Rev. Smith
Old Catholic Priest
- Jun 29, 2004
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You have hit on an interesting divide in the Christian world, some sects are activly opposed to "over" education, citing the examples of the apostles and early ministers. Others have very high education requirements.
Our church has a formation process, each candidate is accessed and tested and then their education requirement is set (along with other service, practicum and counseling requirements). Some have become priests with no additional education after the formation and dogma classes, others were sent off to get advanced degrees (I'm getting one now, because I want to - not because It was required).
In sola scrip. churches and understanding of greek and latin is probably essential, since if all you have if the Bible, accuracy in text is paramount. In such communities I think the education standards ought to be pretty high. In charismatic churches the emphasis may be more on experience and knowing the ecclisology of the church. I'm lucky, I guess to be in a liturgical tradition - we accept our translation as authority (so I don't need to go to the greek, the Holy Spirit took care of the vetting process a long time ago) - so my education is more in understanding the liturgy and tradition, to support the scriptures.
Consider talking to the Sr. Pastor, he might consider taking over some of the sermons so that there is a balance between the experiential and Word based teaching. Both have value, and I use both.
Our church has a formation process, each candidate is accessed and tested and then their education requirement is set (along with other service, practicum and counseling requirements). Some have become priests with no additional education after the formation and dogma classes, others were sent off to get advanced degrees (I'm getting one now, because I want to - not because It was required).
In sola scrip. churches and understanding of greek and latin is probably essential, since if all you have if the Bible, accuracy in text is paramount. In such communities I think the education standards ought to be pretty high. In charismatic churches the emphasis may be more on experience and knowing the ecclisology of the church. I'm lucky, I guess to be in a liturgical tradition - we accept our translation as authority (so I don't need to go to the greek, the Holy Spirit took care of the vetting process a long time ago) - so my education is more in understanding the liturgy and tradition, to support the scriptures.
Consider talking to the Sr. Pastor, he might consider taking over some of the sermons so that there is a balance between the experiential and Word based teaching. Both have value, and I use both.
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