This past Friday I attended my last class as a student at Claremont School of Theology. This upcoming Saturday I will graduate with a degree in Christian Ethics with an emphasis in Peace and Justice studies. I have been at CST for two years now and I thought I’d pass along some advice to anyone who may be considering going to seminary. This advice will be especially relevant, I think, for people who come from more “evangelical” or “conservative” theological backgrounds who are considering attending a “mainline” or “liberal” seminary.
I guess I should preface my advice with this background: I studied religion at Pepperdine University (a well respected “evangelical” university), I am a member of the churches of Christ (and was the only one at CST during my entire time here) which is congregational and has no formal ordination process, I was already a minister at a church when I entered seminary, I entered seminary considering further doctoral studies, I entered as an M.Div. student but switched to the M.A. in my second semester, I entered seminary married, and I held a full-time job on top of my part-time ministry work at the church and full-time studies. So, now on to the advice…
1. You first need to decide which type of seminary you want to attend. There are several factors which will help you determine this: professional goals, location, denominational affiliation, interests, cost/financial aid, etc. If you are not limited to a certain location I would recommend considering a school someplace new because of the way getting outside of one’s comfort zone physically somehow allows more “space” to get outside of one’s comfort zone theologically. If you attend a good seminary you will be challenged. In fact, I believe having your beliefs challenged and refined is one of the biggest blessings of seminary.
Unless there are ordination concerns I think it is fruitful to attend a seminary not directly affiliated with one’s denomination. (Especially for someone who did their undergraduate work at a denominational school or feels confident in their church’s theology and doctrine. If one is a new convert and feels a call to go to seminary a denominational school may be more appropriate). This will get you in touch with new people, new ideas, new ministries, etc. There are obviously benefits to attending a denominationally affiliated seminary as well, but my experience at CST was so drastically different from my undergraduate experience at Pepperdine (a denominationally affiliated school), and what I know of other’s experience pursuing M.Div.’s there that I can’t imagine similar intellectual and spiritual growth if I had stayed within my denominational “comfort zone.” I think my being grounded in a local Church of Christ (or whatever denomination you are a part of) helped me balance my already held spiritual identity while being challenged and growing in new ways.
If at all possible attend a seminary that has a focus on things you are interested in. Seminary’s have special emphases in all kinds of different things from worship leading to missions to New Testament. If you have some urgent passion, do some research and see what schools offer concentrations in your interests or who have faculty that have written stuff you have been influenced by or who teach things you’re interested in. I have greatly enjoyed my experience with the ethics faculty at CST and think having a place with resources in your interests is immeasurably valuable.
What are your goals? If it is to be a leader in your denomination attending a denominational school will be helpful. If it is to pursue doctoral work (especially in Hebrew Bible/OT, NT, theology, ethics, church history, etc.) you will want to attend a respected seminary. If your interests are missiology, church leadership, or other ministry minded studies, as opposed to “academic” fields, this is not as important as those doctoral programs will be housed in seminaries and not necessarily universities. “Academically “respected” seminaries tend to be tied to universities (for example: Yale Divinity School, Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Duke Divinity School, Claremont School of Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary affiliated with Columbia University, etc.) and tend to be affiliated with mainline denominations. Some evangelical exceptions are: Fuller Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Regent College in Vancouver, B.C.
(Obviously there are more, but I cannot list every seminary here. If you are a member of the churches of Christ and want to attend a CofC affiliated seminary I’d recommend: Abiline Christian University’s Graduate School of Theology, Hazelip School of Theology at Lipscomb University, Harding Graduate School of Religion, or Pepperdine University’s graduate program in Religion. Please avoid “preaching schools” at all costs. I am not at all convinced in the academic and intellectual integrity of these institutions, though I am willing to be convinced otherwise if someone has a good case.)
2. If you attend seminary you will not be going to an extended Sunday school or summer camp. If your goal is “spiritual highs” seminary is not the place for you. Seminaries are academic institutions and function as such. This is not to say you will not grow and be formed spiritually at seminary, you most definitely will, but it is not the main focus of the school. Seminaries confer academic degrees, and you will do lots of hard academic work. Most seminaries have professors of spirituality, and that is a good resource for spiritual growth, and you may develop really close friendships with fellow students that will contribute to your spiritual formation, but there is no guarantee of that. Your best bet is to follow in the Franciscan line and the example of Brother Lawrence and view all you do as a spiritual act: including your studies. Reading about the Council of Nicaea, the redaction of the Synoptic Gospels, historical theological movements like “Christian Realism” and “Liberation Theology,” or balancing “church growth” techniques with faithfulness to mission of the church can all be deeply spiritually fulfilling and transformative if you allow them.
3. Count the cost. Seminary is expensive in many ways. It can cost a lot of money so see how much financial aid you can get. Will you need to attend part-time and work part-time to avoid accruing too much debt? It is also expensive in other ways. It takes LOTS of time. If you are married consider how it will affect your spouse. If you have kids take this into account as well. Remember, seminary is graduate school. You will reads hundreds of pages a week and write lots of papers. You will be very busy and often very tired. Make sure to have a plan on how you will balance school with whatever other commitments you may have. Don’t romanticize what the experience will be like. It will be hard, but if you plan correctly it can be a deeply satisfying experience.
4. Pray. Spend time in discernment. Going to seminary is a very big decision and should not be taken lightly. You should spend much time balancing your sense of God’s call, your goals and your gifts. Seminary is not for everyone, but for those who it is “for” it is a transformative experience that people who have not experienced find hard to understand. By going to seminary you are declaring your willingness to put your faith to a huge test for 2-4 years and see where you come out at the end. It is often a big leap that many aren’t willing to take. So, make sure it is what you want to do. If it is great and if it isn’t that is great too.
This is the, hopefully helpful, advice I have for anyone considering going to seminary. If you are already in seminary and need some tips check out this blog post by C. Wess Daniels, a student at Fuller Seminary: So This is Your First Year in Seminary? Tips, Tricks, and Other Advice. I may soon be posting some tips for those already in seminary as well.
If you’re interested in applying to Ph.D. programs check out this previous post of mine: Tips on Applying to Ph.D. Programs.
To all future seminarians: Grace and Peace. May God be with you as you journey.
LOVED this post, especially as someone in seminary. I think this is the perfect list of advice for those considering seminary. I go to school with too many people who lack vision and calling.
This is great. I really love that you’ve commented on point #2. I don’t know that I ran into anyone who had misaligned assumptions about what seminary is when I was there. I know I did get a lot of odd responses from people when they found out what I was doing, asking if we stood around and sang Kumbaya all day.
I also love that you’ve commented on how much work it can be. Graduate school is hard. There’s a lot of academic work that goes on.
[...] So you want to go to seminary…a great post on some advice. [...]
Great advice Jimmy! I wish I had thought about some of these things while I was looking into seminary, although I am very pleased with my choice. I would add that there are other academically respected seminaries that arent directly connected with a university, ie Asbury, not that I am biased or anything.
Your point about seminary not being a series of spiritual highs. In fact, in my experience there have been a lot of very low moments, a lot of stressful times, and even times where I never thought I would make it through the semester. When I took a month long intensive term I didnt see my wife hardly at all and it was very difficult on our marriage. I am again thankful that I came to Asbury because they have an unbelievable “spouse and family ministry” office. That has been immensely helpful for our marriage and for my wife to get plugged into the seminary community.
I think that in terms of time put in seminary can be one of the most difficult graduate programs around. I mean its history, sociology, theology, philosophy, language, ethics, pedagogy, homiletics, and more all rolled into one. Two of my friends here are also in grad school, one in med school and one in law school, and I have noticed that I put in as much time studying/writing as they do, and thats only for a masters. Before seminary, I didnt even know it was possible to spend 10 hours at a time in the library, several days a week.
I would also add, to what you said about looking into what each school offers, that you may want to look at the differnt options within each degree program. For instance, I am on the “acadmic track” for my M.Div which means I can focus more on a particular area, in my case ethics, and skip out on classes that wont be as useful to me.
There are also lots of good resources on the web including several websites dedicated to offering advice and resources about choosing the right school for you.
Thanks for sharing Jimmy!
With all that said, I think you are right that it can be a wonderful, formative experience. I have been blessed, and I actually enjoy going to most of my classes, which I wouldnt say about most of my college classes.
Thank you. I am working on my application essays and this is the encouragement that I needed.