Wednesday, September 27, 2006

The Great Irony

...of seminary life and preparation for ministry is that now I have virtually no contact with non-Christians. I'm either at school or church.

I'm not complaining. It's just one of the costs of the calling. But it's an odd one.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I said something similar a couple of days ago to my accountability group for one of my classes: it seems an odd way to prepare for ministry to have no time to talk to anyone other than coworkers and family.

But my work definitely puts me in regular contact with nonChristians. I'm very much the oddball here.

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to do seminary and have a real life at the same time - including a job to pay for seminary?

I would be a mid-career seminarian, but I could not do it if I had to be unemployed in the process.

John said...

Is it possible? No. Assume a 40-hour job, 20 hours in part-time seminary, and 10 hours of activity in a local church.

Theresa Coleman said...

Welcome to the, eh, "Real World" vis a vis seminary student.

Keith H. McIlwain said...

Serving as a student local pastor while I was in seminary (at Pgh Theological Seminary) saved my ministry from isolation. Student pastoring is one of the best programs in the UMC, in my view.

John said...

Sure, but it's still only among Christians. We lose our fluency in World like that.

Brian Vinson said...

While I was in seminary, I lived in a neighborhood full of non-Christians and I coached high school soccer -- another great place to meet non-Christians. I did my laundry in a laundromat full of non-Christians.

I'm not saying that it's something you can personally do, but for me, seminary caused me to really intentionally seek out non-Christians. I've found that the same is true in full-time church work; if I don't seek them out intentionally, I'll never rub shoulders with non-Christians.

see-through faith said...

you should be complaining. non -christians keep us healthy and on our toes, and are the main reason we are called ... don't ever ever forget it.

Christopher said...

I just went to the local pub alot.

John said...

Alas, that's not an option for Asburians. We aren't allowed to drink.

Theresa Coleman said...

You don't have to drink to go to the pub. Just carry a Bible and wave it around a lot.