Tag Archive - Al Mohler

5 Excuses Seminarians make for NOT Getting A “Real” Job

May 5, 2011 in Ben Terry with 2 Comments

The other day, David Fitch posted a very interesting article about the importance of seminary students being bi-vocational. Zach Nielsen also has written recently on the idea of pastors being bi-vocational as well. Therefore, it has become a widely discussed topic, and it worth some time and consideration.

As one who works a part time job and attends seminary I can definitely see the fruit of being bi-vocational.  We are called to love our city and be a part of our cities, and there is no better way then to work with those within our city. Therefore, take some time to consider being bi-vocational during seminary.

Here are five bad excuses for NOT getting a job and some comments regarding each excuse.

1.) EXCUSE NO. 1 – I CAN’T GET A JOB. I’M NOT TRAINED FOR ANYTHING. For some reason 3 years in a seminary seems to make graduates unemployable except in anything but professional church work. My comment is, and I worked in the marketplace for years, is that seminarians are well schooled in reading, writing, thinking, reading texts critically, appropriating text material, speaking well in front of people. In addition, they should have an acquired spiritual formation that lends itself to kindness, generosity and patience with people. There skills are in demand and much appreciated in our service economy.

2.) EXCUSE NO. 2 - I CAN’T TAKE A JOB FOR 6.50 AN HOUR AND SURVIVE.  But the fact is that anyone who starts in any field has to start at the entry level. And it is here where you learn about being poor. It is here where you also gain the entry point to build relationships, learn a skill, and prove yourself as a person with all of the above skills. As far as surviving, missional community planters I know often move in with other people at the beginning. They live 2 or 3 families in a house. Pay much less or even no rent. This allows for the time to get established and take that entry-level job that connects one to living rhythms in the neighborhood.

3.) EXCUSE NO. 3 – I WILL BE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON A JOB THAT IS NOT GERMANE TO MINISTRY. Seminarians think that spending many years in something not ministry related will stunt development of ministry skills. This is mind blowing to me. I suggest that working in the marketplace in whatever capacity is transforming and every pastor should do it in some way.  It is also incredible how having a well-honed skill in your back pocket gives enormous freedom in ministry even when more full time ministry is forced upon you. You are no longer locked into the insecurity of having to keep a church going (because you know you can get a job) that can constrain you from acting prophetically.

4.) EXCUSE NO. 4 - IT WOULD BE BETTER TO RAISE SUPPORT FROM CHRISTIANS AND THEN HAVE MORE TIME IN MINISTRY.  My comment here is that fund raising is great if you have a ready network of support that you can call on. Go for it!! This will free you up to take time and get a job BTW. The problem with fund raising however is that it is often a full time job.  It takes a year making 1000 phone calls, making 200 visits. This is the equivalent man-hours of starting a self-sustaining business. Fund raising of course takes hours to keep up those contacts year in and year out. You are basically spending your time with Christians. Fund raising, therefore, in a sense, takes you out of the neighborhood and into the Christian ghetto.  It is also Christendom based. It depends on already committed Christians who are a shrinking commodity in the developed West.

5.) EXCUSE NO. 5 – I SPENT 3 YEARS (OR MORE) AND A LOT OF MONEY ON A SEMINARY EDUCATION. NOW THIS WAS A WASTE OF TIME! No it wasn’t. It hopefully prepared you for ministry. Some of the best missional communities I know have been founded by seminary graduates. They are using their education to the fullest in ways never imagined. And if you’ve got loans, that’s unfortunate. But, I suggest, most of the people following the course of bi-vocational ministry make more money (eventually) than in ministry and pay back their loans faster. On taking out loans for seminary, I suggest the right kind of praxis oriented seminary education (that encompasses Biblical studies, theological studies, cultural studies, church practice studies, leadership studies) is important for bi-vocational missional leaders. But I would suggest you do it slowly and in ways that don’t stretch the finances. At Northern we’re working on an M.A. CM in Missional Studies that can be accomplished one night a week for five years at a very low cost monthly.

What are your thoughts?

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A Theological Striptease – Rob Bell Love Wins Controversy

March 1, 2011 in Ben Terry with 1 Comment

Rob Bell Love Wins A Theological Striptease Rob Bell Love Wins Controversy

So much has happened this past weekend on the Rob Bell fiasco. I have been offline for the weekend and just now reading all the crazy weekend news. I found Al Mohler’s post this morning very helpful and true.

Mohler calls Bell’s video a “theological striptease” that deserves a response. From Mohler’s website today:

“We must await the release of the full book in order to know what Rob Bell is really saying, but his advance promotion for the book is already saying something, and it is not good. The material he has already put forth does demand and deserve attention.

“The Emerging Church movement is known for its slick and sophisticated presentation. It wears irony and condescension as normal attire. Regardless of how Rob Bell’s book turns out, its promotion is the sad equivalent of a theological striptease.

“The Gospel is too precious and important to be commodified in this manner. The questions he asks are too important to leave so tantalizingly unanswered. Universalism is a heresy, not a lure to use in order to sell books. This much we know, almost a month before the book is to be released.”

Read the rest here.

 

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The Day After – Election Results

November 3, 2010 in Ben Terry with 1 Comment

election results The Day After Election Results

An insightful post from the guys over at Pyromaniacs blog on the results of last night’s election.

There were no surprises last night, least of all to God. This seems like a really hackneyed point of God’s sovereignty, but I think that those thinking that are not really thinking very hard.

See: when Barack Obama was elected president, God wasn’t surprised. His plan wasn’t sent into a tailspin — not for the U.S., and not for the grand scheme to glorify himself and save people. But many of our dear friends were very undone by the election of President Obama — and today I think we will see many of them overdone about the giant changes in store now that President Obama’s election may be moot at best.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter how you voted or how you should vote. What it does mean is that we cannot trust in salvation through politics. We also cannot trust in salvation through our nation.

We have to trust in a salvation which actually addresses our danger, a salvation which saves us from what we are actually dying from. This is what God is working on.

And those are the election results we should be focused on.

Another great post on the day after the elections from Al Mohler, which I would also recommend check out since he explains what does it all mean.

Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family To God

November 3, 2010 in Ben Terry with 0 Comments

9781935273813 Long Story Short: Ten Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family To God

Westminister Bookstore is having a 48-hour sale on a new family devotional guide, Long Story Short, for 65% off! This family devotional has been endorsed by many pastors as the best material for family devotions. Here is a description of the book:

The Bible can seem like a long story for an active family to read, but when you break it down into short sections, as Marty Machowski does, family devotions are easy to do. Long Story Short will help busy parents share with their children how every story in the Old Testament points forward to God’s story of salvation through Jesus Christ. You won’t find a more important focus for a family devotional than a daily highlighting of the gospel of grace. Clever stories and good moral lessons may entertain and even help children, but the gospel will transform children. The gospel is deep enough to keep the oldest and wisest parents learning and growing all their lives, yet simple enough to transform the heart of the first grader who has just begun to read.

Ten minutes a day, five days a week is enough time to pass on the most valuable treasure the world has ever known. Long Story Short is a family devotional program designed to explain God’s plan of salvation through the Old Testament and is suitable for children from preschool through high school.

Many pastors have endorsed this book stating:

“To use this guide is to have an experienced father and pastor assisting you every night.”
— C.J. Mahaney, President, Sovereign Grace Ministries; author of many books, including The Cross Centered Life

“This is simply an outstanding book.”
— R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Long Story Short is the best material for family devotions I’ve ever seen.”
— Justin Taylor, managing editor of the ESV Study Bible, Elder, New Covenant Bible Church

“Through this tool your children will not only come to know the narrative of redemption, told in the pages of the Bible, but they will encounter the chief actor in that narrative… Again and again they will be confronted with their desperate need for his grace.”
— Paul David Tripp, Pastor to Center City, Tenth Presbyterian Church

48 hours only you can purchase this family devotional HERE for 65% off! Check it out.

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Dwight Howard Baptized In Atlantic Ocean

October 25, 2010 in Ben Terry with 0 Comments

57032241 Dwight Howard Baptized In Atlantic Ocean

There is nothing better than celebrating the baptism of a brother in Christ.

“Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard can bring an arena full of fans to their feet with one of his powerful dunks.

But on Sunday afternoon, a crowd cheered wildly as the big man got himself dunked — into the chilly ocean waters off Bethune Beach just south of New Smyrna Beach. Howard was baptized, along with dozens of others, as part of a beachside service held by Orlando’s Summit Church.

After making a profession of faith in Jesus, Howard was dunked into the Atlantic Ocean. As he emerged from the water, about 500 onlookers on the beach cheered.”

I pray Dwight Howard will continue to find joy in Christ so that God may be glorified over all.

(via @mrmedina)

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