What they can do, however, is extend the seminary’s ability to help pastors continue their education. Just as lawyers and physicians are required to continue their education, so congregations should give prayerful consideration to sending their pastor(s) back to seminary for a time of study and renewal. This small step might reduce ministerial “burnout” significantly.

Follow the Money
In the discussion over the question, “Why seminary?” a frequent objection is that seminary is too expensive. The assumption here seems to be that professional training for our ministers could be done less expensively by frugal pastors who know what they are doing. Well, the administrative overhead at WSC is quite low. Some of our staff have given up lucrative careers in order to advance God’s kingdom serving at the seminary.

The cost of seminary at WSC is ranked almost exactly in the middle of seminaries in the USA. Given the quality of the education at WSC, we think that the tuition is quite reasonable. Costs do rise, but some of them are uncontrollable, such as the cost of books which have risen considerably over the years. What should the seminarian-pastor do? Go without books? Would you visit a mechanic who had no tools?

One should not assume that the proposed electronic alternative is cheaper. Electronic, distance education does not promise to be any less expensive, in the long-run. Darryl Hart, in the October 1997 issue of New Horizons, noted that there are hidden costs to distance education.

Then we must consider the seminary facilities. Each distance-learning student must have a suitable computer and the associated software, which will need regular up-grading. More than that, the long-distance seminarian will need his own seminary library, since the equivalent does not yet exist online. A decent library for such an enterprise could easily cost thousands of dollars even with use of free, online, resources such as Google books or archive.org which usually offer only older books on which the copyright has lapsed.

Thus, even in the distance-education scheme, one has made a substantial investment, but there are less tangible costs as well. When, in this scenario, will the stay-at-home seminarian study his Greek and Hebrew? Who will evaluate his sermons? With whom will he compare notes? Will he really memorize his Greek and Hebrew vocabulary or will that also be too much bother? Will he really spend the late hours necessary to do the reading and writing for class? A computer terminal or video screen is wonderful, but it is not the kind of human fellowship or genuine community that is so vital to the adequate preparation of pastors.

All this is to point out that there is no easy route to the ministry and we delude ourselves if we say that there is. It is the Church’s obligation to make certain that the seminaries to which she sends her young (and older!) men are worthy. What constitutes a worthy place? One which continues to confess the historic Reformed faith, one that not only keeps up with the questions and criticisms offered by the culture, but also offers biblical and intelligent answers to those criticisms. That is, a worthy seminary is one which understands the times in which we minister and who equips her students to face those times and to stand in the pulpit week after week and tell the truth, all of it, regardless of the consequences. WSC, was, is, and shall, by God’s grace, remain such a worthy place.

The Old-Fashioned Way
WSC is old-fashioned in other ways as well. Unlike many seminaries, we still require students to learn to read God’s Word in the original languages. This was the vision of our founder, J. Gresham Machen, that Westminster would produce men who are experts in the Bible. For this reason, students spend much of their first year learning Greek and Hebrew. They’re expected to attend their other classes in Systematic, Practical, and Historical Theology with their Greek and Hebrew Bibles open as well. They also attend more advanced courses in exegesis—that is, the explanation of the biblical text. More than just biblical study, they learn what to do with the Bible in the Church. They learn the biblical theology of the Church, her offices, and the theology and practice of pastoral ministry.

The new technologies cannot and should not replace face-to-face seminary education. What they can do, however, is extend the seminary’s ability to help pastors continue their education. Just as lawyers and physicians are required to continue their education, so congregations should give prayerful consideration to sending their pastor(s) back to seminary for a time of study and renewal. This small step might reduce ministerial “burnout” significantly. Having laid the foundation of life-long learning in the classroom, we can help pastors keep up with theological, intellectual, and academic trends via email discussion lists, web pages, interactive seminars, and the like.

Our seminary has been entrusted with a tremendous responsibility. At WSC the faculty takes this responsibility with utmost seriousness. No seminary (or any human institution) is perfect, and we are profoundly aware of this fact. Nevertheless, the Lord has given us this ministry of training men for ministry. Our slogan (as expressed in the Greek text on our school seal) declares, “The whole counsel of God.” That is the mark we aim to hit: to train men to preach all of God’s Word. It is no easy task, but it is a joyous one. Please pray for us as we pray for you and the prosperity of Christ’s church.

This is the final post of the series.

R. Scott Clark is a Minister in the United Reformed Church and serves as Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary California and Associate Pastor at Oceanside United Reformed Church (Carlsbad, CA). This article appeared on the WSC blog, Valiant for Truth and is used with permission.

Read Part 1 here

Read Part 2 here

Read Part 3 here