Ministry Training

As someone the Lord seems to be directing towards vocational ministry I’ve started considering the next step.  For those who read this and have no background on me, I’m finishing up my first year of an internship with my church.  The internship has been extended another year, so God has allowed me to continue service at KSBC full time.

During the next year the Lord will continue to shape and mold my desires and passions and, Lord willing, give some more clarity on the future.  Currently there are several potential options where the Lord could direct, but there isn’t any clear direction except to trust the Lord for guidance about the next steps.

One of the options I’ve been considering is seminary.  Though right now I’m not leaning any direction on any of the options, seminary has captivated my mind the past couple days ever since I finished reading a chapter from Spurgeon’s biography on training young preachers.

One thought that came to mind from the chapter was where should the training of vocational minister for the gospel take place.  I’m not too familiar with the history of seminaries and ministry training schools, so I’m not speaking as an expert.  But from my limited understanding of church history I can remember special schools as early as 400 AD, where people would go for ministry training.   So these training schools have had a significant place in the history of the church, but where do they fit in biblically.

One of the driving factor’s that has caused me to think about the place for special training schools is the role of the local church.   Biblically it seems that local churches are instructed to train men for ministry, so what has happened since then?  Have we placed a high value on knowledge and thus relate it to specialized schooling?  Have the local churches lost the vision to bring up future men and ship them off to specialized schools?  Have the seminaries lost connection to the local church?

These were just a few of the questions that have been popping up in my mind.  Seminaries and training schools have great value for the equipping of the saints, but are they ideal or what God had intended (in a sin cursed world things are far from ideal).  Regardless of whether they’re ideal or not, God has brought these schools up and uses them for His glory.

To wrap this up, I’m reminded of hearing Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary say that in 15 years he would like to be out of a job, because churches have taken the seminary’s role of training men for ministry.