Surviving and Thriving in Seminary

An Academic and Spiritual Handbook

H. Daniel Zacharias, Benjamin K. Forrest

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781577997795
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Seminary can be rich and rewarding, but also disorienting. In addition to the typical challenges of doing graduate studies, your experiences in seminary affect how you see God, other people, and yourself. The stakes are high, but the good news is that you're not alone on this journey.In Surviving and Thriving in Seminary, two experienced professors (and former seminary students) guide you through what to expect and how to navigate your years in seminary. They tell you what they tell their own students--and what they wish they'd heard themselves. You'll get practical advice on how to prepare your own heart and relationships, how to manage your time and energy, and how to acquire the study skills you need. This essential book encourages and equips current and soon-to-be students to get the most out of their time in seminary.

PART 1

PREPARATION

CHAPTER 1

Preparing Your Mind

Like many seminary students, you may have grown up reading the Bible, attending Sunday school, going to Bible camp, etc. All of these have given you a hunger for God’s Word, as well as a desire to serve him and others. This has brought you to seminary, and that is a great thing!

But we have both good news and bad news for you. First the good news: You will learn and understand the Bible in an even deeper way because of the theological training you receive in seminary. But the bad news is that you might not be as prepared as you think you are. Sure, you may know the Bible well, but this does not necessarily mean you are prepared to read and study at an academic level. Even if you have studied the Bible your entire life, you may end up struggling along with everyone else with new terms and concepts that you’ve never heard before from your pastor or church.

In this chapter, we hope to give you some pointers on how to adjust to the new world of academic, biblical, and theological study you will find in seminary. We will also deal specifically with how you can get ready to study a subject that students often find themselves especially unprepared to tackle: biblical languages.

GET READY FOR DISCOMFORT

Like every field of study, biblical and theological study involves the mastering of new terms and concepts. The difference is your mindset going in. Medical students, for example, go in prepared to learn previously unknown things. You, on the other hand, have likely discussed the Bible and theology with friends and family and listened to speakers talk about it for years. But now you are listening to professors discuss the same subjects in ways you’ve never heard before. It is jarring and often confusing. Students sometimes rebel, questioning the faith of their professors or wonder why they need to learn “all this new extraneous stuff.” If you are tempted to resist new ideas, remind yourself that wisdom and knowledge come from being exposed to and thinking through new ideas—not by refusing to listen or enter into dialogue.

You will not only be faced with new terms and concepts, but these concepts may challenge you on a personal level. Most students in other fields of study take in what they learn from their professors and textbooks with almost total openness. They can do this because what they learn doesn’t (usually) challenge them to think differently on a topic that is near and dear to their heart. But in seminary, you are studying things you have previously internalized: the Christian faith, the stories of the Bible, your personal theology, and your ministry future. You meditate on these things; you celebrate them with your faith community, and many of you have already taught and preached on them. The experience of the graduate seminarian is different than those in other fields. Students in music or economics do not generally experience this same relationship with their subject matter prior to their graduate-level studies.

Seminary will ask you to take a step back and look critically at what you believe—not because your professors want to destroy your beliefs, but because they want you to think about whether they are the best way to understand the world, and whether they truly are in line with the Scriptures and not just a folk theology.1 They want you to expand your thoughts on certain issues. Be willing to entertain another perspective, even if you do not ultimately agree. This challenge is great for you—but can at times be a painful process.

Because you will be introduced to new concepts, challenging ideas, and a new way of reading the Scriptures, you need to prepare for discomfort. Sometimes your professor or fellow students will hold a different position than you. While your inclination may be to put up your guard and plug your ears, resist this urge. Discomfort will force you to rethink your position and articulate it better. Or you may change your mind altogether as you come to realize that you held an incorrect or simplistic belief. However, in the midst of discomfort you also need to firmly remind yourself of the fundamentals of orthodox Christian faith. You will very often be challenged on many fronts, but very rarely are students being challenged on the basics. Unless you’ve chosen to go to a seminary that is extremely different from your own faith tradition, most of your professors will hold to the same fundamental beliefs you do.

When faced with discomfort, it is helpful to remember that there was a process involved in you ending up at the seminary you are now in (or are about to be in).2 For example, Danny moved across the country to study with a particular professor. Ben, likewise, made a cross-country move. After making such a big decision, it is normal to feel doubt and apprehension. However, if you have thought carefully and sought wise counsel, trust your decision. But recognize that a correct decision does not mean a path that is free of challenges.

Another realm in which many will need to prepare for discomfort is with personal and internal reflection. Seminary is about more than introducing you to the classic disciplines of Bible, theology, and the practice of ministry. It is also about forming you as a person. This means not only continuing to work on your own heart (the subject of the next chapter), but also being mentally prepared to ask hard questions. Although I (Danny) am a biblical scholar and have studied with great people, the most formative points in my seminary journey were not only my New Testament and Greek courses. It was the courses in leadership and counseling that forced me to look at childhood and family issues that shaped some of my negative behaviors and feelings. These were mentally exhausting exercises, and I was often resistant to them because of the mental and emotional energy required. But embracing the discomfort and diving head first into the work has brought me to the place I am today.

Change is uncomfortable, but discomfort can be good for you. More than that, it is essential if you want to keep growing as a human being. You can be refined into a better person through every trial you face, big or small.

BECOMING THE FUNNEL

Whether you know it or not, what you have learned until you arrive in seminary has gone through a funnel before it reached you. Your pastor, or the preacher whose podcasts you listen to, read books and commentaries to prepare their sermons. They have passed on only a portion to you—the stuff they really wanted you to hear. Your small group leader, Sunday school teacher, or any author of books you have read on Christianity or the Bible have done the same thing. If you read any blogs or visit any Christian websites, they are more than likely sites that those you respect would commonly recommend. And that Christian bookstore you browse and buy books from only carries a handful of publishers—publishers that often don’t publish the academic treatises of trained theologians or biblical scholars.

This is why seminary often feels like a whole new world—because it is. In most seminaries, your professors are now teaching you the different opinions on particular theological positions; they are critiquing ways in which some people have read particular passages of Scripture; they are introducing you to theologians you’ve never heard of talk about a subject you barely understand; they are asking you to read academic works on these topics you’ve never considered.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS If you come up with a great idea on how to deal with the new world of seminary as you read this book, please share these ideas with us on Twitter and Facebook using #thrivinginseminary

In short, you are now the one being asked to sort through arguments on all sorts of topics and to think through which argument is best and which aligns best with Scripture. You are now being trained to be the funnel. It is a daunting and overwhelming task. And it is absolutely worth it!

BE A BUFFALO

Knowing that seminary can be uncomfortable and that you are being trained to be a funnel, you should make the decision to charge right into it with an open mind that is prepared to learn. It is like the difference between cows and buffalo, which Rory Vaden writes about in his book Take the Stairs.3 When cows sense a storm coming, they begin moving away from it. But they are slow, and when the rain is upon them, they keep running with the storm! Their attempt to flee ends with their enduring a longer state of unpleasantness. Buffalo, on the other hand, charge right into the storm when they sense it coming. They don’t try to evade the storm and end up minimizing the uncomfortable period.

Refusing to entertain another perspective, refusing to be open-minded on certain issues, stubbornly planting your flag on certain things—this is the way of the cow! Instead of evading the issues or reluctantly engaging the issues because you have to, charge right in like a buffalo! Here are a few examples of things you can do:

•If you attend a church that uses a modern worship style, visit a more traditionally liturgical church. Read about its traditions and why some Christians prefer that style.

•If you’ve grown up in the Arminian tradition, choose to write a paper arguing for Calvinism.

•If you have been taught that evolution is the proper scientific interpretation for answering the origin question, choose to research the arguments for intelligent design.

•If you grew up in a denomination that only ordains men for pastoral leadership, choose to write a paper exploring the reasons why some churches come to a different conclusion on this topic.

In short, seek to understand positions that are unfamiliar to you. Through all of these types of “buffalo charges,” remember that taking an open and honest look is key. Very often, we read about concepts and different opinions with the intent of finding the holes in their arguments and to re-entrench ourselves in our previously held opinions. This is not an honest look. You don’t need to change your opinion, but entering into respectful dialogue in order to better understand issues is the path of wisdom.

COMMIT TO STUDYING BIBLICAL LANGUAGES

One of the particularly uncomfortable parts of your studies will likely be learning Greek and Hebrew. These classes stand on the horizon like looming mountains for most seminary students, creating a range of emotions from uneasiness to flat out fear. There are several reasons that students feel apprehensive about learning Greek and Hebrew. Some may question its usefulness and others may be downright hostile toward the idea. Many are afraid that, given the mammoth task of learning a language, they will not be up to the challenge.

We, and your professors, were once in the same place you find yourself now. We want to give you encouragement for the journey, explain why most seminaries today are still committed to teaching future ministers how to engage with the biblical text in its original language, and give you some advice on how to navigate what for many students is the most difficult part of their seminary studies. By the end of the chapter, we hope you’ll agree that Greek and Hebrew are worth the effort.

THE NEED FOR MINISTERS WHO KNOW BIBLICAL LANGUAGES

Most schools require (or strongly urge) students to take Greek and Hebrew as part of their core curriculum for the training of ministers. If you are a student, please don’t think that your professors came to this decision lightly. Many of your professors have been pastors, and they know that ministry is not an easy job. It is one of the most stressful careers, and it requires a large skill set so you are prepared for its daily challenges. In the midst of all of the various demands of the pastoral office, you must not forget one thing: You are still a minister of God’s Word and are called to proclaim that word faithfully and clearly. Thus, you need to be equipped to engage the Bible in the language in which it was written. So while you may question the usefulness of learning Hebrew and Greek in light of the other demands made of pastors, we ask that you trust the expertise and experiences of those who have gone before you. You need language skills to successfully carry out the calling that God has placed on your life.

As a pastor, you are the main spiritual educator in your congregation. Pop psychology, Christian best sellers, or the latest sermon series that has trickled down from a megachurch will not be the catalyst that drives your congregation toward growth or maturity. It will be a combination of things, one of which is you as you model serious study of God’s Word, as you actively strive toward a life that conforms to God’s will revealed in the Scriptures, and as you genuinely delight in learning more and more about God and his word. The main reason for becoming proficient in biblical languages is that you need to be challenged in your study of God’s Word so that you can, in turn, challenge those whom you educate and to whom you minister. This is an important part of “becoming the funnel” that we mentioned above.

While it is true that the pastor needs to know the biblical languages for the sake of communicating the biblical message, biblical languages are not just for the teaching pastor. Biblical languages are for all believers who are called to ministry and who want to mature in their study and understanding of the biblical text. When I (Ben) started seminary, I had an undergraduate degree in education. I pursued my master’s in religious education, never intending on becoming a senior pastor, so I didn’t think I needed biblical languages. This is a false belief, and we want to encourage all who are pursuing biblical and theological education that the languages are for you! More moms, dads, teachers, pastors, lay leaders, doctors, mechanics, and farmers need to be able to teach the Word of God effectively in their home and in the church, and one tool in the toolbox for teaching it is an understanding of the languages in which these words were written.

THE BLESSINGS OF BIBLICAL LANGUAGES

Imagine what it would be like to go from a thirteen-inch black-and-white television to a twenty-seven-inch color television, and then finally sit in a theater with 3-D glasses and watch a movie on the big screen. You may fully understand the story and its characters on the first television, and with the second the images are larger and more vibrant; but in the theater, it is almost overwhelming as colors and images get right up close to you. Most people in the pews who read just the Bible and occasionally the study notes are watching the first television. They get the story, enjoy it, and have come to know God and his saving grace. Those readers who also read some commentaries and dictionary articles are reading, perceiving, and enjoying the Scriptures at a diffe...