One Thing Every Seminary Needs...

I loved my time in seminary.  My professors, while to the left of me theologically, were all gracious, godly people.  I learned much from them.

I happily spent hours in my cubby hole in the library studying and taking notes.  If someone was willing to pay me to be a full-time student for the rest of my life, I’d take it.

But over the last twenty years of ministry I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about seminary education (yes, I’m a lot of fun at parties, huh?). I’ve thought about what I’ve used from seminary and what has gone by the wayside and I’ve come to the conclusion that degree programs for ministers and aspiring professional theologians need to change.  One of the necessary changes is to face the beast of biblical illiteracy.

I’ve spent a lot of time with young people in Bible programs and, by and large, they are only slightly more biblically literate than most.  It isn’t that they aren’t intelligent or passionate but they tend to gravitate toward whatever the latest theological trend is to come down the pike.  Thus, they can’t tell you who Hosea was but they can argue with you about God’s relationship to time or whether theistic evolution can be squared with Scripture, etc. 

Let me give you an illustration—a student walked into the office of one of my former theology professors.  The student barked that he didn’t like the God of the Old Testament.  He thought Yahweh was short tempered.  He preferred “the god of the New Testament” who he viewed as more patient and loving.  The professor raised his eyebrows and said, “I think Ananias and Sapphira would disagree with you.”  The student asked, “Who?”  

You see the problem—the student wanted to argue about a book he hadn’t read! 

Here is my radical proposal for today—every student in any ministry program should be required to read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation every year.  For accountability purposes, this should be done as a group in a classroom setting.  

I am not dismissing the importance of studying influential theologians.  I have gleaned invaluable insights from scholars ranging from Augustine to Miroslav Volf.  I am grateful for the plethora of works touching every corner of ministry—apologetics, homiletics, conflict resolution, etc. But, as one of my seminary professors lamented to me one day, “Matt, we spend more time reading what Walter Brueggemann says about the Bible than actually reading the Bible.”

Yep.

Given the rate of Biblical illiteracy in our culture, the very least a training program for pastors can do is require students to read and memorize Scripture.  Can I get an “Amen”?