Category: Featured
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. (Video not working? try here) 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 [...]
Tips for a Productive Day at Seminary
Of all the subject areas we address here at SSG, one I’m really passionate about is time management. Here’s a baker’s dozen of my favorite tips for daily productivity. Get up early. Sleeping in is fun, but should be an occasional treat. Jesus’ example of early rising is worthy of imitation. (Trouble getting up early?) [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
Deciding Where You Stand At Seminary
There is a huge range of debatable issues in theology and in the practice of ministry that a person could take sides on. An average church member generally isn’t required to have fully developed theological opinions. They are often asked to agree with and support the theological and philosophical stance their church, but aren’t required [...]
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. [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
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 [...]
Category: Featured, Spiritual life
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 [...]
Recycling Sermons at Seminary
“I’m preaching tomorrow. Yeah, I’ve never been to this church before, so I’ll just recycle one of my sermons from class.” If you are, or have been, in seminary, you may have heard a classmate say this. Perhaps you have said it- or thought it- yourself. Now, there is nothing wrong with “recycling” a sermon. [...]
How many times did you preach in seminary?
Grab the closest recent seminary graduate and ask him this question: how many times did he preach while in seminary? Not how many preaching classes did he take; on how many occasions did he actually preach a sermon? His answer, I suspect, may surprise you. Depending on the seminary, the answer may start at only [...]
Stumbling at Seminary: Cheating
In an interview with the dean of students at a leading evangelical seminary, I asked about the most common reasons people did not complete seminary. One of his answers was a shock to me: students get caught cheating. Seminary students have ample opportunity to cheat. You can plagiarize-representing the academic work of others as your [...]
The Seminary Book Review
One of your most common assignments at any seminary is going to be the sometimes joyful, often tedious, yet always necessary book review. While every seminary will have different requirements for their book reviews, nearly all fall into a fairly similar mold. How can you attack this task in such a way as to do [...]
