IS SEMINARY TRAINING NECESSARY

SHOULD THOSE WHO DESIRE FOR A LIFE TIME OCCUPATION OF PASTORAL MINISTRY BE TRAINED IN A BIBLE COLLEGE OR SEMINARY?
Part Two

I grew up in an independent Baptist church where my father pastored. He had a ministry to pastors and those who had been knocked out by pastoring churches.

I grew up seeing a pastor train men for ministry. Then my dad passed away, and I went to seminary. I had some good training as a fundamentalist but had little training learning how to be

learning how to be a pastor like my dad.

How one receives that wisdom is the question at hand.

One should never go into the pastorate without first having been trained by a seasoned pastor who knows ministry. Training starts in the local church and then moves to a Seminary or even some good off- campus education training.

Dan Philips over at Biblical Christianity or Pyro addressed a question about “Is Seminary training necessary?”

I want to start with this question:

How does God bring a young man to the point of knowing God would like him to be in pastoral ministry?

My oldest son was going to Pensacola Christian College, for a degree in Accounting. In his first year a fundamentalist preacher came to chapel and preached a sermon on “Pastoral ministry as a life ministry”. My son believed that he was to preach and changed his major to pastoral ministry.

The next three years he took all the subjects for Bible and minored in Greek. Following graduation, he came back to our church where I was the pastor, and I put him to work as a music director and youth pastor. Well, in a little while he began to realize that his calling was not from the Lord, but his emotions. And I encouraged him to find another direction in life. Serve the Lord, for sure, but the call for pastoral ministry is not an emotional call. He today is doing great and he and his wife are active in their local church. The training he received in Pensacola was not training for pastoral ministry. It was excellent Bible education. I don’t know if they have hand-on program for pastoral ministry.

HOW DOES ONE KNOW THAT GOD IS DIRECTING HIM TO GO INTO PASTORAL MINISTRY

My youngest son Kyle, who is twenty-three, said, “Dad, I don’t have a clue what I want to do; and if I go to college, I have no idea what I want to learn to do.”


WHERE DOES THE DIRECTION COME FROM TO GIVE DIRECTION FOR ONE’S LIFE WORK?

That is, HOW DID I KNOW THAT THE LORD REALLY WANTED ME TO PURSUE A LIFE’S WORK IN PASTORAL MINISTRY?

There is no substitute for hands-on apprenticeship: pastor to student.

Having all the knowledge of the Word does not qualify a man for ministry in a local church. But having the knowledge, then wisdom of ministry of a local church is a must.

How one receives that wisdom is the question at hand.

One should never go into the pastorate without first having been trained by a seasoned pastor who knows ministry. Training starts in the local church and then moves to a Seminary or even some good off- campus education training.
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Footnote

• This observation is from by perspective and life experiences. My experiences are not necessary the norm for all pastors, preachers, ministers and Christian workers. And I am speaking from the experience in my youth, as a Independent Fundamental Baptist.



• I am speaking in part from by experience from forty years ago.



• But it does not negate the issue at hand, "SHOULD ONE WHO HAS A DESIRE FOR PASTORING A CHURCH GO TO SEMINARY."