Thanks so much for this Jeffrey! I could follow most of your points. I attended Purdue University as an undergraduate, although my older brothers attended a Mennonite college. I was interested in pharmacy and Purdue was a good school and cheaper for an Indiana resident. My first week on campus, God introduced me to the Navigators. All that to say that the challenges of a public university in the 1970’s while being discipled by students steeped in the scriptures made me a stronger Christian than I think I would have been at a Christian college. Now seminary is different from an undergraduate institution. I admire your tenacity to stick out. Thanks for all you’re doing to inform and challenge us. God bless your efforts. I hope to be able to contribute financially soon. Nancy Leinbach, Fort Wayne, IN area.
What an unusual (odd)experience people who attend attended United Methodist seminaries had. If I did not pastor, I small congregation while going through ( student pastor) I couldn’t have remained there for graduation. I went to Emory‘s Candler School of theology. It was the most awkward grouping of people I’ve ever experienced, super liberal seminarians, some conservatives, void of any meaningful conversations. The liberals were the super saddest because it had turned so left. There was not even any good arguments. They pre-supposed you were supposed to be a feminist, evolutionist, you they were separated from the local church. I observed many students had distain for the thought of being a pastor. It seemed most scholarships were not intended to go for those headed to pastoral ministry. The denominational seminary were funded heavily. But due to the cry of censorship or any conservative oversight, they separated themselves from the church people. I will say having the brand name did help me get a job as Emory has prestige in some areas. I was very fortunate to later be scholarships to go to Samford’s Beeson Divinity School. I envy all the students who were going for their DMin that school. The professors were all confessing Christians. It was interdenominational at the seminary level. The professor seemed invested in your ministry and asked you about it often, even after graduation. It seemed clear once seminary had an academic job to do. The other seminary wanted to spread Christ kingdom and enrich those in ministry. Over the last few years I’ve taken a couple of classes online at Wesley Biblical Seminary. I was blown away by their devotion to their students and the gospel ministry. I would recommend WBS to anyone. Much of the downfall of the Methodist movement is directly related to the time & money spent at those old denominational schools. I’m so thankful there’s another way to do seminary now at places like Beeson and Wesley Biblical Seminary.
This is not your main point, but I greatly enjoy reading about science and religion discussions. I was at Perkins in the ‘90s, when progressive institutional capture had yet to complete its work, and when I found in our library John Polkinghorne’s “The Faith of a Physicist,” it opened a world I did not know existed.
Rickman, you are a frontline warrior. I admire your grit. It's real, it's articulate, it's true. You are also a prophet, a seer. The church needs more of this gift. What you say liberates us to think more about the drift. But the scale of your topic is intimidating. How do you manage your own sense of limitation in addressing this?
I guess I don't. I just start talking or typing, and I see where it goes. I'm certainly unequal to the task ahead. I'm writing checks I can't cash, in a sense. I just think I know what is true, and I'm making frequent bids for folks to share in this with me. It is lonesome to feel like the only one who sees these things. And then I find some online, but very few are in my tribe, or those in my tribe are for some reason unwilling to speak about these things publicly, so I just start talking. But that's all this is. I try to marshal the facts, or rather be marshaled by the scriptures leading to all truth, and then do my utmost for folks to see that everything has been given us to be victorious at this moment. We just need to take up our cross and follow!
Your words about me are very kind. While there have been seasons of my life in which I have felt the hand of the Lord powerfully upon me as a sort of prophetic mantle, right now I'm just a small country parson with a happy little family, shouting truth into the void and speaking with smart and faithful all the time. In short, despite the fact that I'm regularly offending others, I'm a very blessed man who goes home to sweet little people who love me, a peaceful home with a godly wife. So I'm regularly comforted in the midst of a very discomforting larger life. God is good, and I want others to know that!
When you are continuously pondering the Word of God and seeking scriptural holiness and serving as God gives you utterance, you will be given what to share with the many who are perplexed and lost and weary. As you say, you "just start talking or typing." You say things others fear will attract an evil spotlight or offend their patrons. Jesus warned that "one's foes will be members of one's own household."
Thanks so much for this Jeffrey! I could follow most of your points. I attended Purdue University as an undergraduate, although my older brothers attended a Mennonite college. I was interested in pharmacy and Purdue was a good school and cheaper for an Indiana resident. My first week on campus, God introduced me to the Navigators. All that to say that the challenges of a public university in the 1970’s while being discipled by students steeped in the scriptures made me a stronger Christian than I think I would have been at a Christian college. Now seminary is different from an undergraduate institution. I admire your tenacity to stick out. Thanks for all you’re doing to inform and challenge us. God bless your efforts. I hope to be able to contribute financially soon. Nancy Leinbach, Fort Wayne, IN area.
An excellent commentary! Thank you for continuing to be a beacon of truth.
What an unusual (odd)experience people who attend attended United Methodist seminaries had. If I did not pastor, I small congregation while going through ( student pastor) I couldn’t have remained there for graduation. I went to Emory‘s Candler School of theology. It was the most awkward grouping of people I’ve ever experienced, super liberal seminarians, some conservatives, void of any meaningful conversations. The liberals were the super saddest because it had turned so left. There was not even any good arguments. They pre-supposed you were supposed to be a feminist, evolutionist, you they were separated from the local church. I observed many students had distain for the thought of being a pastor. It seemed most scholarships were not intended to go for those headed to pastoral ministry. The denominational seminary were funded heavily. But due to the cry of censorship or any conservative oversight, they separated themselves from the church people. I will say having the brand name did help me get a job as Emory has prestige in some areas. I was very fortunate to later be scholarships to go to Samford’s Beeson Divinity School. I envy all the students who were going for their DMin that school. The professors were all confessing Christians. It was interdenominational at the seminary level. The professor seemed invested in your ministry and asked you about it often, even after graduation. It seemed clear once seminary had an academic job to do. The other seminary wanted to spread Christ kingdom and enrich those in ministry. Over the last few years I’ve taken a couple of classes online at Wesley Biblical Seminary. I was blown away by their devotion to their students and the gospel ministry. I would recommend WBS to anyone. Much of the downfall of the Methodist movement is directly related to the time & money spent at those old denominational schools. I’m so thankful there’s another way to do seminary now at places like Beeson and Wesley Biblical Seminary.
This is not your main point, but I greatly enjoy reading about science and religion discussions. I was at Perkins in the ‘90s, when progressive institutional capture had yet to complete its work, and when I found in our library John Polkinghorne’s “The Faith of a Physicist,” it opened a world I did not know existed.
Interesting
Rickman, you are a frontline warrior. I admire your grit. It's real, it's articulate, it's true. You are also a prophet, a seer. The church needs more of this gift. What you say liberates us to think more about the drift. But the scale of your topic is intimidating. How do you manage your own sense of limitation in addressing this?
I guess I don't. I just start talking or typing, and I see where it goes. I'm certainly unequal to the task ahead. I'm writing checks I can't cash, in a sense. I just think I know what is true, and I'm making frequent bids for folks to share in this with me. It is lonesome to feel like the only one who sees these things. And then I find some online, but very few are in my tribe, or those in my tribe are for some reason unwilling to speak about these things publicly, so I just start talking. But that's all this is. I try to marshal the facts, or rather be marshaled by the scriptures leading to all truth, and then do my utmost for folks to see that everything has been given us to be victorious at this moment. We just need to take up our cross and follow!
Your words about me are very kind. While there have been seasons of my life in which I have felt the hand of the Lord powerfully upon me as a sort of prophetic mantle, right now I'm just a small country parson with a happy little family, shouting truth into the void and speaking with smart and faithful all the time. In short, despite the fact that I'm regularly offending others, I'm a very blessed man who goes home to sweet little people who love me, a peaceful home with a godly wife. So I'm regularly comforted in the midst of a very discomforting larger life. God is good, and I want others to know that!
When you are continuously pondering the Word of God and seeking scriptural holiness and serving as God gives you utterance, you will be given what to share with the many who are perplexed and lost and weary. As you say, you "just start talking or typing." You say things others fear will attract an evil spotlight or offend their patrons. Jesus warned that "one's foes will be members of one's own household."
Good piece. Keep up the good work.