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Feature Article #1

Reflections on Graduating Seminary

by Britt Treece
A week before Christmas, after six long years of study, I graduated from seminary.  Looking back, I’ve had a lot of thoughts, questions, comments, and recommendations, so I thought that organizing some of them would be helpful both for me and for past, present, and future seminarians.  (Since it took me six years [...]

Mark | January 8th, 2010 | Continued

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Feature Article #2

Attending Seminary Means Living In a Foreign Land

When I went to seminary, it entailed a move from Florida to Texas. There was a shift in geography, but there was also a shift in culture-a pretty dramatic shift, as anyone who’s moved to Texas will probably tell you.
I grew up in South Florida. I was a native Floridian, which was pretty [...]

Mark | September 28th, 2009 | Continued

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Feature Article #3

My First Semester Shock, or Seminarians Without Chests

I approached seminary with many of the common illusions seminary students have. I thought it would be a spiritually vibrant and intense time, full of people who were overflowing with passion for Christ.
Boy was I surprised. My first semester, I enrolled in Hebrew class, like many beginning M.Div.-ers. I made friends with some other young [...]

Mark | September 21st, 2009 | Continued

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Feature Article #4

Seminary Syllabus Strategy #4: A Study Plan for Each Major Exam

Similar to creating a writing plan for papers, you should block out dedicated study time for major exams. If you do this now, at the beginning of the semester (and stick to your schedule), then you won’t be pinched to find time to study.
It’s pretty simple:

Reserve study blocks beginning about a week before the [...]

Mark | September 14th, 2009 | Continued

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Feature Article #5

Seminary Syllabus Strategy #1: Get It In Your Calendar

The first week of seminary is over, and looming ahead are due dates for reading, papers and tests. You know this because you should have a syllabus for each class, which contains all the assignments you’ll need to complete this semester and their due dates.
This is awesome. It’s a time management bonanza. [...]

Mark | August 24th, 2009 | Continued

About this Site

My name is Mark, and I’m the general editor for Seminary Survival Guide. I’m a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div, 1995) and I’m serving as associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Columbia, Illinois.
I got the idea for this lying in bed praying one morning. Our church has several seminary students, [...]

Other Recent Articles

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Seminary Syllabus Strategy #3: A Writing Plan for Every Major Paper

Seminary will give you plenty of practice writing papers. By the time I graduated with my M.Div, I could easily write ten pages about nothing. (Some would allege that my sermons are exactly that…but I digress.)
Writing papers on the scale that seminary requires can be daunting if you haven’t done it before. [...]

6Sep2009 | Mark | 3 comments | Continued
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Seminary Syllabus Strategy #2: Start Reading Now

Seminary involves a LOT of reading. At the beginning of the semester, you typically have more open time. Seize it! Use it to read ahead now, and then when the first wave of papers is due, you won’t be so rushed.
There may be some classes you can read ahead in more easily.
Look [...]

31Aug2009 | Mark | 3 comments | Continued
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Free Tuition at Rockbridge Seminary!

Just got this news from Rockbridge, the online seminary: they are waiving tuition for all new students in September!!
I have a lot of respect for Daryl Eldridge, the founder of Rockbridge Seminary. The traditional seminary has its strengths, but I think there is a lot about online seminary that merits serious consideration.
From the Rockbridge [...]

18Aug2009 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued
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Thinking of Seminary?

During the summer, some folks are finalizing plan to begin seminary in the Fall. Whether you’re on your way, or thinking about it, here’s a summary of our series on calling to ministry.
Make Sure You’re Supposed to Be Here
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Sounding the Call
Part Four
The Calling to Ministry Self-Assessment (pdf)
And as a bonus:
Is “Calling” [...]

17Aug2009 | Mark | 0 comments | Continued
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What do ministers actually DO?

Great words from James MacDonald or Harvest Bible Chapel about the critical difference between ministering equippers and servants in the church.

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This is a pretty important distinction. In particular, I’ve seen people go into youth ministry because they love working with youth. Then they become full-time ministers and realize that [...]

6Aug2009 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued