The Future of Ministry Education
Let me point you to an article written by my friend Aaron Saufley called “Bible College or Church?”. Aaron is a church planter, blogger, and all around decent guy. In his typical, atypical perspective of church and christian spirituality, Aaron questions if there may be a better way to prepare people for ministry than what we typically do.
“I’m wondering why we insist on sending guys who want to be preachers and church planters off to Bible college and seminary for four years (or more). Would it not be more beneficial for a guy to be mentored and coached by the staff of his local church? He could learn the ins and outs of ministry on the field instead of in the abstract theories of the classroom. And he wouldn’t amass a huge amount of college debt that will take him at least a decade to pay off… and the chances are high that he’ll be out of “professional ministry” a few years before he gets his education paid for.”
It seems to have drawn out some helpful conversation and has got me thinking. If there were no limits, traditions, or built in assumptions, what would be the best way to train people to do ministry? I will try to wrap words around my initial thoughts in a few posts over the next week or so. In the mean time, show Aaron some love.
Thanks for showing me some love, Richard. I’m looking forward to what your thoughts are.
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