Making the Decision to Go to Seminary: Considerations Before Going

I could quibble with a number of the points in this article, but the main point quoted above is certainly worthwhile.

At the risk of going against a tidal wave of trends, I am not a fan of the new "high school to M.Div." in five or even six years. I'll just never be convinced that this is the same as the M.Div. that I "sweat bullets" for.

But even beyond that, there is the lesson I learned from one of my pastors. Education at the seminary level should be enjoyed, even savored, and it is received best in combination with real-world service and experience—or after an extended season of service.

I'm just not sure what a 22-to-24-year-old with a truncated M.Div., and zero life experience, has to offer the world. More than anything, I feel sorry for him.

I don’t like putting much of a prescription on how someone trains for the ministry other than cultivating the qualifications described in 1 Tim 3 et al.

no one size fits all. I think one should get all the education one can as soon as he can. And keep on learning.

I certainly don’t think you have to have a secular job in order to “relate” to people. You do need to be a people person and involved in people’s lives. (Paul calls it “hospitable” in 1 Tim). You can cultivate that in many different ways.

while I see some advantages in getting a secular degree before seminary, there are disadvantages too. One, you will likely be deficient in languages, putting you behind when you enter seminary. Two, you might get yourself entangled in life, job, family, and never go into the ministry.

still, I am not against the concept. It’s just that I don’t think we can claim it is the “best” way to go

One important reason to consider a marketable secular degree and a job before seminary is the possibility that the church may not confirm your desire with ordination. If you believe the "call" is two-pronged (as I do - individual desire and congregational confirmation) then one may need a "backup plan", not due to lack of commitment on the individual's part, but simply because God has not gifted him for pastoral ministry.

If one goes to seminary but the church declines to ordain, the training received will still, of course, benefit him and his church, just not with him in a pastoral capacity.

Where I’ll agree with Rainer is on the general value of general workforce experience for future pastors.

In my own case, I went to Bible college first, then did a good bit of work in various jobs during seminary and for a few years after before taking a church.

Those experiences in entry-level and middle management roles were far more valuable than I realized at the time. I thought of them mostly as necessary to pay tuition. But they were way more necessary for maturing me and deepening my understanding of what life is like for church members vs. full time pastors.

So I think Rainer is basically on the right track on that point. But I agree with Don that there’s no one size fits all. At best, we’re talking about “rules of thumb.”

I agree that there is value in this, but are there really any young preachers sailing through college and seminary without any workforce experience???

Not at today's prices.

...it probably isn't "no experience whatsoever", but when I was on a search committee for a new youth pastor, yes, many of the guys applying had very little secular workforce experience, and not much of a sign of another career path if the ministry doesn't work out.

Then that would be on them. We are called to work out our ministry. You just keep at it. (sometimes known as too dumb to quit)

Don, I'm not quite sure I can go with that--there are any number of reasons that God might lead someone to go to seminary/Bible college, but not give them a clear path to vocational ministry. Sometimes it's that they had the ability to pass classes, but not the je ne sais quoi to make it in actual ministry, sometimes it's immature churches where they chose to serve, sometimes it's a lack of resources at those churches where they chose to serve.

Plus, Paul had a side hustle of tentmaking, and of course Peter had the side hustle of fishing. It's Biblical to have something in your back pocket!

During my time I have been variously a folding machine operator in a print shop, a realtor, a mortgage broker, a security guard and probably something else that I'm forgetting. (Some things you want to forget.)

I suspect that almost everyone who has trained for the ministry has some kind of secular work experience, even if it is just McDonald's while in high school (excellent training, btw, whatever you think of McDonald's).

However, I don't think a preacher needs another career path. The most important quality is the necessity Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 9.

The most mportant quality is the necessity Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 9.

Why is that the most important quality?

In sales, recruiters often say, “need to be self-starters.” You need to have some drive to keep on going despite difficulties.

Of course, the qualities of 1 Tim 3 and Titus are also essential, but I know men with those qualities who have not lasted in the ministry. They have their reasons, often good reasons. But what I think Paul is speaking about is that drive that just picks up the ministry again because one must.

There was a time of deep discouragement fairly early in my ministry. My dad offered to pay the expenses of moving back to Alberta and working with him in his business. (Both prospects which I loved.) But I thought, “what will I do when I get there?” Answer: try to start a Bible study and organize a church and carry on.

so I thought I might as well stay where I am and struggle on. So we did. Maybe the move would have made life easier, I don’t know, but the persistence to keep at it is essential, no matter where you are