“And what I’m saying. ” I love it when Paul says that in 2 Corinthians 9. 6 He makes sure we have our attention and speaks directly. Behind the articulated prose and rhetorical flourishes, where do you intend to go?Sure, simple and straightforward. And I say this: he who sows sparsely will also reap; And what sows in abundance will also be harvested?
The same humble approach helps when faced with the question of how to “stay Christian” in seminary. There are many (good) tips to give. There are many experiences to repeat, warnings to give, recommendations to make, and commitments to highlight. There are special truths to highlight and practical questions to exercise.
- But at the end of the day.
- What’s the point?Is there anything that brings together all the tips and recommendations?When you speak directly and remove all the ornaments.
- What is the heart of the question of remaining a Christian in the seminary?.
The point is this: to be a Christian in the seminary. The key to remaining a Christian in the seminary, as in every age or at the crossroads of life, is to be Christian.
Perhaps the greatest danger facing a seminarian in each generation is the temptation to put him in aspects of his Christianity during this “preparation for ministry. “We are seduced to give us a safe passage from daily Christianity, as we prepare ourselves to be (ironically) an instrument of daily grace in the lives of others.
Whether by Tentman himself, sin in us or simply naivety, the seminarian can begin to argue in this regard:
I do not need regular personal prayer or devotion to biblical meditation; I’m already immersed in these things all the time.
I really don’t need to be deeply connected to a local church, where I can address and serve others; my seminary community is enough for me, besides, is it a temporary condition?there’s no reason to take root here.
I don’t need to play my role as a man at home while I study; my wife can hold her limbs temporarily and be the support of the family while I study.
And so the seminarian begins his descent. He thinks that, in a way, real-life Christianity will take off when his real life begins on the other side of graduation. Waiting? His personal search for God’s continued grace and his walk in faith in Jesus and his gospel, in order to better prepare to introduce others to the same normal Christian life that he strategically neglected.
It can be helpful to hear that the seminar is real life. All life, from cradle to grave, is real life in God’s economy. For the Christian, there are no interludes, no pauses, right? Stations?Where the most important things are, they are outstanding as we prepare for the next phase. There is no Christian call to neglect by putting on his own oxygen mask while training to help others with his own.
How tragic that the zealous seminarian, inundated with tasks and captivated by the desire for academic success, begins to despise the same means of grace that God used to cultivate his initial zeal for the evangelical ministry. The result is heartbreaking: a misdirected seminary begins to crush the same zeal that brought the seminarian there at first.
How tragic it is that the jealous seminarian first neglects the care of his wife and children because he is in a period of “preparation for ministry. “The Apostle Paul would not be impressed.
How tragic it is when we start to be impressed by everything we learn, what we know, and the great gift we will be for the church after graduation. The Apostle reminded us: “[This] knowledge is inflated, but love builds. If someone thinks they know something, in fact, haven’t they learned to know yet?(1 Corinthians 8. 1-2).
Follow the path to remain a Christian in seminary to the end and you will realize that the specificity of the seminary period is less than what Christianity is in all periods of life, in all times of the history of the Church, all over the world. To remain a Christian in the seminary is to remain a Christian in general.
The way to remain a long-term Christian is to be a Christian every day; is to walk every day in the light of God’s fascinating and extraordinary grace for us in the gospel; is totally dependent on the Spirit of God, deepening the Word. of God, among God’s people, does this have both eyes on Jesus?Not only in the scriptures, but in all forms of our existence. Fight against pride. Serve your wife. Be prepared to meet the needs of others, to serve and be served by believing friends, and to share the gospel and your own life with those who do not yet know God.
There’s none? For the Christian, is it not God’s call to the defeated seminary before the complements?His call to us, by his grace, to be every day the kind of husband, father, friend and disciple of Jesus that we hope will produce our formal ministry. after the seminary.
By: David Mathis. © 2012 Ministéres Ligonier. Original: How to Stay Christian in the Seminary.
This article is part of the October 2012 edition of Tabletalk magazine.
Translation: Vin-cius Silva Pimentel. Review: Vin-cius Musselman Pimentel. © 2014 Faithful Ministérium. All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: How to stay Christian in the seminary.