That's the position I take. I believe that discernment toward the will of God should trump any man made institutional requirements.

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David
PCA
Richardson, Texas

Saving faith is an immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, resting upon Him alone, for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of God's grace.
--C.H. Spurgeon

Reliable men will raise up reliable men in the local congregation or the formal educational institution. When you get talking heads that never experienced grace that proper training can be built upon, then all the problems start.

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Rich Koster
1689'er
Browns Mills NJ USA
Often Goofy Reformed Eccentric
Romans 7:14-25

What I am surprised about is that people don't bring up those that start theological schools in countries without any. I know the OPC works to have churches that are self-sustaining and growing in other countries ... churches that are capable of reaching out themselves to other areas. And part of that work is to help establish seminary training in those areas, and help with training for those that do not have seminaries.

While there is no explicit Biblical mandate for "seminary" the admonition It would be negligent for a missionary work to not provide for the training of those whom God is calling to ministry, and not just a "bare minimum" considering all the error that abounds in the church even with learning.

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Brian Withnell
Deacon, OPC
Leesburg, Virginia

You cannot train for war in the midst of a battle. Prepare before the battle starts; if the battle is long and hard, you will wish you had.

Ames says that, although the church chooses those men who sill be in authority, seminaries do not confer that authority upon a minister. That is the work of God.

However, Ames also says a minister is unfit if he has not 'set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it'.

I would take this to mean that ministers desire education. Not just in their early twenties, but their entire life. And not simply as vocational training, but primarily out of a desire to live that theology.

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"Preparing a sermon is like cooking a meal. You need pots and pans and utensils, but you don't bring them out to the table where people are eating." Derek Thomas


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God does not call the qualified..... He qualifies the called

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thomas harvey
husband & father
nashua NH
OPC

If we look at Scripture's qualifications for elder at 1 Tim 3:1 "The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil." and

Titus 1:9-11 "9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach."

These passages clearly don't mandate a requirement of seminary education, but as Tim noted above, these days too many men and women enter the "teaching elder" role without the necessary wisdom or knowledge. A corollary to that is that the governance of many churches is radically unbiblical. I'm sure some here have been involved in thise types of churches in the past.

Granted, a proper seminary education won't guarantee that heresies will never occur, but it would seem to reduce the chance of them occurring.

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Michael Masztal
Ruling Elder, Chapel By The Sea, ARP
Melbourne Beach, FL

It matters not that they knew His training; He was God incarnate. Those men, though not formally educated, were still TRAINED; I assure you. They were trained by their time with Christ, Himself. What was the amount time they spent with Christ, and then Paul spent in the wilderness with Christ? 3 years. Now, I am not equating seminary education to education by Christ, Himself. What is the average seminary? 3 years...training in some form is what is called for. I didn't say a brick and mortar institution, but training. By his elders or by a seminary, but training, nonetheless.

Paul had been trained, and then his plans were thwarted. It wasn't that Paul hadn't been trained, in the wilderness, by Christ, and wanted to go without being trained. He was taught, and then where he wanted to go was thwarted and re-routed. Again, brick and mortar may not be necessary, but training is.

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soli Deo gloria!
~Nicholas~ Ordained Pastor
Member, Fulton PCA; GPTS Student
Christians are like snow covered dung; it is the purity of the covering which the Father sees. -Luther-
There is nothing more ugly than a Christian orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion.
-Francis Schaeffer-

You guys! Obviously the only way to fix this is to ordain Sarah to the ministry

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~ Charles Stephen Barribeau ~
Christ Presbyterian Church , OPC (They sing alot of Psalms!)
Original Westminster Standards (I need to study more...)
The Puritans were best! Also... I NEED TO READ MORE!!!
Philipians1:29(KJV) For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Janesville, Wisconsin (In the fellowship of Bob Vigneault and Matt+Megan Meisberger)

Yes. They must have a college education and it must be from Westminster Seminary California with all its accreditation!

Just joshin'!

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Josh Hicks, Chloë's Dad
Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCGA
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It is God that multiplies our sorrows.... God, as a righteous Judge, does it, which ought to silence us under all our sorrows; as many as they are, we have deserved them all, and more: nay, God, as a tender Father, does it for our necessary correction, that we may be humbled for sin, and weaned from the world by all our sorrows; and the good we get by them, with the comfort we have under them, will abundantly balance our sorrows, how greatly soever they are multiplied. - Matthew Henry