The term “seminary” comes from agriculture and gardening. Around 500 years ago, after pastoral ministry education in Christian churches had been done in local churches and in monasteries, a “seed bed” for pastoral ministry was conceived as a way to grow pastors together in a more intensive and shared environment where they could more deeply engage one another and their education in Bible, theology, and ministry. It blended the models of the university – where guilds of scholars with their colleges met together in one place – with that of the church and its discipleship models.
The innovation that created the seminary changed the world as it fostered the intellectual life of the church. The downsides, of course, were taking future pastors out of their local church contexts and focusing more on the intellectual side of Christian life than the spiritual and practical.
Today, a quarter of the way into the 21st century, seminary is changing once again. Technology, finances, and practical realities have created a new innovation – the blending of the local church context and the centralization of the seminary. It is now possible to remain in the local church and to go to seminary. Ministers no longer have to pick up and move (and often move families) for a few years to go to seminary.
At LPU Seminary, students join our Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, and Doctor of Ministry cohorts for live online, asynchronous (on your own time), and in person intensive modalities. Seminary today combines staying in the local church or home context and joining with others from across the nation and the world.
So, is seminary right for you?
Many who go to seminary today are not just starting out in the seed bed of the next generations of ministers. Most are already following God’s calling in ministry in their lives and are ready for the next steps of growth. Most want to understand the Bible in deeper ways, to understand why various Christians believe and teach what they do and form their own theology further along, and many see the immense benefits of learning all of this in a community of shared faith with colleagues who sometimes become lifelong friends.
So here are a few reasons why seminary might be the right next step for you:
God is calling you.
There is no better reason to go to seminary than because you sense that God is calling you into a deeper life of knowing and loving God through your mind. The church father Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) called this study “discipleship of the mind.” Going to seminary is a step in discipleship.
The Scriptures are calling you.
The 66 books of Scripture are a library that calls us to the lifelong study of God’s self-revelation to us. Preaching and teaching and leading Christian communities from the Bible calls us to understand it well. Seminary is a place to not only study the Bible in depth but to train you how, to not just give you fish but teach you how to fish.
Theological understanding is calling you.
Christians believe many things, some in common and some differently. The history of Christian theology and the way theology has developed across the centuries and cultures is complicated and sometimes confusing. Seminary provides the maps and navigation equipment to better understand – and, again, to learn how to learn more, as teachers of Chrisitan communities.
Your community is calling you.
Going to seminary is associated with all kinds of positive outcomes for Christian communities. Seminary makes for more developed preachers, administrators, navigators of culture, and studies have shown that seminary develops moral character and stronger spiritual formation in ministers. Seminary cultivates and builds up ministers.
Your future friends in shared vocation are calling you.
Seminary is also about friendships and growing together. Seminary is where you meet others like you who share calling, faith, and life experiences so that it is not just the faculty member who is the teacher in the classroom but the entire group learning together. Seminary deepens and stretches so much not just because of faculty and what you study but your peers.
To learn more about our seminary programs, go to: https://lifepacific.edu/seminary
