- Jul 12, 2004
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WHAT THEY DIDNT TEACH YOU IN SEMINARY
James Emery White(Baker Books, 192pp, $18p)
When I was twenty-something and first felt a tug toward ministry, I wanted to go to seminary but my Dad, who footed the bill, wanted his sons to be engineers and agreed to pay for my tuition only if I would continue my studies at a reputable state university. Being broke, I agreed. Looking back, I think I made a wise choice. At least, I have never regretted it. Oh, sure, I missed learning about church history and theology, Augustine and Zwingli, the proper order of the Prophets, and I never got to say, with conviction, In the original Hebrew, this word actually means . . . All that is necessary in my assigned profession, of course, but, then, its all available in books and I did spend a fortune building a library.
What I learned at a university has served me well. Its stuff I may never have learned in seminary. I may have missed out on how to be successful clergyman; but the university allowed me to remain, well, ordinary. James Emery White understands this, albeit from a totally different perspective. He is a company man, the president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, dedicated to the training of ministers. He realizes that seminary serves only specific needs; the rest is on-the-job training, stuff they dont cover at Bible college. So, Dr. White has written What They Didnt Teach You in Seminary, a manual for preachers, but much more than that. Its a book for curious laymen, too, that will show why pastors cant walk on water and dont glow in the dark. Seminary graduates, even those who graduate cum laude, who cant tune a lawnmower or change a flat tire (and there are some, believe me) are of little use in the vagaries of real life. I mean, knowing the meaning of exomologesis can take you only so far.
But White, in addition to his duties as a seminary president, is also pastor of a local church and explores such practical topics as emotional survival in ministry, the struggles of money, the fact that vision leaks, that churches have a natural tendency to stagnate, that 10% of the people you meet will not like you (no matter who you are), and other things not covered in seminary classrooms but things vital to the survival of any leader. All of these are areas where any church leader would benefit, gleaned from the insight of one who has actually taken the road less traveled.
I think White is at his best when he openly confesses his own failures in ministry. At least these admissions prompted me to self-examine my own service in the kingdom. But the book does falter somewhat when White, the pastor of a large megachurch, hands down advice from his rather lofty perch to pastors of average-size churches of 100-or-so congregants who work without multi-million dollar budgets and a professional staff.
~~~~~
Author bio
James Emery White is the president and professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Cornwell Theological Seminary, with campuses in South Hamilton Massachusetts, Boston, Charlotte, and Jacksonville. Prior to becoming president at Gordon-Cornwell, Dr. White was the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. White holds a B.S. degree in public relations and business from Appalachian State University, and the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he was awarded a Garrett Teaching Fellowship in both New testament and Theology. He has also done advanced university study at Vanderbilt University in American religious history, and continuing education at Oxford University in England, including participation in Oxford's Summer Programme in Theology. Dr. White is the author of over a dozen books, including, Embracing the Mysterious God, A Search for the Spiritual, Serious Times and The Prayer God Longs For.
James Emery White(Baker Books, 192pp, $18p)
When I was twenty-something and first felt a tug toward ministry, I wanted to go to seminary but my Dad, who footed the bill, wanted his sons to be engineers and agreed to pay for my tuition only if I would continue my studies at a reputable state university. Being broke, I agreed. Looking back, I think I made a wise choice. At least, I have never regretted it. Oh, sure, I missed learning about church history and theology, Augustine and Zwingli, the proper order of the Prophets, and I never got to say, with conviction, In the original Hebrew, this word actually means . . . All that is necessary in my assigned profession, of course, but, then, its all available in books and I did spend a fortune building a library.
What I learned at a university has served me well. Its stuff I may never have learned in seminary. I may have missed out on how to be successful clergyman; but the university allowed me to remain, well, ordinary. James Emery White understands this, albeit from a totally different perspective. He is a company man, the president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, dedicated to the training of ministers. He realizes that seminary serves only specific needs; the rest is on-the-job training, stuff they dont cover at Bible college. So, Dr. White has written What They Didnt Teach You in Seminary, a manual for preachers, but much more than that. Its a book for curious laymen, too, that will show why pastors cant walk on water and dont glow in the dark. Seminary graduates, even those who graduate cum laude, who cant tune a lawnmower or change a flat tire (and there are some, believe me) are of little use in the vagaries of real life. I mean, knowing the meaning of exomologesis can take you only so far.
But White, in addition to his duties as a seminary president, is also pastor of a local church and explores such practical topics as emotional survival in ministry, the struggles of money, the fact that vision leaks, that churches have a natural tendency to stagnate, that 10% of the people you meet will not like you (no matter who you are), and other things not covered in seminary classrooms but things vital to the survival of any leader. All of these are areas where any church leader would benefit, gleaned from the insight of one who has actually taken the road less traveled.
I think White is at his best when he openly confesses his own failures in ministry. At least these admissions prompted me to self-examine my own service in the kingdom. But the book does falter somewhat when White, the pastor of a large megachurch, hands down advice from his rather lofty perch to pastors of average-size churches of 100-or-so congregants who work without multi-million dollar budgets and a professional staff.
~~~~~
Author bio
James Emery White is the president and professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Cornwell Theological Seminary, with campuses in South Hamilton Massachusetts, Boston, Charlotte, and Jacksonville. Prior to becoming president at Gordon-Cornwell, Dr. White was the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. White holds a B.S. degree in public relations and business from Appalachian State University, and the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he was awarded a Garrett Teaching Fellowship in both New testament and Theology. He has also done advanced university study at Vanderbilt University in American religious history, and continuing education at Oxford University in England, including participation in Oxford's Summer Programme in Theology. Dr. White is the author of over a dozen books, including, Embracing the Mysterious God, A Search for the Spiritual, Serious Times and The Prayer God Longs For.
