until after my brother-in-law graduated from the last seminary, that he was given the opportunity to "prove" he had any qualifying gifts.
Long story short, when he finally ended up in front of an ordination committee, they determined that my brother-in-law was a "fine teacher" but didn't have what it takes to be a pastor. In fact, my brother-in-law is one of the best Bible teachers I know. He loves the Lord and understands the Scriptures better than most pastor/teachers. He believes that if along the way, someone had bothered (or if he had bothered) to get under some oversight, he might have recognized his weakness for pastoring and gone another direction with his teaching gifts.