Two Cent Tuesday – After You Graduate…

This question is in honor of all this year’s seminary graduates.

Now that the sentimentality is out of the way, let me be clear… I hate this question.

I guess the thing that I hate about the question is that it seems to me that, by asking it, seminary is being reduced to a means to an end. While, for some, I know it is just that… but for me, seminary isn’t that. The fact is that when I decided to come to seminary I was already in vocational ministry and quite happy and content with my position. For me, seminary is not about getting a piece of paper so that I can now go and fulfill God’s calling on my life. Rather, for me, seminary is about being better equipped for the calling I already have. That calling, however, is not on hold while I’m in seminary.

The way that works out in my life is that I am currently involved in a church plant in Orlando and, God willing, I’ll walk my calling out in the context of that church plant. Now, does that mean I’ll be on staff and getting a pay check… maybe, maybe not… but either way, seminary is about equipping me to better steward the ministerial responsibilities God entrusts to my care.

So, sure… what do you plan to do when you graduate… better yet, why haven’t you already started doing it now?

That’s my 2 cents… what’s yours?

{democracy:18}
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Written by
Ryan Burns
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4 comments
  • Ya’ know, it’s funny because I believe I am called to the role of pastor and all that entails in my feeble little mind. However, God is showing me that I need to “broaden my horizons” because there are more pastors than just the preaching guy.

    I have been talking with a church about becoming the children’s minister. The way all of this has come about has shown me that God is in this because I have tried (unwittingly) to talk my way out of the position. I was late for my second interview and tanked the first, but in both instances, I somehow impressed the men I was talking with. That could have only been of God.

    What is awesome though, is that God is showing me that you can be a pastor and not be the preaching pastor. I am still praying that I could be a preaching pastor some day, but for now, I am praying that God will continue to chip and mold me into who He wants me to be in order that I may better serve Him in ministry.

    Terry Delaneys last blog post..Flying High

  • I guess I do lean a little more to seeing seminary as a stepping stone. But, that being said, I don’t see it as just a place to put your foot before jumping to the next rock, but it’s a place to land for a while and to really be molded and formed and equipped to serve better when you land on that next rock. In a sense, all of life is like that. Every place we are, every situation we are in prepares us in some way for what lies ahead. So I can’t say I hate the question, but I can say that I don’t have a clear answer to it yet, and that i need this experience right now to help shape what my answer will be.

    Jake Belders last blog post..This is Music

  • Hi there. Great idea for a blog. I wish it had been around when I first started my seminary journey in 1993. Now, 15 years later, I am a dissertation away from finishing my DMin in the Spring of ’09. I pray that God blesses your efforts as you work to encourage others who are on the seminary path. Thanks!

    Glen Woodss last blog post..Storms in Eastern Oregon

  • I totally agree with a lot of what your saying…Seminary is more than a means to an end. I finished up at Talbot Theological Seminary last May. I never enjoyed the question about what I planned to do with my degree. I found seminary to be one of the greatest formative seasons in my life. I work a “secular” job and love it. I love working with ministering to those around me as they go through “everyday” life.
    Thanks for the blog…

Written by Ryan Burns
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