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Yesterday, I began posting some thoughts on our seminary experience so far. Here are some more thoughts. 

When we moved to Louisville, we were anxious to find a good church. We intentionally avoided the churches that were saturated with seminary students. It’s not that these churches are unimportant; they are! But Corina and I never felt like these were “real” churches, in the sense of their crossing generational lines and doing ministry to all kinds of people. At these churches, we felt as if we were in a bubble. We were comfortable with lots of couples like ourselves, but ultimately, we disliked that comfort. Furthermore, I didn’t want to go to a church with so many seminary students that I would have to sign a waiting list if I wanted to serve as an usher. So, we chose to drive thirty minutes to find a church with few seminary students.

A wise pastor encouraged me in this time of frustration to concentrate on learning to be “teachable.” During my second semester, I found myself homiletically analyzing every sermon I heard, taking apart the theology of every prayer, and critiquing any Christian song that came on the radio. Sadly, seminary education puffs you up and if you’re not careful, you begin to feel “above” the people you hope to minister to. Two of the lessons I learned during this time were:

1. Just because I have more knowledge about God does not mean I know God more than other people.
2. God doesn’t “need” me in ministry. He is doing His work, building His Church just fine without me. It is my privilege to serve Him, not His privilege to have me in His service.

This frustration of not being in ministry is curious, because it’s partly spiritual (you do have a call to minister and you are filled with genuine care for people) and partly fleshly (you feel you are above the menial jobs you are doing, like serving at a restaurant). I decided to start ministering wherever God put me, instead of waiting for a magic ministry opportunity in church. My work at a restaurant was my ministry. My sitting in the pew on Sunday instead of standing in the pulpit was God’s will, no matter how much I wanted things to be different.

We didn’t make many friends in seminary. I got along well with some classmates. Corina befriended some other moms in the off-campus housing we stayed at. But honestly, there was no time to invest seriously in relationships. It’s not that we didn’t crave deep friendships, the kind we had in Romania; it’s that there was no time to develop them. Juggling family life, church work, three jobs, and full-time status as a seminary student proved to be too much. If I had one thing to do over, I would have made more friends. But looking back, I don’t know how we could have done it any differently.

I encourage all who want to serve in the local church to go to seminary. The education I have received so far has been a gift from God. I think of the classmates I had in Romania and what they would do to receive such a terrific education here in the U.S. It is a pity that so many pastors and church workers decide not to take advantage of the blessings that come from seminary.

On-campus seminary work, though, is difficult. God is not only forming you and teaching you through your schoolwork. He is shaping you through the life circumstances you encounter. I thank God for the past two years and for all He has taught us these past two years. I know that our work for His kingdom is never in vain.

written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog

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