Ryan BurnsWhen I first arrived at seminary, they sat us all down and gave us lecture after lecture about all the rules and guidelines for graduating with our degrees. They told us the required courses, the available concentrations, and gave us tips on...
You have so many books to read, who can afford to read any more? That’s an excellent question, and a justification I used for burying my head in theology text after theology text. But I’ve starting asking a different question: “I...
I do not enjoy details. I do not enjoy rigidly structured environments. I do not enjoy tedium. And as a child, I loved the open window more than I loved the chalkboard. So why then, do I enjoy taking biblical Greek? Going into my first Greek class...
There is a common misconception among Christians about Seminaries and seminarians in general. The misconception is that going to the Seminary gives one an automatic guarantee to be spiritual. In other words, people feel that by just being in the...
If you are like me, then the thought of preaching or even speaking in public has been a life-long fear. Maybe you feel called to attend seminary but are worried about the class called “Homiletics.” Maybe you’ve even said to yourself, “How can I get...
An important concept to know while in seminary is to live on a seminary budget. This involves personal examination, time, dedication, and fortitude. When you live on a seminary budget, it is important you make sure you are spending money on the...
Life in seminary can be hard. Even if we’re single and have a sweet financial set-up that leaves us free to focus on our studies without having to work, its still hard. But let’s be honest, most of us, details aside, aren’t in a place in life where...
Paul BurkhartThe Daily Office: Seminarian’s Best Friend For my seminary Internship, each semester we have a different spiritual practice to engage in for the semester. The goal is to expose different people to different ways of engaging God in a deep way so that...
In our previous post, I offered one helpful theological principle that I have found helpful to keep in mind as a seminarian preparing for ministry in which finances is involved. I encouraged us to view God’s creation as one brimming with...
Having spent time around a lot of seminarians, I can tell you that the nitty-gritty, practical realities of pastoral life don’t get talked about enough. That’s a problem. But the bigger problem, in my view, is that whenever these...
Though most of you are familiar with Summer term classes, many of you may not be aware that most seminaries offer what is called an “Interim Term” between the Fall and Spring semester and/or one between the Spring and Summer semester...
When juggling ministry and full-time education, there are times when one will need to make decisions that lead to compromising one for the sake of the other. At times, it is easy to feel as if there are never enough hours in a day to finish all of...
Although I don’t believe very strongly in the distinction between “Christians bubbles” and “the real world”–the corrupting power of sin is everywhere and so is Jesus’ work of redemption–my peers and I...
Seminary is a whole new animal. Most of the people I know in seminary fall into one of two categories. Either they’re single, moved states for school, and literally everything they’re doing is brand new: church, work, friends, school...
One of the most valuable things I’ve done in my first few weeks at seminary is set up office hours with three of my five professors. Why? One of them bought me a burger! So it’s at least worth $8.25. All joking aside, I’d like to...
If you’re like me, you left good friendships to move away for seminary. Or maybe you’re about to and this blog post could offer you some more concrete hope for making friends once you do move. I’d like to offer you five very...
Do you ever get the feeling that the things your learning are irrelevant, or that things you’ve known for a long time are just getting reinforced? It’s especially painful when you feel you’ve hit an academic rut in seminary...
This semester, I’m reading about 5,000 pages. If you’re in seminary, or considering it, so will you! From what I’ve learned so far–both in my intensive reading program and undergrad and in my seminary classes–here are...
If you’re a seminary student, then chances are you are always looking for ways to increase the effectiveness of your study times. This effectiveness can be played out in multiple ways: through better organization practices, memorization tips, useful...
We’ve been talking a lot on this site about various mobile apps and web services you can utilize for seminary, but at the end of the day, many of us still have some sort of desktop, laptop, or some other “real” computer which will...
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about integrity. While many definitions exist, for me it means simply that your private self is somehow integrated with your public self. Sure, there are things you keep private, but it’s not an entirely...
There are around 100 new students this year at my seminary who are seeking a Master’s Degree in Divinity. Many of them have concentrations in theology, leadership, apologetics, chaplaincy. So many in fact, that I am the only new M-Div student this...
Dating while you are in seminary can be a challenge. It looks different for each couple no doubt, with two people involved there is an endless amount of factors to what your relationship looks like while you are in seminary. Are you both in school...
I’ve written before of my love of the note-taking app Evernote. Today, I want to show some of the slightly deeper highlights to using this app in a seminary or ministry context. Note-Taking (Together?) This may seem obvious, but the best thing...
I’m terrible at organizing. Well, that’s not quite right. I can come up with brilliant systems of organization, but just never implement them. This has followed me throughout my life. It was easier when school consisted of clearly laid-out...
John Calvin famously opened up his Institutes with a profound set of lines about the close intimacy between knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves. He did not start with Scripture or hermeneutics, but anthropology. In the Protestant focus on...
We’ve talked before on this site about how seminary has changed. The days where all you need is a Bible, notebook, and a library card are over. There is a whole world of resources available, means to access them, ways to organize your time at...
By Rebecca Dobyns In seminary, Greek is always the subject everyone winces about. I have heard more “I’m sorry”s or “Have fun with that”s about taking Greek than about any other subject, except perhaps Hebrew. Granted, much of it is in jest, and...
Learning theology is one of the main purposes and joys of seminary. But through the course of your education there, you’re likely to have many of your proper theological convictions challenged, shaped, and changed. And yet, even as we’re going...
Most seminary degree programs have a required set of classes that the student must take in order to graduate. For instance, there is no way to get around that preaching class or Greek or Hebrew. However, many schools also allow students to customize...