Archive for October, 2008

post thumbnail

Your Seminary Isn’t Responsible For Your Education

Your seminary isn’t responsible for your education.  You are.
In the past week, I’ve had the chance to visit with a few current and just-graduated seminarians, and some of their observations have been strikingly similar:

The seminary environment is too academic.
The assigned readings are too long, and not really related to the subject matter.
If I do [...]

October 27th, 2008 | Mark | 6 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

When You’re Invited to Preach

When I’m invited to preach at a church I’ve never been to, I want to gather information that will guide me in the ministry of pulpit supply. Here are the questions I ask:

How did you get my name? (Probably through the seminary, but it’s good to ask.)
What time does worship begin? When does it usually [...]

October 8th, 2008 | Ed | 4 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Stumbling at Seminary: Laziness

In the face of all the multiple demands at seminary, the temptation to laziness can be acute.  I’ve spoken with a number of students who succumb to laziness, to their own hurt.  They have much to get done, but cannot get themselves to do it.
Often laziness will show up as procrastination; or choosing to [...]

October 6th, 2008 | Mark | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Supply Preaching during Seminary

I’ve had more than my share of preaching, teaching, and speaking opportunities since I began seminary studies. A lot of these have been repeat visits– during seminary, I preached 94 times in 23 different places. So I’ve been blessed to get some invitations to go back to places I’ve preached before. (I always appreciate the [...]

October 1st, 2008 | Ed | 3 comments | Continued