This week I’m writing from the Boyce Centennial Library on the campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. My class this semester had me on campus for two days this week, so I have been blessed to be able to be here. Some of you are aware from my Facebook posts of all the BBQ I have eaten during my time down here, but I assure you not all my time was spent haunting those joints (only meal times – while I haven’t minded soaking up a bit of seminary life, I opted out of the full experience in the dining hall!).
It just so happened that my time down here coincided with the biannual conference, Together for the Gospel. T4G (as it is popularly known) is an organization that promotes cross denominational cooperation for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom. Likeminded believers, who do disagree on some theological issues such as the proper structure of church governance and when baptism should occur, come together in unity and joy around the centrality of the Gospel message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. There are thousands of people here from across the country, including several of our brothers and sisters from Michigan. Organizations like T4G are incredibly important for us today, primarily because it provides a network for training and encouragement in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Yet these kinds of networks are also important because they allow us to have connections with brothers and sisters in Christ we might not otherwise have, and these relationships will be all the more important should our society continue on the trajectory toward, as D. A. Carson’s eponymous book called it, “the intolerance of tolerance.”
While I have been here, I have been reminded of both the great benefits and the great challenges of a seminary education. A seminary education provides men with the training in handling the Word of Truth that is crucial for fulfilling what Paul said the pastor-teachers’ job was in the church: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12). The banners around this gorgeous campus proclaim Southern’s mission: “For the Truth, For the Church, For the World, For the Glory of God.” Also, seminary is a time for those just entering ministry to hone the gifts God has given them. Yet seminary can present challenges, as well. It can become easy to study about the Bible, rather than allowing it to penetrate our hearts and conform us to the image of Christ. It can also be insular, which results in a bit of culture shock when a person steps off campus and into a church. Finally, it can also lack the practical training necessary to handle the day to day administration of the church. All in all, though, I do believe the benefits far outweigh the costs.
During my time in the campus bookstore (see, I told you I wasn’t in the BBQ joints ALL the time!), I met a young man named Raj, who was a student here at SBTS. As we talked, Raj told me that he was going to be in Michigan later this year and that he had a friend, also from India, who was planning to move to Michigan this year. Raj had been an intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC and was now at SBTS finishing up his M. Div. We are hoping his travels bring him close to Battle Creek so that we can connect again. Funny how those “chance” encounters are never really chance. Just something to think about…
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