Your Voice

Theological education should nurture knowledge, love for others

By Adam W. Greenway
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

The temptation can especially be, during the years of formal consecrated academic study, that this study does something to you that is not virtuous … in terms of your personality type, your disposition, your wiring, in a way that may even just seem unconscious.

I don’t know why it is that the platform of Twitter often is the platform of choice for those who want to try to settle scores theologically or for those who want to try to straighten somebody out.

Let me just encourage you, Twitter’s a terrible form to do that. It just is. It’s not designed to do that. You can’t do nuance and complexity and intricacy in a medium that prizes itself upon the glib, the sound bite, the short.

Social media caution

And what happens, it seems, even amongst believers, Christians, fellow Baptists and friends, [the platform] manifests the worst of what a theological education can do because that theological education becomes a weapon by which [the author says,] “I’m going to show you who and what I am and who and what you’re not.”

[And such people] come across, even at times, with a spirit that’s antithetical to the Spirit of Christ.

[In Ephesians 1] Paul is writing to the church of Ephesus, to the Ephesians, and it’s clear he had a love for these people. …

Paul calls for the elders of the church at Ephesus to come together, and Paul pastorally pours out into them, commissions them, invests in them, warns them about the nature of false teaching but also the importance of shepherding well. …

Later on, we know Timothy ends up being the young senior pastor of the First Baptist Church Ephesus … and, of course, in Revelation, Jesus has a word for that church in terms of the way they departed from their first love and from the truth.

That’s what trips a lot of people up when you start doing biblical theology.

[You start looking at] this really comprehensive vision of the greatness of the glory of God and who He is. And we can never truly understand and see ourselves rightly if we don’t understand truly and see God rightly.

If we always put the accent mark on the “me” rather than the “He,” our theology is always going to go astray.

There’s also a temptation and a tendency, as we begin to have that more rich and robust theological understanding [and] as we begin to experience what happens when you come to seminary and your library expands in direct proportion to how your wallet and pocketbook declines, you start learning there’s a whole lot more out there than maybe you ever taught in a small group or a Sunday School class or Bible study. …

What happens is something happens to your personality, to your disposition.

Instead of it bringing you to a greater sense of humility and an awe-filled wonder at what God has done for you, it leads you to a pridefulness, an arrogance, an argumentativeness, a combativeness …

Spirit inspires Paul

So it is no accident … the Spirit inspires Paul, at the end of this marvelous section of theology and doxology, to give a pastoral reminder in exhortation. …

He’s praying for them. He’s giving thanks to God for them, for what has happened to them.

It’s not just the content of their faith — that they had a level of theological, doctrinal, philosophical, apologetical precision — but that it manifested itself in an attitude and in actions of love.

In John 13:35, [our Lord said], “By this will all people know everywhere that you are my disciples: by the love.”

Not by the way that you’re able to argue finer points of theology, not by the way you’re able to win the debate, not by the way you’re able to pound somebody else into some kind of submission, but by the love you show one toward another.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Adapted from a message Greenway presented Jan. 25 at Southwestern Seminary’s Spring 2022 Convocation. Watch the full address at tabonline.org/convo.

Steps to success

The decision to pursue — and the challenge to complete — a college education can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. I have condensed the keys to effectively pursuing well-being and success into three easy steps:

Step 1: Practice conscientiousness. Setting confident but realistic expectations is important for college students, because expectations held too high or too low can diminish performance and self-esteem.

Step 2: Take breaks. Although productivity, efficiency and planning are important for success, they are dependent on getting quality rest and spending some time away from responsibilities.

Step 3: Connect. Look for opportunities to engage with classmates/dormmates. Engaging off campus with co-workers, family, church members or mentors/mentees is also important for creating a diverse network of connections.

Lindsey Vice
Senior, University of Mobile

(Go to tabonline.org/steps-to-success to read the full article.)

Biographies offer broader perspective

For the past few years, most of my vocational reading has focused on leadership and evangelism — my primary professional passions.

But within those subjects, a particular genre has been important to my personal and professional growth — biographies.

Reading biographies has shaped my perspective on God’s providential ways of working with and through people. Here are some personal examples.

• Reading biographies has shown me how God uses flawed people. All leaders are a mixed bag of strengths/weaknesses and positives/ negatives. And yet, God uses them anyway — getting the best from them despite their worst qualities.
• Reading biographies has taught me to be more resilient. Many leaders, often through no fault of their own, have experienced devastating setbacks. But they persevered. Their resilience led to ultimate life impact.
• Reading biographies has also lengthened my expectation of the time it takes for dreams, ideas and goals to come to fruition. Biographies lay out an entire life — from formative family constellations to end of life reflections. Seeing that panoramic view has helped me have a broader (and more patient) perspective of my overall life trajectory.

If you need to recharge or reshape your reading plan, consider prioritizing biographies as one important way to learn about life, leadership and God’s providential ways of working through our lives.

Jeff Iorg, President of Gateway Seminary
Adapted from the post “Biographies” at gs.edu/presidents-blog

Holiness is the ultimate end of Christian learning.

Al Mohler Jr.
President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Use your gifting for God’s glory. Do not be afraid or embarrassed by the way God has blessed you to advance his Kingdom.

Jason Keith Allen
President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

How to Survive Seminary and Make it in the Ministry

1. Maintain your quiet time. (Ps. 46:10; Mark 1:35)
2. Guard your marriage/family. (Ps. 127; Song of Sol. 2:15)
3. Protect your thought life. (Prov. 23:7; Rom. 12:2; Phil. 2:5)
4. Watch your finances. (Rom. 13:8)
5. Remember you are here to learn, not to teach. (2 Tim. 2:1–2)
6. Learn to work with and get along with people. (1 Cor. 13; John 13:35; 1 Cor. 8:1)
7. Be responsible and wise in your ministry service for the Lord. (1 Pet. 5:2)

Daniel Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

At schools like Beeson, we are meant to teach people to serve as laborers in God’s vineyard, primarily by equipping them to serve the church of Christ.

Douglas Sweeney
Dean, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University

Philosophy is strategic for evangelism. As Christians we are called to be faithful witnesses for Christ. We want every person on the face of the earth to ask and answer the question, “What do you make of Jesus Christ?”

Unfortunately, in our day and age it can be difficult to get people to consider this question seriously. … Philosophy can help! Philosophy helps us to understand the collective mindset, value system and emotional response patterns of culture.

Jamie Dew
President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and author of “Philosophy: A Christian Introduction”

From the Twitterverse

@zachbarnhart_
I begin seminary on Monday. What’s your best advice for me as I prepare for my MDiv studies?

@bartbarber
Step out and build a relationship with a professor or two. It’ll bless you. It’ll bless them. They probably didn’t decide to do this because they loved books and papers.

@Pastakeith
Skip everything trendy and focus on languages, Bible, theology and history. I substituted paradigms of North America church growth for Romans without regret.

Skip leadership classes — find godly leaders who will mentor you. You’ll be bombarded with leadership content later.

@jbwester

1. It’s not as hard as it appears. Most of us aren’t rocket scientists & still made it through.
2. Seminary isn’t a time to back away from the local church or the normal rhythms of the Christian life.
3. Above all be humble. Seminary is for learning, rarely judging/criticizing.

@SpenceSpencer01
Getting a C in a class is no big deal. Getting a C as a husband or parent is. Make friends and build relationships; they’ll last. Read beyond the syllabus. Read the syllabus. Spend time with the faculty. Cultivate spiritual disciplines.

@marycwiley
@dandarling gave me the best advice: For some, As may be sin. For others, not making As may be sin. Don’t misalign priorities/neglect family or ministry for As, but also don’t squander the opportunity to learn. Good reminder for achievers with a lot of responsibilities.

@JohnAmbra

1. Guard your calendar. You have permission to say “no.”
2. Guard your family. Invest in your wife & kids. They are on this journey, too.
3. Guard your heart. Use this season to develop even more intimacy with Jesus. Beware of Satan’s wiles.

@PastorFrankGil
Some practical tips.

@Speechify_audio will help you read journals and books way faster than you could.

@Scribd may have all your text books. Check there before you buy. It’s worth the subscription.

@Grammarly makes writing easier.

Make friends with folks in your classes.

@SteveTillis1

1. Don’t quit.
2. Your devotional life is more important than an A but don’t lie to yourself and blame that for lack of time management.
3. Use a simple time management system that works for you. Schedule as much as you can.
4. Get involved in a church.