Charlie's Seminary Experience

Q: What is the best thing about seminary education?

A: Well, I feel that the best thing about seminary education is the once-in-a-lifetime experience of being able to sit at the feet of so many gifted, and well-studied scholars. Most of my professors have their own little niche that they are "experts" in. I do feel that the faculty at Southeastern is extremely well-rounded. Time after time I've heard chapel speakers mention how distinguished SE's faculty is...and they are right.

Q: Where, in your opinion, is the system lacking?

A: One way I feel that the seminary experience should be tweaked is in the track organization. I feel that there should be a real ministry track and then a "ph.d" or "scholar" track. Instead of making guys who are going to go into ministry and never set foot in a ph.d seminar learn 15 hours plus of Hebrew and Greek, offer more classes that will prepare them for what they will be experiencing in ministry. The scholar track could beef up more on the languages and other scholarly things, such as a class on how to do research.

Equip the pastors with a semester of each language and teach them the basics and teach them how to use technical commentaries for their preaching. If they choose to study more Greek or Hebrew on their own, then let them. However, no preacher, unless he goes on to write a language textbook is ever going to have the ability to sit down and translate Scripture witouth helps. Practicality is the issue. There are those few preacher-scholars who may get their ph.d's but they are in the minority and the scholar track can be for them. I still say make preaching classes a requirement for the scholar track, but replace the practical ministry aspects with research and language classes. I'm sure the world of academia would disagree with me on this but that is to be expected.

Q: How has God used seminary in your life to teach you more about Him?

A: The main way God has used seminary in my life to teach me about Him is to trust Him. Sometimes one can lose track of what the goal of seminary is: preperation to send one out into the world and pastor the flock. However, so many people enter seminary and do not finish. In this way, seminary is like a proving ground. God tests our faithfulness through this time. If one cacn make it through seminary, he can most likely make it through many ministry situations! Seminary without a doubt has the capability of teaching the pastor how to think critically and strenghthen his faith. Of course, the reverse may also be true, if one goes to a seminary that is not dedicated to the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture.

Q: If you could start seminary all over again (uggh...that's an unpleasant thought), what would you do differently?

A: Not too much. I feel that every step of the way for me has been in God's plan - even when I spent my first semester at Southwestern. I guess, while I was there, I could have spent more time studying and less time playing Playstation but I was fresh out of college and 1,000 miles away from home and still single.