In my last post regarding my choice of seminary degree, I laid out a few basic reasons as to this choice. I’d like to talk more about it, but not in systematic fashion. My purpose here is to lay my thoughts out bare and see whatever comes to mind. Simply said, I’m going to write as words comes to me.
The degree fits my career ambitions. I want to be a pastor, associate or senior. This has been my goal since I was 16, and I have no plans of abandoning this. Sure, there have been times when I have had severe doubts regarding this call, but overall, the Lord keeps pushing me back in this direction, regardless of how I feel or how far I stray. This being said, a pastor must have a thorough understanding of how people learn, intellectually and spiritually. Many of the courses in Christian Education deal with human and moral development, life-span discipleship, teaching the Bible to different age groups, and mostly, what education looks like when it has a solid biblical foundation. Many of the classes featured in an M.Div program teach men and women how to exegete biblical texts, preach, and have a thorough theological understanding. This is wonderful, and I applaud those in M.Div programs, but frankly, when we survey the church today, the deepest need we see and feel is not that they don’t understand Greek or Hebrew, or that they don’t get solid Bible teaching. The main problem is a lack of Christian education that engages the mind and spirit, leading to a deeper relationship with God and an environment severely influenced by godliness . Thus, a Christian Education degree will help me achieve my goal as a pastor, to shepherd people from the moment they believe in the Lord, to the moment they see Him.
Along with my desire to be a pastor, I also want to be an administrator in a Christian university. I have been deeply affected by Christian higher education in a positive way. The environment of being around like-minded spiritual people, the Christ-centered classes, the chapels, the emphasis on ministry and loving with your hands, and the spiritual accountability that so many of my peers gave me is an experience which I will never forget. Many students would benefit from this type of education. My hope is that more Christians would consider this type of education, seeing as the potential for advanced spiritual development is great. For me, having an understanding of Christian education will be beneficial in this type of endeavor. Maybe not in a direct manner, but after serving years in ministry focusing on educating the laity, my background in Christian education will no doubt help me transition to this type of academic ministry.
I don’t have the mental capacity to focus on one type of discipline. In other words, my interests are various, including psychology and theology, ministry, higher education, culture, and educational leadership. The MACE blends all of these studies into a program that will give me a well-rounded education. I’m so excited.
Anyways, time to go to bed and talk to my fiancee soon.
Let Your Heart Show 