Drew's Seminary Experience

You asked for it, you've got it.

What is the best thing about seminary education?

The great worth of theological education is that when it is done rightly it should fuel and inform worship for the good of Christ's church. That's my thesis. I have not been disappointed at Southeastern in this regard; each class and the faculty is consciously church-focused and ministry driven. Flowing out of that, I have found that there is great benefit in the process because the nature of theology breeds conflict (by this I mean godly discussion and debate). I've always found a humorous analogy in the animal kingdom that relates to we young seminarians. When two young bucks (male deer) first begin growing their antlers, they often spar with one another. I guess this is to "get the feel of them." Seminarians, armed with the fiersome antlers of knowledge, spar with one another continually, testing out new doctrines and theological approaches to "get the feel of theology." If this is done with a spirit that recognizes we have much to learn from one another, this is healthy and wholesome. Sometimes I do fear (and fall into this trap) that a significant amount of debate on campus is pride-driven. Who is the greatest emerging theologue? Who can outsmart whom? Just an observation.

Where, in your opinion, is the system lacking?

I do have a couple of soapboxes about seminary education, both in general and more specifically at Southeastern. First, more specific to Southeastern. The class sizes are far too large and I believe that this hampers effective theological education because it forces formal lecture to be the pedagogical method of choice. Dialogue and variety have been shown to be effective teaching tools, but the sheer amount of students in most SEBTS classes stifles this. Not to advocate one seminary over another, but my class this winter term at RTS-Charlotte had 25 students, and I was informed that this was about average. I found this to be a refreshing experience.

My second concern is that even though seminary church-focused and ministry-driven, there is a real disconnect between the churches and the seminary with regard to how young aspiring pastors are trained. Many local churches around here are simply swarming with seminary families, and there is no real way of mentoring these young men and women. A focused plan from the seminary and the churches to work hand-in-hand to train not only the minds but also the hearts and hands of the students would, in my opinion, be of great value for the Kingdom. As a further plug, I believe that God has taught me far more about humility through the mentorship of my pastor than I have in the classroom, no matter how godly my professor is.

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

God has shown me the enormity of Himself in seminary. It did not take me long to discover through my classes that His truth is much more than I ever gave Him credit for. Some parts of the Bible are simply difficult, and I am learninng to bow in humility before His incomprehensibility at times. Deuteronomy 29:29 is a great reminder of this.

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

This is a difficult question to answer, because I have to realize that God's providence is what has brought me here and what keeps me here. It's tempting so often to dream about what it would have been like to be at a seminary that would matches my theology more closely, but God has brought me (and kept me) here for a reason, as my pastor often has to point out to me. So, even though I am the one who proposed this question, I decline to answer it. Sorry gentlemen.