Sam SimmonsToday’s guest post is by Dr. Sam Simmons. Dr. Simmons is co-founder and vice president for learning design at Rockbridge Seminary. ©Copyright 2010. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bob rubbed his tired eyes. For three hours he had been...
Brian SchmittWe’ve heard hundreds of horror stories of students losing their paper. Whether it is computer theft or a hard drive crashing, we are all vulnerable to loss of intellectual property. Days, even months of work can disappear in an instant. Each...
Paul Burkhartphoto credit: loreshdw I recently wrote an article about letting seminary change you doctrinally. In it, I laid out some broad ideas of Truth, doctrine, and how the seminarian needs to treat these things in order to get the most out of their...
“I knew perfectly well at that time, as I had for years and years, that the Lord absolutely transcends any understanding I have of Him, which makes loyalty to Him a different thing from loyalty to whatever customs and doctrines and memories I...
stephen-hessSitting in my first Covenant Theology class of seminary, Dr. Williams, in addition to speaking about the course, provided one of the most important “nuggets” of wisdom that I will ever receive during my theological training. He briefly...
Terry DelaneyI recently heard a couple discussing reasons as to why they left a certain church. They kept telling me that they loved the doctrine, they loved what they heard from the pulpit, and they loved what they learned. What drove them away from this church...
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men Colossians 3:23 This is the third post in a three part series. Read God first, family second if you have not read them yet. Now, we have come to the last third of the mantra my mom used...
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39 This is the second post of a three post series. The first one, God First, discussed how God should be number one in our lives in everything that we do; specifically...
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deut. 6:5 I was raised in a nominal Catholic home, but there are a few theological points my mom would make that actually make sense. One of those...
Ryan BurnsThis guest post was written by S. Daniel Smith. He blogs at and is a US Navy sailor. A few months ago, Going to Seminary covered the four schools that offer an entire online degree program at the master’s level. I know how this works first...
Jake BelderI was in St. Louis a few weeks ago and was given a tour of the PCA Historical Center by its director, Wayne Sparkman. The Center is situated on the campus of Covenant Theological Seminary. While he was showing us some of the collections, he noted...
This guest post was written by Daniel F. Wells. Daniel is a twenty-something year old with a B.A. in Bible & Religion and Philosophy from Erskine College and is currently a student at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He blogs at...
If you are anything like me, then you experience seasons where you either are not able to read your Bible for personal edification or you seem to just run out of time each day. What makes it real bad is that I am a seminary student. Even worse than...
Daniel MochSeminary students are a transient bunch. They blow into town, spend three years too busy to do anything but study, and then they’re gone. For many of them (or, I should say, us), the whole seminary thing can seem like a hassle. If we...
As far as I can remember, I never once heard a sports-related illustration in a sermon when I was growing up. However, since I have moved to Florida, I have lost count of how many times I have heard them used. My tendency has been to react to this...
This is the final part of a three part series on mentoring. In the previous posts on mentoring, we looked first at why a mentoring relationship is so important; and second, what specific role a mentor plays in our lives as we are preparing for...
This is part two of a three part series on mentoring. Last time we talked about the importance of having a mentor as you prepare for ministry. The next step is to look at what exactlythat relationship will look like. Stephen Garber has an excellent...
This is the first part of a three part series on mentoring. We all have some idea of what a mentor is; some of us maycurrently have a mentor or are eventaking on the role ofa mentor. However, despite the familiarity of the concept and the value many...
This post was contributed by Michael Farrell. Michael is the Associate Librarian at Reformed Theological Seminary-Orlando Campus. As a librarian in a seminary, I’ve noticed that in general students can be divided into two different types...
First, please let me introduce myself. My name is Jason Chamberlain and I am in my third year of working toward a MDiv at Shepherd’s Theological Seminary in Cary, NC. I have been reading GTS for months now and consider it an honor to be able...
The last thing I would advise anyone to do is what I did this semester—work thirty hours per week and take eight hours of classes simultaneously. I started working in the summer because we needed some extra money, and thought that I could keep at it...
About a month ago, Kari wrote a post talking about the need to mine the treasure that is the faculty at your seminary. I have also written on this topic and shared tips on how to mine this treasure. Kari’s post actually got me to thinking in a...
Jeff PattersonIt’s been a while since we had a Two-cent Tuesday. Time for some interaction here — chime in! Is it midterms yet at your seminary? Here at Multnomah we’re stepping into that season, wading into the deeper waters of papers and...
Kari PattersonTitle sound familiar? Jeff’s post Professors Are People Too, got me thinking. On my lap right now sits a stack of theology position papers–a tall stack, I might add–to grade. Jeff and I have been blessed the past three years totag...
A couple years ago I was humbled (okay, a couple minutes ago I was too, but that’s another story) … when I realized that my professors were so caring, authentic, and well, human. This epiphany moment? I was walking across campus and two...
For awhile I’ve wanted to write about discovering the treasure that is the seminary faculty, but realized it would be a little hypocritical coming from me. (Chad mentions this topic in his Top 5 “secret” tips for your first...
Chad BrooksThe greatest task of the seminarian is to somehow separate the devotional life from the academic life. It is the failure to do this that causes many ministers to speak ill of their time in seminary. The fact is, as ministers we have to read...
I remember my grandmother thought it was a disastrous thing to write in a Bible. I also remember seeing other kids write in hymnals and thinking they were going to Hell. Between a rabid fascination with the Bible and classical music training I have...
Another semester is upon us. For most students in general, and seminarians in particular, we all try to start the semester strong. Many, like myself, have learned from semesters past that at some point before final exams, we will fall behind in some...
Another semester is approching quickly, and that means it won’t be long before books will have to be read, papers written, and tests will have to be taken. If you are like me, you cannot just study anytime, anywhere. You need the atmosphere...