Are Seminaries Doing a Good Job?

Not long ago my friend Andrew reported a conversation he had recently with a seminary faculty member who asked him, “Are we doing a good job?”  Great question.  I’ve thought about this quite commonly in recent weeks.  I’m assuming your response to this question might depend on the extent of your experience with Christian ministers, or your own reflections from your seminary experience, if you are clergy.

Though there were aspects of my own seminary experience that I had hoped would be more helpful, I’m thankful for what I received from my theological education.  I thought that my experience in seminary equipped me theologically, biblically, and practically for ministry.  I do wish that leadership skills would have been emphasized more, and I also wish that greater theological diversity would’ve been present in my training.  Overall, as I’ve stated, I’m thankful.  My education was also supplemented by experience in great churches throughout my life.

I’ve spoken to friends who attended other seminaries who had hoped for more–practically, biblically, and theologically.  I have also heard friends that retrospectively would’ve liked for more instruction on how to lead a staff, as well as how to engage theologically with the world as it exists today, not some time 50 years ago in which Christendom was still largely holding a grip on American culture. 

The web is a great space for debate.  Whether you leave a comment here, or write your own post elsewhere, I thought I’d derive a few questions worthy of discussion.  So, do you think seminaries are doing a good job?

• Do seminaries do an adequate job of training potential pastoral leaders in line with the doctrinal heritage of their particular traditions (Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist, etc.)? (Scott Jones helped me see the importance of this question in his book Staying at the Table)
• Do seminaries do an adequate job of teaching the Bible?  How many hours of an 85-90 hour Master of Divinity program should focus specifically on Scripture to be deemed “adequate”, particularly in a post-Christian culture that no longer is immersed in the biblical narrative?
• Do seminaries do an adequate job of leadership development?  Are graduates equipped with the tools needed to lead congregations that are both large and small, single clergy or multi-staff?
• Do seminaries adequately equip leaders with the tools to creatively engage culture and speak to it (or form it) from the Christian tradition?  In other words, have seminaries become a “noncontextual, academy based” ground for training that keeps ministerial leaders in a “wonderfully abstracted world of abstraction”, or are they seeking to help leaders engage the real world missionally and contextually? (Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 121)
• Do seminaries create occasions where practice and theory meet, so that pastoral leaders can be adequately equipped and taught skills which will be used day by day in ministry (pastoral care, etc.)?  Are students observed somehow, someway in ministry contexts where they can be mentored to be better pastoral leaders during their seminary experience?
• Do seminaries adequately cast vision for evangelism, the importance of the church as the locus of God’s transformation, or for the grandeur of the Lordship of Jesus Christ? (I can think of no better example than St. Paul School of Theology, which has a window, I believe in the dining hall, on their campus overlooking the heart of downtown Kansas City.  What a great opportunity to cast vision.  How often that opportunity is taken I do not know.  I could not find a picture of the view on their website.)
• Do seminaries form pastoral leaders into the type of people whom we can undeniably say have dwelt in the presence of Jesus, and whom we would sincerely like to follow?

Feel free to add to this list, or even call into question some of the areas of focus I have identified.  What other areas should seminaries focus upon to train leaders for pastoral ministry today?  What do you think?

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Calling and Vision ::: The Need for Pastoral Leadership

God is calling people in to pastoral leadership, but it seems as though the call is going unheeded, at times, from those in our youngest generations. The UMC (as well as other denominations) has seen a drop in the number of clergy ages 35 and younger. I’ve written about the lack of young people in both our congregations and in leadership here and here.

Adam Hamilton featured an interesting post entitled “The Future of the Church” on his blog, reflecting on his recent experience with Church of the Resurrection‘s confirmation program. One of the goals COR has set is to see 200 young people enter clergy ranks in the next 20 years. As a result, the confirmation program has featured a space in which young people identify those who seem to have the gifts for pastoral leadership in their midst, whether that be through observation of their character, their insight, or their leadership ability. Commentary on this blog post can be found here and here from Jim Morrow. Morrow both applauds Hamilton’s leadership and offers some critical questions that should be considered.

All in all, I’m extremely pleased with Church of the Resurrection’s vision for church leadership. Hamilton, and the church leadership as a whole, have recognized the need in this area and have responded well. COR has provided vision for how the church should be actively engaged in the Missio Dei, and have created an environment where life change and transformation are taking place. Hearing Pastor Adam’s story of engaging young people concerning a call to ministry is encouraging.

I would remind Rev. Hamilton that the young people whom he has engaged are not only the future of the church, but they are also the now–a vital and important part of the body that can encourage us in our commitment to Christ. They are also currently providing leadership–they need not wait until they undertake the vows of ordination. With Morrow I would question the process by which COR will mentor and discern with these young people as they pursue their call–a good question. I am glad to know that Jason Gant and the RezLife team have thought about this and have created a space within their ministry to help students who are discerning a call to ministry, whether it be in the pastoral role or in an associate pastor role (children, youth, etc.).

I hope that Rev. Hamilton continues to consider their vision of 200 young people in clergy within 20 years too small! I also hope that other churches would grasp this vision and create similar cultures in their local congregations. The question needs to be asked, and a theology of vocation needs to be explored. The language and discourse surrounding the call needs to be developed.

God is calling servants into pastoral ministry. Are we helping people to listen and pay attention?

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Where are the Young People? Leadership Development and Going Forth

Over a month ago I happened upon an article concerning “young clergy” and the dire need to increase the percentage of young leaders within the United Methodist denomination.  You can read the article I happened upon here.

Since reading this article I have continued to reflect on this topic.  Upon following the link you’ll find an article titled, “Leaders Share Best Practices to Attract Young Clergy.”  The word that kicked my grey matter into action was “attract.”  It didn’t sit right.  In fact, my stomach churned.

The question, “where are the young people?” is not an uncommon one.  Jean Twenge, in her book Generation Me, has provided ample data to show that members of my generation are dropping out of the church in droves.  Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone chronicles the decline in civic involvement which has eventually led to my generation’s increased disengagement not only in church, but in all spheres of public life.  Many of our large churches are asking how to engage my demographic, formulating strategic plans, launching evangelism initiatives, and deriving innovative ways of doing and being church.  Perhaps the loss of the young’uns has hit the mainline denominations hardest, as existing beaurocracies perpetuate status quo approaches to doing ministry, expecting my generation to conform to traditional expressions of faithfulness mediated through too narrow a variety of communication techniques.  It isn’t that my generation doesn’t want to plug into something that is very old and very true, it is just that in many ways the truth of the gospel is being communicated in ways that we have not been trained to understand.

Which brings me back to the word, “attract.”  Would you rather be attracted to a special event, such as a Dave Matthews Band concert through saavy marketing, or personally invited by a friend to share in a common experience?  Leadership in the United Methodist Church and other denominations would be wise to implement invitational language in how they approach leadership recruitment and development.  Such an invitation also requires a compelling vision which a young person would like to come and be part of.  Planting churches, leading congregations, discipling people to follow Jesus, seeing lives transformed–such things are compelling enough, I believe.  Communicating this vision to ”young people” will require living in community with these people.  Where are the young people in our communities who have shown gifts for leadership and ministry?  Do you know any?  Have you developed any?  If not, how can you reach out into your community, find such gifted students, love them, encourage them, and develop them as leaders?  These people don’t appear from thin air, and there is no “bat signal” which will bring them to your doorstep.  You have to have your eyes open. 

Such invitations should also be accompanied by prayer.  What would happen if the Council of Bishops called on every prayer group meeting in every United Methodist Church to dedicate a portion of their meetings to specifically petitioning God to raise up leaders for the United Methodist Church in this generation?

I’ve been talking about the recruitment of young people for pastoral leadership, but such thinking also applies to including a younger contingency in local congregations as part of the laity.  This does require a change in worship format, as I indicated above–people in my generation need the gospel communicated to them in ways that are understandable.  More importantly, however, where do the 20 and 30 somethings in your community live?  Do you have people in your congegration who befriend and love them?  Is there a small contingency of young people who want to reach out to their friends and neighbors, co-workers and social networks and share the gospel?  Do they understand the reason why Christians convictions call us to talk to others about Jesus, and do they have a passion to communicate that message to others?

As much as language of “attracting” new leaders and young people to us might make sense, it won’t work.  The church will have to go, recognizing our unique vocation as a sent people to enter into the world as Jesus’ disciples, proclaiming his gospel and inviting others to walk with us on the journey.

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