To Those Who Would Discourage Seminary

I came across a blog post this week entitled, "Why You Shouldn't Go to Seminary." It made me sad. For a few reasons.

First of all, the author did not indicate anything good about seminary. He painted all seminaries with a broad brush and lumped all seminarians into one big category. This is unfortunate for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because not all seminaries are the same; and secondly, because not all people are the same. Sure, there are seminaries that are theologically sound but produce a glut of unprepared ministers and sure, there are stuck-up theology and ministry snobs who think they are invincible, but the author gives the idea that every seminary is a mess and every seminary student is a tool. This is not the case.

Secondly, the author drew an absolute conclusion based on, what he admits to be, generalized premises. To say that "you should not go to seminary" is a leap from "over-generalizations." And an unwarranted leap.

Finally, the author does not build up or encourage his brothers and sisters in seminary, but frowns upon their decision to pursue a seminary degree. This is the saddest part of the whole article to me. Are there not those out there who are attempting to become effective ministers of God's Word through seminary training? I assure you, there are; seminaries are not producing cookie-cutter pastors who possess no flexibility, are only concerned with theology and not the state of their people's souls, and are incapable of sharing the gospel. Some of those people may exist, but not every seminary grad is that way. The author's failure to demonstrate that there are positive aspects to seminary and a seminary education tears down and does not build up.

So, if you are called to ministry should you go to seminary? Maybe; maybe not. Should you write off seminary because some people do it wrong? No. Examine your heart and its intentions before the living God. And please, please, whatever your persuasion may be, do not tear your brothers and sisters down.

A Past Link, A Current Friend

My mind has officially been blown. Check this out.

In May 2008, I sat down at the computer in my soon-to-be in-laws' house and checked my feedreeder. I found a link to an interesting list and decided to post the link on this very blog.

A year passed and Rebekah and I found ourselves married and in Louisville at a new church. Soon we began to get to know some people in our Bible Fellowship Group. One of those individuals, Derek, stumbled upon this blog and told me that in some unknown way he was familiar with it. The breadth of my readership is not all that far-reaching, so I didn't put a whole lot of thought into how he might have come across my blog. He brought it up a couple more times, but my response was the same.

Then, last Sunday, Derek approached me and told me where he had seen my blog before. Over two years ago, when I sat at that computer in Fargo on a Saturday morning, I linked to his blog. A man that I had never met before, who lived nearly 1,000 miles away, wrote a list that I read and desired others to read as well. As far as I knew anyone could have written that list. Anyone. I had no idea it would be someone who I would call a good friend.

That's how my mind was blown.

Thanks, Derek.

The Gospel and Going to Church

It occurred to me that maybe the cause of the low ecclesiology that the Church is afflicted with is reminiscent of the gospel that we preach.

We proclaim that the cross comes to us and we are justified where we stand. But that is not the gospel. We are drawn and find ourselves at the cross; a singular event that is effective for us all. And if it is true for all believers, we see others at the cross and understand that we are in fact linked with them.

If the gospel comes to us and we are saved each in an isolated incident then we have warrant to neglect the meeting of the saints. But if we recognize that salvation is grounded in one singular event that we all partake in, blowing off Sunday morning will be the farthest thing from our mind.

Branded

By resisting a brand, churches brand themselves. Here is an example from the belief statement on the website of Jacob's Well Church in Kansas City:

"The Apostles' Creed gives a summary of the doctrinal commitments of this community. However, we do not think the best way to know what we believe is to read it off a page. We believe the best way to determine what someone, or some group of people, believe is to watch them -- or better yet, join them and discover it from the inside. When we are handed a sheet of paper or click on a link with a list of statements, we believe that something vital is short-circuited. More than that, we become a brand: "Oh, you're 'that' kind of Christian/church." We are a brand culture. We don't want to be a brand church. We are a community of people seeking to follow Jesus in faith and freedom."

It doesn't take much of an imagination to figure out how this church--despite their objections to being branded--is branded.

Changing Translations

I have often asked this question: if someday I am a pastor, how will I address particular subtle changes that may be a point of stumbling for a portion of the congregation?

In this video, John Piper is asked about changing from KJV to a more contemporary translation. I found the principles communicated in his answer, although brief, to be helpful in answering the question that I posed at the outset.

Goodbye, Metro

I am finally doing it. I am going to finish my "Goodbye, Fargo" series. My goal was to do it all in a week, but I lengthened it to nearly two months. Oh, well.

Metropolitan Baptist Church, Fargo, ND

Now that we have been in Louisville six weeks, Rebekah and I have had the opportunity to visit three different churches. I will not go into detail about them, but I will say this: we miss Metro.

What an immense blessing Metro was! Sometimes it's hard to see the impact that a small church has with so many mega-churches flashing their fancy bulletin boards and their websites streaming sermons. Believe me when I say that God has used Metro in massive ways in fulfilling His purposes in the Fargo/Moorhead community, the state of North Dakota, across the country, and, I pray, around the world.

As for Rebekah and I, the opportunities granted us at Metro were invaluable, the generosity shown us at Metro was unfathomable, and the people that influenced us at Metro are irreplaceable.

This is not to say that the church is not divided from time to time over silly issues, that people don't come and go, or that people always find it an ideal situation. No.

Metro has seen its share of hardship and painful situations, but at the end of the day the church comes together with the mindset that God is working good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose; the bride of Christ is being sanctified.

New things are in store for Metro with the departure of some following the Lord's call. I am confident that God's grace will continue to uphold Metro as it has for several decades.

I pray earnestly that God will continue to show favor to you, Metropolitan Baptist Church, as you continue to seek to glorify Him in all things through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Silly Myths, Training In Godliness, and the Recession

On Time?

We make sure that we get to work on time to pay our debts. But for some reason we can't make it to church on time to worship the One who has ensured that our debts have been paid.

Churches, Do Not Abandon Downtown

I have lived if Fargo for nearly four years now and I have observed several things.

1. People run stoplights and stop signs like they don't even exist.
2. The restaurant to person ratio is approximately 7 to 1.
3. Apartment complexes are being built at an astronomical rate. And yet I see many neon-colored signs in front of the 10 year old complexes because they can't rent out all their units.
   
4. When shopping at Wal-Mart, the average wait time in line is 15 minutes. Three blocks away at Sunmart, the average wait time in line is .15 minutes.
5. There are a million one acre parks. I wish there was a one million acre park.
6. Everyone goes to lunch at noon. The line at Subway does not exist at 11:55, but at noon it's out the door.
   
7. In addition to number 6, everyone gets done with work at between 4 and 4:30 making traffic ridiculous for a half hour every day.
8. If a Fargo driver is on a street with more than one lane and has to turn right in 3 miles, that driver will make sure and be in the right lane the whole time no matter how many cars are already in that lane or how slow traffic is going in that lane. This creates quite a large amount of congestion, but only in one lane. The other lanes are usually empty.
9. Fargo is one big suburb with no urban area.
10. Number ten is the one I want to discuss in short. While number nine is true, according to my observation this is about to change. Here is number ten: many churches in Fargo, that have seen a significant amount of growth the past few years, are moving south.

Why do I want to focus on number ten? Because as Fargo develops more and more of an urban area, there is going to be a larger call on churches to participate in urban affairs. This is an exciting time for the Fargo community. Along with urbanization comes new and exciting cultures as well as a heightened sense of community. So why are some churches vacating the downtown area?

I understand that part of the issues is space. Churches that grow need more of it. What I hope is that their relocation is not out of fear. I want to scream when I hear people say that with urban areas are cesspools of crime and drug culture. That kind of thinking is a blatant subscription to unwarranted stereotypes and needs to be removed. And while it might be a while before we see a large urban area in Fargo, churches need to be present during the urbanization process. Churches that run for the suburbs when a neighborhood gets a little tough need to reassess their mission. If churches stuck around before the bad times hit and invested in their immediate community, maybe the crime and drug culture would not become as predominate.

I pray that Fargo churches would not dash for the outskirts of town. If it's space that is needed plant a church or start a new campus. If it's funds that are needed, trust God to provide.

Urban areas allow for a mighty impact.

Churches, do not abandon downtown.

A Metaphorical Safari

Watch this outrageous video.

This is how I am watching it:

Baby Water Buffalo: You/Me
Lions: Sin
Alligator: Satan/the World
Herd of Water Buffalo: The Body of Christ/the means which God uses to encourage and protect us



Praise God for the Body of Christ!