PLEASE NOTE: You probably have several that apply, choose the one that seems to be most important.
This poll can apply to other forms of ministry besides the pastorate, BTW. So if you are not a pastor, you are encouraged to participate.
Bible colleges, seminaries, divinity schools, on-line courses, seminars, conferences, books, magazines, posts, pod casts – pastors are always needing to learn and grow in their skills. Few professions (callings) require such a large skill set knowledge base (missionaries sometimes even need more).
Not matter how much preparation you get — the best Bible colleges, seminaries, conferences, mentorship, etc., the room to improve is always the biggest room in the world. I have known pastors that learned what they learned at school and then practically stopped learning. They read for more sermon illustrations, perhaps, but stopped being students. Most of us were and are perpetual learners.
There is a lot of pressure on seminaries and Bible colleges to train pastors for the realities of what they will face. And even when they do, the arrogance of youth makes many of us think, “I’ll be able to handle what comes along.” Often graduates do not apply what they learned because they did not believe they would need some of those skills.
So this is not about getting down on the schools. But if you could encourage the schools to put more emphasis on something, what would it be? Or perhaps your school offered courses you chose not to take, and then realized you needed them. What were you least prepared for?
