Seth RossDesire: Have you ever had a desire for something deeper than yourself? Of course, as a Christian, we all have. Has that desire been so strong and so internally compelling that it scared you? Has a desire like this driven you to pursue God in a way...
Jason ChamberlainI started seminary as a 32 year-old who experienced some serious personal trials. By the grace of God I had been set free from both pornography and self-gratification as well as gluttony and laziness. I had served in a ministry helping men find...
Nick NgOn my first day of class, my professor began class with a prayer. While students closed their eyes, listening to the professor’s plea for wisdom in our studies, my eyes remained wide open. Was it because that pile of new textbooks near me...
Brian SchmittWe are a bit late posting our winners. Our deepest apologies for the delay. Thanks to all who entered. We pray for your seminary journey to be one of great transformation. We’ll post the first article on Monday, September 6. And, the winners...
Michael EubanksMany of the posts here on GTS have pointed out that seminary students realize during their academic career just how starved they were for formal training. Even students who were reared in church all their lives have commented on how little they...
Larry BaxterA frequent question we face is ‘How do we get done all that we want to do?’ It’s a very important question, but if we think about this way, it’s the wrong question. A better question is ‘How do I do all that God has...
We like to think, during times of challenge or stress, that life will get easier. I have bad news. Are you sitting down? It doesn’t. Not without intentionally letting some things go. It took me a long time to see this. College was a huge step...
Nancy Wilson“Each word…is like a prism whose shape allows the refraction of many colors. The color or colors you see will change, depending on your position and the position, angle, and source of the light interacting with the prism.” -Brian K...
Gregory HartnettAnytime I think about how to make the most of my time, I am reminded of an episode of the popular television show The Simpsons. In the episode one of the main characters, Homer, has a near-death experience. He is told that he has been poisoned and...
As a volunteer leader attending seminary online I sometimes feel out of place. I don’t have the experience or skills of many of my classmates. But as an ex-professor and someone with a PhD in Chemical Engineering, there is one thing I do...
So you’re in seminary. Your journey has included countless hours of study, late nights tucked away in seldom-visited corners of the library, and copious amounts of caffeine to keep you going. Ancient Greek draws you closer to insanity, and you...
Today’s post is the first from our Kindle Contest winners. I’m pregnant. Well, not in the real sense. Allow me to explain. You see, I’m a newly-minted seminarian and I’m dealing with the reality of what I wrote as part of my...
Paul Burkhart[This article is based on parts of the manuscript for a message I gave on “Beauty” at Epiphany Fellowship. On my personal blog and the webzine I run you can find the audio, manuscript, and full blog series inspired by the message.] We...
stephen-hessI am assuming that if you were given any advice upon entering seminary, this phrase may have come out: “guard your devotional time with the Lord!” I am not writing to suggest that this is poor advice by any means. It is great advice...
photo 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...
Joel UsinaI’ve been reflecting upon an experience that my wife, Abbie, and I had not too long ago. I serve as a Youth Pastor at a church in Dunn, NC, called Stoney Run, which is a part of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist (PFWB) denomination. Every...
Ryan BurnsThis is a guest post written by Rev. Michael Shanlian. In my fifty six years I have never met an accomplished person who did not overcome adversity. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments...
I am employing the word “sojourn” in a very intentional way as I reflect on my current status as an individual who has traveled a long way to attend seminary. To be certain, I have physically moved quite a distance in the past five years...
It’s hard to imagine that I’m already buying books for the fall semester. Don’t get me wrong, I have come to thoroughly enjoy, and, even get excited about, buying books (endless thanks to God for the opportunity and the means!)...
Over the course of the seventeen years that I have been in school, I have never taken any summer classes. Well, my streak is over. Not only am I taking classes right now, I’m taking 9 hours worth. That’s a hefty load to carry during the...
Daniel MochI have a way of getting through something tough and then wishing I could go back and do it again. It’s not that I enjoy torturing myself. Rather, it’s that I usually learn a lot under such stress. Because I knew more coming out of the...
I think it’s time for me to start the site NotGoingToSeminary.com. It’s almost been five whole months since my last article was posted on this site. Much has happened. As I recently revealed in a recent post on my personal site...
Do any other seminarians ever feel as if your time in seminary is (or was) a sort of limbo (not “limbo” as in the Roman Catholic doctrine)? An in between stage? Or, perhaps a combination of the two? Well, if you do (or did), then...
As I was writing my previous post, ‘Balancing Church and Seminary,’ I realized that a lot of what I was writing assumed that you were in a time in your life where you needed to choose a church. But since not everyone in seminary is in...
As I began discerning a call to seminary, 1 Timothy 4:6-16 came up early and often. Early in the discernment process, when I read that passage, I ended up focusing my attention on parts of verse 6, “you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus...
This post was written by Stephen Hess, a Rhode Island native and recent graduate of the University of Richmond, Virginia. Stephen will be heading off to St. Louis in August for the 4-year M.Div program at Covenant Theological Seminary. About a month...
Semester 1 Stats: Less than 4 months (Sept-Dec) Pages of papers written: 114 Pages of notes taken: 154 Pages read: about 1,900 (+/-100) Total pages written: 268 (I produced just over 13% of what I consumed) Ending GPA: 3.2 Wow. That first semester...
Chad BrooksI know of a student (through a friend at a different seminary than mine) that is finishing his M.div in 5 semesters. This means that in two and a half years, he finished a 90+ hour masters level degree. While it had to be cheaper, and quicker, I...
Terry DelaneyWe are now through the first month of using the Letters of Samuel Rutherford as a devotional in 2009. If you are reading along, I pray you have been as blessed as I have been. I would like to take some time to reflect back on some quotes as well as...