How Prepared Will I Be to Serve?

By: Ronald Barnes

 

I often wonder about my preparation to serve the community I am being called to serve once I graduate from seminary. How prepared will I be to address and give constructive input to the issues people will bring to me? McCormick has a great reputation for training theologians over the decades. However, the world is changing and the situations theologians and the church are encountering I believe require more than the traditional theological preparation. 

My commitment to the theory of my theological training is resolute. My concern is for the practical application of my theological training and how effective I will be dealing with real life situations, such as:

1.    Ministering to the parents after the death of a child.

2.    Ministering to a world and community plagued problems and violence.

3.    Ministering to children on matters of peer group pressures (i.e. gang pressure, bullying, social click pressure, school / grades, achievements situations / personal issues).

4.    Ministry to people with a seemingly normal life – maintenance ministry

I would like to think that ministry does not always have to be about challenging life issues. Ministry that celebrates happiness and recognizes joy is just as important as Ministry that deals with challenging and unforeseen situations. How effective can any effort to deal with the challenges confronting us in life be without a healthy spiritual foundation?

As a student working to become a minister, I often wonder how prepared will I be to address people with problems that will confront me. I believe the Bible addresses the entire range of issues, challenges and problems that will confront us, many in a manner that our contemporary society has conflicting views and opinions about. How do we reconcile the Bible with present day attitudes and be true to our faith and be true to the people we serve?

I think that before we are ministers and theologians, we are first human beings created by God who should have a compassion for the plight of others and a desire to give comfort and direction, not judgment. This is not to say we should condone unethical, immoral or illegal behavior, but it is to say we should have Christ-like compassion and impartial understanding. Is this possible? If we are not capable of this then we must question and re-evaluate our ability to serve.

I don’t think it matters as much if we are a masters or PhD level theologians; what matters is how much we care about the plight of others. What matters is how much we care to serve and how well we can console others in times of need.

Does a formal theological education prepare us to deal with the practical matters that may potentially confront us? Probably not completely, but at least our theological training will give us a foundation in Christ and the Bible. A Christian faith and spirit is critical as a foundation to help people. A solid Christian training along with a strong faith and practical insight and compassion for others will give us the foundation necessary serve in a manner that helps others and brings satisfaction into our own life.

Note: The views in articles, blog posts, and opinion pieces are specific to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of McCormick Theological Seminary or The Herald.