10 Pointers for Seminary-Trained Preachers

For a picture of the errors of #2, listen to President Obama speak a time or two. He really rocks the vibe of the know it all professor IMO—despite not really knowing much that I’d consider worth repeating. There are pastors who do the same thing.

#3 is huge, and is probably the weakest link among seminarians. You get a bunch of guys together, teach them their Greek, Hebrew, exegesis, hermeneutics—you guys know the drill far better than I can explain it of course—and they spend a number of years with their nose in books. (having a master’s degree myself, I know about a nose in books and am still guilty of it!) Then they get their first pastorate and the key issue is how well they get out and lift their nose out of that book and get to know members…..

….it’s the church analogy of the business reality that managers are chosen from the ranks of (a) MBAs, (b) PhDs, and (c) those who burn the midnight oil to climb the ladder. And then people wonder why they haven’t got amazing people skills…well, look at the process they used to select them. I don’t know exactly how to fix it, but knowing is half the battle, no?