Question: What does it take for a pastor to be intellectually vibrant and well-read in the pastorate?
Reply:
I believe nothing is more valuable in achieving this goal than that one would commit himself to be an expository preacher. That approach to preaching will keep one in the word week by week. I have found it to be a wonderful way to nourish my own soul as I allow God to teach me from his Word in … [Read More]
Q&A 17: What does it take for a pastor to be intellectually vibrant and well-read in the pastorate?
Missions & Seminary Education (3): Seminaries Must Find Ways to Forge a “Deep Connect” between their Theology Faculty and their Mission Faculty
In order for a seminary to produce healthy mission-minded students, it must ensure that theology and missiology are inseparable by (1) hiring theology faculty who are concerned to show how theology issues forth in ministry and mission, (2) hiring missiology faculty who are theologically orthodox, theologically aware, and theologically savvy, and (3) crafting curricula that reflect the close relationship between theology and missiology.
Christian theology issues forth in mission:
A truly Christian theology will inevitably issue … [Read More]
Missions and Seminary Education (2): Seminaries Must Cast a Missional Vision “Top Down”
Recently, I corresponded with a friend who is a theological educator. Our phone exchanges and letters centered on the topic of missions and seminary education. As I penned the latest letter in that exchange, I realized that some of the contents of that letter might be helpful for a broader public. I’ve modified the letter and broken it into sections, with each section representing a way in which we theological educators can foster a missionally … [Read More]
Missions and Seminary Education (1): A Match Made in Heaven or Hell?
If the truth be told, missionaries and church planters often find themselves in a tension-riddled relationship with seminary people. Or, at least, that is the impression I have gained over the past fifteen years, as my peregrinations have led me back and forth between the mission field and the seminary context. Often the tension is based upon misperceptions fostered on each end of the divide, but sometimes the tension is based in reality. Although surely … [Read More]
Some Reflections on Building a “Great Commission Seminary”
Over the past several years, President Akin has led Southeastern Seminary to become even more of a Great Commission Seminary than it was already. In so doing, he challenged the college to be a “Great Commission college” and the faculty to make every classroom a “Great Commission classroom.” For me personally, this challenge speaks several of my responsibilities at Southeastern, including my role as Dean of the College and as a professor who teaches courses … [Read More]
Recommended Pre-Seminary Reading
Several times a year I participate in a faculty panel during our Preview Weekends at Southeastern Seminary. Prospective students pepper us with questions about theological education, doctrine, campus culture, and ministry. It isn’t uncommon for prospective students to ask us what books they ought to be reading before they enroll in seminary. In this post, I want to share some recommended readings for students who plan to attend Southeastern or a similar seminary or divinity … [Read More]
On the Dangers of Seminary
[Note: This is a revision and re-posting of an eight-part series published at Between the Times in 2009.]
This post is a confession of sorts, a confession that I hope will be beneficial to some who read it. In essence, it is about one thing—the fact that God’s grace toward me has been overwhelming and that at the same time I often have not lived in a manner worthy of his grace. The particular focus of … [Read More]
Cultivating Godliness in Seminary
When I was preparing to enroll at Southern Seminary to begin my M.Div. studies, more than one person counseled me to not allow my zeal to fizzle while in seminary. While some of that counsel probably reflects my membership in a tradition that is still somewhat suspicious of theological education, I suspect that many other aspiring seminarians have received similar advice. And for good reason—each of us know of someone whose faith withered in seminary, … [Read More]
How Can We Serve You through Between the Times?
Between the Times is the officially faculty blog of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Southeatern exists first and foremost to serve the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention. Our professors are not freelance academics, but rather are denominational servants who have a heart for local churches. Most of our faculty members have at one time or other served as pastors, missionaries, or other ministry leaders. Virtually all of us currently serve our local churches as pastors … [Read More]
On the Dangers of Seminary (Pt. 4): The Danger of Becoming a Dork
Dork: [dor'k] noun. USA pejorative slang for a quirky or socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends. Often confused with “nerd” and “geek,” but does not imply the same intelligence level.
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In this series of posts, I am dealing with the perils of the unique and sometimes bizarre world of seminary education. Most of the dangers of which I speak are dangers to which I have succumbed at one point … [Read More]
