What I’ve learned in seminary so far
You might have noticed I’ve not posted very much in the past couple months. That is because I’ve started pursuing my MAR (Masters of Religion) in Educational and Family Ministries.This was the first semester out of four. The sheer volume of writing I had to do was astounding. Its been an enjoyable and enlightening experience, and I wanted to share a few things I’ve learned so far.
I took 3 classes – Spiritual Formation, The Church, and Survey of Church History. Spiritual Formation was a class on spiritual disciplines and growth. The Church was on the biblical doctrines of the Church. Survey of Church History covered the entire history of the church.
Here are some of the things I learned…
- Spiritual disciplines are so much more than reading the bible and praying. We need to make space for God to work in our lives, not just do things that we think we’re supposed to do
- We need to have a plan for our spiritual growth, not just hope it happens by accident
- Most churches are surprisingly far from a true biblical expression of what the church is supposed to be and do
- We fight over too many inconsequential things in the church, while not standing up for what is truly important
- The church has been messed up from day one…
- But amazingly the church has managed to do a untold number of great things throughout history
- Much of what we believe about history is grossly mistaken
- The future of the church is not as bleak as some would have you believe
Thats just a short sample. I’ve learned a lot so far, and its only the first semester. Hopefully I can finish it up in 2 years and get my masters, but we shall see. I should be back to posting regularly as well.
Tags: seminary
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By Blogsdna
You might have noticed I’ve not posted very much in the past couple months. That is because I’ve started pursuing my MAR (Masters of Religion) in Educational and Family Ministries.This was the first semester out of four. The sheer volume of writing I had to do was astounding. Its been an enjoyable and enlightening experience, and I wanted to share a few things I’ve learned so far.
I took 3 classes – Spiritual Formation, The Church, and Survey of Church History. Spiritual Formation was a class on spiritual disciplines and growth. The Church was on the biblical doctrines of the Church. Survey of Church History covered the entire history of the church.
Here are some of the things I learned…
- Spiritual disciplines are so much more than reading the bible and praying. We need to make space for God to work in our lives, not just do things that we think we’re supposed to do
- We need to have a plan for our spiritual growth, not just hope it happens by accident
- Most churches are surprisingly far from a true biblical expression of what the church is supposed to be and do
- We fight over too many inconsequential things in the church, while not standing up for what is truly important
- The church has been messed up from day one…
- But amazingly the church has managed to do a untold number of great things throughout history
- Much of what we believe about history is grossly mistaken
- The future of the church is not as bleak as some would have you believe
Thats just a short sample. I’ve learned a lot so far, and its only the first semester. Hopefully I can finish it up in 2 years and get my masters, but we shall see. I should be back to posting regularly as well.
Tags: seminary
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This is probably the last post in the “New Church” series, because once you are in the church fo ...
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Ever felt guilty about missing a quiet time? How about going a whole day and realizing you’ve no ...
Thanks Bill for this great post. I think you hit many nails on the head. Here's my perspective list from exiting seminary this past spring. Would love to see how yours compares to mine at the end of your run. Praying for you and your ministry and Rocking Seminary to its fullest!!!
http://wp.me/p1CIX6-P
Love that you are finding more than just a good set of books to read, but instead incorporating and doing these practices! I find that is the biggest problem with seminarians (and I'm on my second masters at a seminary, so I've seen many). Good luck on the next round!