Anthony RussoEvery seminarian remembers visiting their seminary for the first time. Everything on the walking tour is mesmerizing. You crane to take it all in as you revere current students that pass by (secretly wondering if that could ever be you) and hang on...
Many seminary students realize during their academic career just how starved they were for formal training. Even students who were reared in church all their lives have commented on how little they actually knew about the richness in God’s Word that...
As a volunteer leader attending seminary online, I sometimes feel out of place. I don’t have the experience or skills of many of my classmates. But as an ex-professor and someone with a PhD in Chemical Engineering, there is one thing I do...
So you’re in seminary. Your journey has included countless hours of study, late nights tucked away in seldom-visited corners of the library, and copious amounts of caffeine to keep you going. Ancient Greek draws you closer to insanity, and you feel...
Have you ever thought about going to seminary? Chances are your answer is ‘No.’ Maybe ‘No, I’m not looking to become a minister’ or ‘No, I want to do ministry, not just learn about it.’ If you had asked me two years ago if I was thinking about...
Because of the interesting combination of being a US Navy sailor and online seminary student, I’ve learned a few things about surviving in a distance learning seminary. If you’re on active duty, or even if you have an otherwise demanding civilian...
As I was writing my previous post, ‘Balancing Church and Seminary,’ I realized that a lot of what I was writing assumed that you were in a time in your life where you needed to choose a church. But since not everyone in seminary is in...
Seminary students are a transient bunch. They blow into town, spend three years too busy to do anything but study, and then they’re gone. For many of them (or, I should say, us), the whole seminary thing can seem like a hassle. If we...
One of our readers recently commented that he was in the process of deciding whether or not God was leading him towards starting studies at a seminary. He had a few friends who had already graduated or were going through seminary themselves, and was...
As a director of admissions, I believe there are two questions future seminarians should ask any seminary they are considering. Really, only two questions? More questions will certainly arise. However, two key questions will provide the quickest and...
Terry DelaneyThe information for this post can be found in Meet The Puritans by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson available at Reformation Heritage Books or Westminster Book Store. As part of Going to Seminary’s devotional initiative, we would like to...
We all have some idea of what a mentor is. Some of us may currently have a mentor or are even taking on the role of a mentor. However, despite the familiarity of the concept and the value many of us attribute to it, real mentoring is something that...
As a librarian in a seminary, I’ve noticed that in general students can be divided into two different types. There are those who consider themselves bibliophiles, haters of all things digital, old school. They spurn the internet and electronic...
The last thing I would advise anyone to do is what I did this semester—work thirty hours per week and take eight hours of classes simultaneously. I started working in the summer because we needed some extra money, and thought that I could keep at it...
Jeff’s post Professors Are People Too, got me thinking. On my lap right now sits a stack of theology position papers—a tall stack, I might add—to grade. Jeff and I have been blessed the past three years to tag-team TA for the first year...
A couple years ago, I was humbled when I realized my professors were so caring, authentic, and well, human. This epiphany moment? I was walking across campus and two different profs, a couple minutes apart, asked us how our son was doing and how...
The other day my wife and I had some friends over for a meal after church, one of whom was an American of Hispanic background and also a seminary student. We came to discuss some of our experiences at seminary. One of the things we spent a bit of...
There are plenty of resources on the net about how to write good papers, take the right classes…you know that sort of thing. Here are is my Top 5 “secret” tips (in no particular order) that will help you out in your first semester...
In his last post Chad gave some good pointers on what to bring to seminary, and then concluded on the note: Navigating seminary is different from college. It is an immersive experience that should be taken full advantage of. I totally agree. There...
I remember when I was anxiously awaiting my first day of classes at Asbury. I had bought all of my books beforehand and had even started reading. I was really hoping that I would be able to find a Seminary 101 list of a few things that would come in...
When I began seminary, I thought I was one of the more unique students. I was Canadian, of Dutch heritage, and wanting to pursue and academic career instead of pastoral ministry. It turns out that I am the only Canadian, one of two people of Dutch...
So you think God wants you to go to seminary. Now what? How do you know you are meant to head to seminary? Especially when some in your life think it would be a waste of time and resources? So, just how does one proceed to investigate, select and...
Many seminary students like books. Some of us, I being one, are book geeks. This means that we drive our spouses or housemates crazy with the amount of books that we seem to go through. So why is it important for the seminarian (and minister) to...
People wash out of seminary and out of ministry all the time. Sometimes the most promising people in ministry self-destruct, abruptly landing in the hospital, divorce court, or on the front page. Others just tire out and change careers. In every...
Ryan BurnsTowards the beginning of the semester, a professor gave out an article written by Mike Yaconelli titled, “Getting fired for the Glory of God.” As one who has worked in a local church for over nine years, I found his article challenging...
So, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this semester and trying to determine how I will know if the semester is a success. Is it a successful semester if I get straight A’s? Is the number of pages I read this semester a measure of...
When I was in high school, I occasionally got lunch detention (a.k.a. Study Hall). Looking back, I couldn’t tell you what I did, but I’m sure I deserved it. That said, I will admit that it wasn’t really punishment. I mean, I got 30...
1. Master List The first step for me when shopping for my seminary books is to make a master list of all the books I need for the semester. Much like Santa, I make a list and check it twice… but mostly to make sure that I haven’t missed...
For those who have read about my experience with taking distance education seminary classes you might think that I am not a fan of them… quite the contrary. I think they are great. In fact, here are six things I think are great about online...
There are so many seminaries. So, how do you decide on which one to attend? Well, this is seminary, so prayer is always a good starting place. As you prayerfully submit your decision making process to the Lord, there are a couple things to think...