Ten Suggestions for New Seminary Students Or What I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Started Seminary

With the start of Fall classes, I came to a startling realization. Sitting in the pew of the RTS chapel during Ligon Duncan's convocation address, I looked around me and saw a sea of unfamiliar faces. I didn't know anybody. Now, I don't know why this surprised me. I have been in seminary for four years after all. At any rate, when I began to reflect over the fact that I was now an upperclassman and how fast those years went by, I also began to think about what I might say to a potential or incoming seminary student. Perhaps as a veteran of theological education, I feel some sense of responsibility to pass on what I have learned through experience. Whatever the case may be, here are ten suggestions for the new seminary student.

1. Read your Bible. This one may seem obvious. You would think that when pursuing graduate studies in theology that the holy, inerrant, inspired Word of God would continually be the object in view. Unfortunately, this is often not the case (this applies to both orthodox and liberal seminarys). Many courses in seminary marginalize Bible reading. That is why you will have to be ever viligant to guard your own private time of reading and meditating on Scripture. Satan wants nothing more than to keep you from reading the Word. I wish I could say I knew my English Bible half as well as I know some theology books. Do not let the books keep you from the Book.

2. Take the hard classes. Remember that the goal of seminary is for you to learn about God and his Word. Don't succumb to the competition for the grade. If someone is saying not to take a certain professor since he is difficult, that is the very class that you need to take. Don't take the easier class so you can make an, "A." Humble yourself, take the hard earned "B", and seek to learn not so you can master the material but for future growth. In the end, you will be better prepared and your soul will profit more.

3. Do the recommended reading. A lot of students don't even do the required reading (or they skim it) let alone any sort of recommended reading. Don't let this be true of you. Read these books not so you can impress others but so you can expand your learning beyond the mandatory. Additionally, there are topics that your professor will not be able to cover in class. The recommended reading is there for you to go further and deeper into whatever subject you are studying.

4. Pray continually. As with #1, one of the first things to get snuffed out when you come to seminary is your prayer life. The ironic thing is that seminary is the time when you need to pray more not less. The stress of finances, marriage and family (for some), classwork, and the continual exposure of your own soul to the law of God demands a much more vibrant prayer life than ever before. Don't prioritize schoolwork or studying over prayer. Souls shrivel when the mind is filled and the heart is starved.

5. Befriend the lost. One of the best things that happened to me recently was getting to work a job where I interacted with many lost people. I was even able to form a close friendship with an unbeliever. Seminary can become a bubble of believers that isolates you from non-Christians. In fact, unless you take the initiative to seek relationships with the lost outside of school, seminary will be a separatist community. Furthermore, when we are engaged in studying theology and discussing esoteric, fine points of doctrine, we can often forget the lost. What is our theology if we don't put it to use. As Ligon Duncan has said, "Doctrine is for life."

6. Don't let your theology fool you into thinking you can domesticate God. Although you will be and should be increasing in the knowledge of God throughout your studies, it is imperative that you grasp the fact that you will never comprehend God. One of the dangers of seminary is that you are dealing with the Bible and the study of God on such a regular basis that those things become familiar. And familiarity can often create a sort of casualness. Be careful that you do not begin treating holy things as common. When you gather with your seminary friends to drink a pint, smoke a pipe, and discuss the nature of God, remember who you are speaking about! Do not become flippant about the God who made you and to whom you owe everything. You cannot fit the God of the universe into your little box of theology and take him out to examine him whenever you will. You cannot put the Lord on a leash and bring him to you friend's house like as pet as it were. God cannot be domesticated.

7. Be open to criticism. As the apostle Paul says, knowledge puffs up. As you are acquiring more and more knowledge, the temptation will be to think that you are more godly than those who are not in seminary (or peers who do not know as much as you.) This may make you resistant to correction. Tell yourself that with every rebuke, no matter how ridiculous it seems, there is some truth in it. However, it is has been in my experience that most rebukes are entirely true. Acknowledge that the person is correct and ask for forgiveness. Do not ignore the correction if it is coming from someone ordinary (read: someone who is not in seminary). There are thousands of widows who pray day and night who are more godly than you but do not know an ounce of your theology. Simple faith is not weak faith.

8. Read non-theological books. Read books in the mainstream. It is not unheard of for a seminary student to become a theological robot. You want to broaden your understanding of God's world outside the "queen of the sciences." Read well and read widely (but if you have to choose, read well before you read widely). Sounds daunting? Return to #4. Scour books on biology, literature, art, music, history or whatever. Cultivate another interest and it will begin to bud and soon blossom in you. Don't denigrate non-theological books by thinking of them as non-spiritual. After all, it is all God's domain anyways. Or said much better by John Calvin, "All truth is God's truth."

9. Prefer primary literature over secondary. This is somewhat related to #1 in the sense that in all theological study the Bible is the primary text and all others are secondary. However, this principle applies to other areas as well. If a professor has told you that the New Perspectives on Paul is wrong, don't accept it without analysis or critical inquiry. If you want to know what New Perspectives say then read N.T. Wright or E.P. Sanders but don't read books on N.T. Wright or E.P. sanders. If you want to know what Calvin said, read Calvin. That's not to devalue secondary literature altogether. But give priority to the primary.

10. Learn from other traditions. Many Reformed people are unwilling to learn from traditions different than their own. I consider this a massive oversight. Much of my wisdom I have gleaned from conservative Episcopalians and Lutherans. You may meet a Pentecostal and think he has a lot to learn from me. That may be so but equally so is the fact that you have a lot to learn from him. Don't be so naive as to think that one denomination has everything right or has all of their emphases in the right places.

11. Your family is first. Okay. So I know I said I was only going to do ten. I couldn't help myself. Your primary ministry is to your family and not to your studies. You must be the pastor of your home before you become the pastor of any church. You are no theologian if you cannot rule your own house well. What have you gained if you ace every class in seminary but finish without a family or with a family that is crumbling? Don't ever assume that such could not happen to you.

Well, there you have it. Ten, err, eleven suggestions for the starting seminary student. I hope it serves someone well.