In my last post I went a little deeper on the idea and
importance of having a Biblically based Sunday school/small group as opposed to
having book studies.
A very important, and unstated in the previous post, aspect
of having a Biblically based class is that the leader absolutely must have a minimal
level of Bible training and knowledge.
In fact, having a leader/teacher who does not have a minimal level of
knowledge could potentially do much damage and allow for interpretation that is
quite different than what one would want. I would find it difficult to teach
Christ or the mission of the church without knowing what they are. And I say
this from personal experience, in my first couple of years after coming to
faith I lead a Bible study and looking back it truly was the blind leading the
blind.
The biggest issue (to me) would be a leader presenting
material with a specific agenda in mind that would be contrary to what the
scripture says. This can be done by downplaying scripture and focusing on a
specific conclusion, or by cherry-picking scripture out of context
(proof-texting scripture). These concerns of course can be realized no matter
what the level of education of the teacher/leader. The second issue, as
mentioned above, would be ignorance of scripture. The leader could have a good
heart and pure motives but would still struggle to understand much of
scripture, and this could be especially dangerous when encountering hard
teachings or difficult questions that may be raised. (The flip side, is someone
who is too educated providing answers that are high-minded but do very little
to communicate anything worthwhile. The greatest lesson I took away from
Seminary was a realistic idea of the damage I could do to believers if I wasn’t
careful).
In addition to education there are several qualities that
would be desirable in a leader/teacher – such as being a good shepherd,
allowing for all people to contribute and ask questions in a safe place,
allowing free inquiry, showing limitless grace, validating people who ask
questions, and many more. This could in fact be its own post and is a good
reminder that being a leader/teacher is really difficult and is something
worthwhile for the church to consider and to invest in.
This is what brings me to the topic of the post, the idea of
the Seminary. I have seen that in many ways the Seminary is in trouble. I know
the problems of my own Seminary (Bethel), but the struggles they are facing are
not unique across the country. I do not have all the numbers, but I have heard
and read that a significant number of Seminaries are in serious trouble in the
next decade and may go away.
Part of this is the changing financial realities of our
society. I had a good friend tell me that the age of the professional Christian
may be going away. Each passing year sees fewer people (as a percentage, if not
absolutely) working as pastors, professors, parachurch organizations, and other
places of employment. This will lead to a decrease in demand for students
willing to enroll in Seminary. And there are many people who went to Seminary
with hope of paid ministry that have struggled to find it (ahem). Add to this
the reality that costs are not going down and there is a lot of strain
throughout the system.
Also, and this is admittedly anecdotal, but I sense that the
church models that are seeing the largest amount of growth do not necessarily
have the same demand for Seminary educated leaders, or they are opening their
own Seminaries, or they are just emphasizing more lay leaders in support
positions. There simply is not the demand from churches for the Seminary
educated student.
Another critique I have heard is that specific Seminaries
are failing because of what they teach or how they teach or political views
they may have. While this may be true on a small scale, I see these issues as
being dwarfed by the bigger macro issues that are facing Seminaries across the
country.
So what is being lost? Well, for starters, we are in danger
of losing a large amount of educated members of our church. This will have a
trickle down effect in our congregations and will impact on the ability of the
church to interact with larger society.
Another loss is the ecumenical aspect of the Seminary.
Leaders from a variety of church traditions with a variety of perspectives are
able to mingle, learn together, challenge each other, and take that accumulated
knowledge back to their own churches. There is immense value in this, as it
demands people interact with those that are different and to have a more robust
understanding of the church. That can certainly flow down into the
congregation.
So what can be done? Perhaps it is time for a new
understanding of Seminary and what it can mean for the church community. The
mission of the Seminary was to train young people as the future leaders of the
church, but this was probably thought of in the sense of professional
Christians. As stated, this role is probably in permanent decline in our
society. But teachers and leaders in the church are still needed, no matter
what their full time profession may be.
Models within the Seminary are shifting, but as best I can
tell they are still focused on the model of churning out professional
Christians. Perhaps it is time for a more expansive view of Seminary, to
provide short term or extreme part time programs. To target specific training
for small group leaders/teachers. To provide training for missions, for board
leaders, for youth leaders, for other people within the church. I do not know
exactly what this would look like, but it can help define a new view of the
Seminary.
We need to save the Seminary. But we also need to
acknowledge the reality of the new world that the Seminary serves. The mission
of the past couple of centuries is becoming less of a reality, but the need for
educated leaders and teachers is as needed, and perhaps as critical, as it has
ever been.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteGreat points! I especially support the idea of shorter or certificate programs to help educate Church leaders but still enable/allow them to maintain a regular work/family life. But, as a nerd myself, I do like the interactions and idea minglings that occur at a traditional seminary.
Do you think that seminary leadership needs to evolve? Do seminary's mission statements need to change? In other words, how can these changes to further Christian education be made? I do think it apt/right that "professional Christians" are declining, but the Church's need for good educators will not diminish.
-Brittany