Thoughts on Seminary from a Graduating Seminarian

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral13 Comments

Today marks the last day of class for me in my seminary career. I will graduate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on Friday with a Master of Divinity. As I reflect on my time in seminary, I want to share a few thoughts on what I learned from my experience:

1. Seminary requires you to be a good researcher and writer

In order to learn the trade well, it would be wise to spend time reading books on writing and research, knowing the better researcher and writer you become, the better speaker you will be. In addition, the better writer you become, the better reader you will be, helping you to better process the overwhelming material you will read during your time in seminary.

2. Seminary provides you with tools, it does not teach you everything you need to know

Receiving your diploma does not mean your studying is over. You could argue seminary is just the beginning of your theological education, giving you the ability to pursue further self-study.  In order to serve a church well, those graduating from seminary need to continue to study, research, and write, faithfully exercising the skills developed during their time in seminary.

3. Make an effort to develop good friendships 

Not only are you making friends for life, who will be a rock for you to lean on during your days in ministry, but you will learn more outside of the classroom in conversations with friends than during lectures. Since this is true, you should take as many classes as you can with your friends, and discuss the lectures and readings as often as possible. I have learned more, and been challenged more, during conversations with friends at Starbucks and over lunch than I would have if I solely relied on my personal study of class lectures.

4. Develop friendships with your professors

I have spent time getting to know several professors throughout my seminary career. These men have given me solid biblical advice, as well as challenged me in my spiritual life. It is worth it to put forth the effort to get to know a few professors on a deeper level.

5. Find a solid local church and pour into it

Don’t coast through your seminary career thinking you will minister when you take on your first church. Find a church now, plug in, spend as much time with the leadership there as you can, and minister to as many people as you can, even if it is not from the pulpit. In addition, you should give the church you attend during seminary the same opportunity to examine your calling to the ministry as you did your home church.

6. Buy as many books as you can

In order to find books at a reasonable price, spend time finding the discount book sellers in your area. A high concentration of seminary students equals a greater potential for a gold mine of cheap theology books to develop in your local used book stores. Visit these stores often; especially, at the end of a semester when other students may be unloading their unwanted books. What one student does not want, may be a gem to another.

7. Attend Conferences

Most conferences will allow you to attend at a cheaper rate while you are in seminary. Take the opportunity while you have it, knowing that traveling with friends and networking with other pastors from around the country is priceless. Not to mention, most conferences give away books like they are candy. It is not uncommon to walk away with 20-30 free books written by your favorite authors and speakers.

8. Set aside time for your wife

Seminary can easily dominate all your free time, so it is important you set aside time to spend with your wife, remembering she is your first ministry.

9. Make time for your personal relationship with the Lord

Even a theological education is no substitute for one’s devotional life. Setting aside time to do your daily devotion is crucial to your growth in the Christian life.

10. Plan out your semester

Nothing is more stressful than having to write three papers and study for two tests in the same week. In order to avoid that type of stress, setup a schedule and plan at the beginning of each semester  and stick to it. If you planned well, and started your projects early enough, you should have no problem turning in your best work with minimal stress.

11. Have fun

Seminary is a time for serious study and preparation for ministry, but it is also a time to enjoy life. Don’t always act so serious, and take the opportunity to get involved in intramural sports, as well as seek out a hobby other than reading. Always make sure to set aside time during the week to relax with friends and family.

Tim Keller Speaking About The Meaning of Marriage

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Books, Family, PracticalLeave a comment

Here is a video of a talk Tim Keller delivered at Googles’ New York City office about his new book The Meaning of Marriage. In his talk, he outlines the major topics of his new book, giving excellent reasons for a Christian view of marriage.

Does Christianity Provide Advice or News?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

Often times people will ask me if I am religious, or to what religion do I adhere. I do not say it, but I want to respond by saying I am not religious; rather, I am gospel, but that sounds funny. Even though it sounds funny, I think the distinction is worth making.

Advice Vs. News

Religion tells us what we must do in order for God to accept us, which is advice. When someone gives you advice, they often are telling you how you can be accepted by someone. For example, if you go on a job interview, a recruiter will usually tell you to get a hair cut, put on a suit and tie, bring a professionally printed resume, smile, shake their hand, and be polite to everyone you meet. Essentially, they are giving you advice on how to get your potential employer to think you are a worthy candidate.

In contrast, the Gospel tells us not what we must do, but what God has done, which is news. Think about it like this: When the 10 o’clock news comes on, they are not providing you with advice on what should happen in the city, they are telling you what happened that day. Likewise, the Gospel does not provide us with a set of rules or rituals we must follow in order to be accepted by God; rather, it tells us that God sent His Son, His only begotten Son, Jesus, to pay for the sins of mankind, which He was able to do because He lived a perfect life, enabling Him to be the perfect sacrifice for mankind. He willingly faced the cross, dying in our place, in order to reconcile mankind to God. The judgment we deserve, Jesus took in our place, so our relationship with God could be restored, and so God could remain a God of justice.

So then, when all other religions tell us what we must do in order for God to accept us, they are essentially giving us advice; not so with Christianity. Instead of giving us advice, Christianity gives us news, good news, that when believed, will restore man’s relationship with God.

We Often Live As If Christianity Provides Advice

So if Christianity provides news instead of advice, why do those who call themselves Christians live as if Christianity is providing advice? Christians often live like Christianity is giving advice by asking questions such as:

How often and for how long do I have to read my Bible? How many people do I have to tell about the gospel? How much money do I have to tithe every month? How many times do I have to forgive others? How far is too far when it comes to sex before marriage? How many times a month do I have to go to church?

All of these questions, and others like them, show that one is treating Christianity as advice instead of news, and proves they do not understand the gospel message. They do not understand we, as Christians, should live differently not in order for God to accept us, but because we are already accepted. As Christians, we should want to live lives that reflect the commands in God’s Word because we have been redeemed and our hearts have been changed. As a result, we should see God’s law and commands, not as a set of rules we must follow or else, but as guidelines for how to live as those who are God’s people.

Conclusion

If you are questioning Christianity, then you need to understand that it is not like other religions. Christianity does not give a set of guidelines or rules one must follow, it gives good news that Jesus has accomplished what we could never accomplish, which is to reconcile man’s relationship with God.

On the other hand, if you are a Christian, you need to understand that obeying God’s rules do not earn you favor with God, nor do obeying His rules secure your salvation. Rather, one should obey God’s commands and law because they delight in God and want to bring Him glory.

Meditating on Scripture

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical3 Comments

How often do you read your Bible? When you read it, do you spend time thinking through what the Lord is saying or is it something you desire to check off of a list? Reading Scripture is important, but it is even more important we spend time meditating on what we have read.

The Importance of Meditating on Scripture

In Joshua chapter 1 we are told why it is important we meditate on Scripture. Before Joshua crossed over to take the land of Canaan God said to him:

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:7-8).

It is here we learn the importance of meditating on the Word of the Lord, so that we may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.

A Way to Glorify God

If we want to be a people whose lives glorify God, then we must live in a God glorifying way, but we can’t live lives that glorify God if we do not know what it is that glorifies Him. We are not without hope though because God has left us His Word, so that we will know how to live in order to glorify Him. So then, reading and meditating on Scripture is a necessity if we want to live lives that glorify God. Reading Scripture is important so we are familiar with what it says. Meditating on Scripture is important so that it saturates our thinking.

Challenge

May we all heed the command the Lord gave to Joshua to meditate on the Word of the Lord day and night, so that we may be careful to do according to all that is written in it and glorify God.

Thanksgiving: A Reminder To Give Thanks For Everything

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals4 Comments

Thanksgiving is almost here. As I gear up to travel back to my home town to visit with friends and family, I am thankful for all the Lord has given me in my life. Even though I am thankful for what the Lord has done, my thoughts of thankfulness might just be too fleeting and ordinary. As I sat in church yesterday listening to the sermon, our pastor read a quote by G.K. Chesterton that caused me to see my fault in lifting up thanksgiving to the Lord. Chesterton says,

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

Chesterton says grace before all these events because he recognizes the Lord is sovereign over all things, and provides him with all things, even the ink in his pen. It was then that I realized I do not always thank God for everything I have or participate in.

Challenge

So let me challenge you, and myself as well, to not just lift up a thanksgiving prayer before the meal the Lord provides, but to lift up a prayer of thanksgiving for all the Lord has done in your life at all times. Give thanks to the Lord always since:

He sustains the seat you are seated in because He is the sovereign ruler of the universe, He allowed you to be born into the family in which you are apart, He provides you with the job you so often take for granted, He has given you your beautiful wife and children, He provides you with the church you attend, the car you are driving, the clothes on your back, the turkey you are going to set on the table, and even the coffee you are going to drink, while eating the dessert He gives the provisions to purchase. He also provides you with the ability to exercise, play sports, and even watch your rivals play football.

Instead of thanking God once over our Thanksgiving meal, we should thank Him always for everything He has graciously and mercifully given us, including the gift of His Son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins; thus, making a way for us to be reconciled to God.

Praise and Thank the Lord Like the Psalmist

Since the Lord provides for us in every area of life and at all times, we should lift up praises to Him like the psalmist in Psalm 100:

Psalm 100: A Psalm for giving thanks.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Leaders Articulate Your Vision (Again)

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral2 Comments

This morning one of my friends sent me a link to the video below in which John Piper exhorts leaders to articulate their vision for their church, small group, missions agency, etc on a regular basis and in fresh new ways. The encouragement and reminder from Piper is well worth watching this two minute clip.

The Work of a Christian Leader from Desiring God on Vimeo.