Seminary Preparation ... Part the Third

So I started this little series off with a link to a BB Warfield article on the importance of a devotional life for theological students. Well, I've found a great post on "How to Waste Your Theological Education" and alot of it rang painfully true as I prepare to get my application in the mail this summer.

If I (and other men) are called to pastoral ministry, why do we throw away so much of the opportunities that we are given as we prepare for and participate in a theological education. This should be a time when we are not just preparing our hearts, but also our minds; a time when we should continue a quest toward humility rather than knowledge filled pride.

Here are some of the ways in which it is suggested that a theological education is wasted and some of the ones I would either have a propensity towards or I have seen lived out among other friends who are in seminary ...

1. Cultivate pride by writing only to impress your professors instead of writing to better understand and more clearly communicate truth.

2. Perfect the fine art of corner-cutting by not really researching for a paper but instead writing your uneducated and unsubstantiated opinions and filling them in with strategically placed footnotes.

3. Mistake the amount of education you receive with the actual knowledge you obtain. Keep telling yourself, “I’ll really start learning this stuff when I do my Th.M or my Ph.D.”

6. Neglect personal worship, Bible reading and prayer.

7. Don’t evangelize your neighbors.

11. Find better things to do than serve in your local church.

12. Fill your life with questionable movies, television, internet, and music.

... and the list goes on and on.

Check it out and question whether your intentions and actions reflect what God has called you to or your own desires and sinful nature. I've been realizing more and more how painful it is to look at the things I do and really question why I do them.

(HT: Justin Taylor)