Should Missionaries Go To Seminary?

I hear this question often and it usually provokes a measure of emotion fueled by one's experiences. Those who have been to seminary usually argue for it, primarily because they have appreciated the experience and have seen (or foresee) practical benefits in their ministries.

But, perhaps—and I admit speculation now based on what I would be tempted to do—just perhaps, a few seminary grads remember the excruciating work involved and say it is unthinkable for mere college grads to skip that step and march right on out to the field “untrained” (the old "Eeeh, when I was your age we had to milk the cows at 3 a.m." syndrome). Now try posing the question to someone officially connected with a seminary and you will get an even stronger affirmative, hearing arguments that, without it, you will be like a carpenter without tools or a woodchopper with a dull axe. A friend of mine told me about a seminary prof's wife reacting to his decision to go to the field without seminary by exclaiming, "Before seminary? What could you possibly be able to offer those people?" I'm sure the prof himself would never have expressed it that way, but his wife’s words betrayed a subconscious superiority complex which may be common, but not evident in the seminary professors that I know personally. (My friend, by the way, is offering Bibles to people in Muslim cities without any other Christian witnesses at all. He’s regularly threatened by long-bearded clerics. And when that unyielding soil finally produces a harvest ready for seminary instruction, he’ll be the guy we honor for having banged it.)

Missionaries without a seminary education, like me, will likewise be biased when addressing this question. We also struggle with a superiority complex because we tend to view ourselves as the blue-collared heart of missions and stereotype the seminarians as white-collared suburbanites unwittingly blogging the church dry or bleeding it to death over Calvinism. Guys like me like to claim the Spurgeons and the missionary heroes who didn't do seminary. We recite the names of our college friends who were once on fire but died in "cemetery." But I know I can’t use these arguments, primarily because I'm not arguing, but also because I’ve known too many thrilling seminary-educated missionaries and too many non-educated missionary nincompoops who would serve as poignant case studies for the other side.

About now, some readers are beginning to feel snookered by false advertising: the title of this blog was a question that I still have not answered with “yes” or “no,” and I won’t, mind you: the question is too vague. Seminary isn’t for everyone, but don’t get on a bandwagon here—it may be for you! What you should really ask is “What do I need to learn before going to the field, why, and what source or combination of sources can teach me most efficiently?” Those are not easy questions to answer, so you have to seek help from a multitude of counselors—especially those who have proven themselves faithful and fruitful. The other thing to remember is that learning is lifelong. Being "prepared for the ministry" is not a destination you arrive at on graduation day, but a continual journey.

When I was considering it all, a seminary graduate and senior pastor of a huge church said, “Going to seminary is paying someone to make you do what you ought to on your own.” From his counsel I gleaned that learning depends on me, not on seminary; that it is possible to learn things found in a seminary without actually attending one; that it is possible to attend seminary without actually learning what you need to know; that seminary isn’t cheap; and that most people don’t have the desire or discipline to learn what a seminary would teach on their own (hence making it a wise decision for those feeling that they should learn things offered in seminary before going to the field).

Another terrific pastor of another huge church advocated higher theological education by correspondence, arguing that being trained “in” ministry is more valuable than being trained “for” ministry. He related how he taught some of his seminary courses directly to his church, thereby eliminating double study time and making immediate practical use of his learning. That made sense since teaching is a terrific method of learning, and teaching the seminary fodder would seem to provide immediate practical use.

When I was an almost-seminarian, I was agonizing over which one to choose. Seminary A had some all-star professors in church history and counseling, Seminary B had the market on theology, but Seminary C was the missions powerhouse. I wished there was a way to get the best of all worlds. Then I noticed that these institutions offered correspondence modules, so I thought to myself, “Why not mix and match?” Of course, one drawback to such a hodgepodge is never earning a suffix. I’m not being cute; in some fields, a suffix is indispensable. Sven, my high school tennis buddy from Hamburg, told me that missionaries to Germany without doctorates in theology (and without perfect German) should forget fruitful ministries and local respect—their very presence is assaulting to German pride. Of course God is bigger than German pride and may want to use an un-suffixed prophet to bring revival there, but my friend's perspective sounded logical, like Paul using his educational credentials in the business of being “all things to all men” for the Gospel’s expansion. Yes, a suffix is like a Pauline citizenship in some fields (and always helpful to have in pocket; once I signed up for a frequent flyer program as Dr. David Hosaflook—naughty—but the customer service was great!).

People ask me if I regret not going to seminary. No, I don’t. People also ask if I would like to go to seminary. Yes, I would. Why didn’t I go to seminary (and don’t regret it)? Because it wasn’t God’s plan for me. When I was 21, God opened a great door in Albania and made it crystal clear that "NOW" was the time. In Albania I learned how much I did not know and was forced to find answers (and discover more questions). But God provided the educational opportunities I needed. He blessed me with $1000 for books through a church in Naples, Italy. He provided a smattering of seminary courses done by correspondence. And meanwhile, I’ve been able to throw the strength of my youth into climbing mountains and planting Albanian churches. I’m sure seminary would have given me a sharper axe, but it would have also taken away many years of strong, youthful legs. The cream of the crop of our ministry today is the group of high school and college students I reached when I was 21-28 years old (you tend to reach people your own age). If I had chosen seminary, I would have missed most of those years and opportunities. There is much to be learned in a classroom but just as much on an unchurched mountain range. Much can be said about the need for missionaries to be seasoned and matured by the years of seminary disciplines; but as much can also be said about the need for young people to throw their strong bodies and youthful energies into the throngs of unreached people groups whose median age is getting younger and younger. How much, and what kind of, education do we need to be equipped to splash light upon a dark frontier?

Why would I love to go to seminary? Because I love God and books and writing and debating and theology and philosophy and counseling and church history and apologetics and languages and issues! I could hole away on my friend’s 4-acre, secluded island in Canada and read until I became sick of fresh lobster. And if I could go back to seminary now, I would glean infinitely more than when I was 21, because at that time I had never met people like orphans, shepherds, gypsies, prisoners, prostitutes, priests or imams, nor had I ever realized how practically applicable all the -ologies were to my ministry with such people.

I would also love seminary because I perceive it would help me do a better job of training nationals after I win them to Christ. This is a strong argument used by those advocating seminary, but I don't think that without seminary, a missionary is impotent for this task. He can take advantage of the abundance of training materials available; he can invite able professors to teach topics he is weak in; and he can be helped by Bible schools and seminaries run by others in his region. Of course, no matter how much “stuff” a missionary finds to fill the heads of the nationals, he’s got to disciple them, a time-consuming, life-pouring process involving much more than the impartation of raw knowledge. This is still a great challenge to a guy who could be content with his books on the island.

Some missionaries are setting out to do specific things like translating Bibles among small island tribes. Their jobs will require specific training and I would recommend seminary for them. My specific job is evangelizing in a Muslim and Roman Catholic land. When I started, I found myself wishing I’d done post-graduate work on Islamic studies. Instead, I’ve read the Koran, books by Muslims and ex-Muslims, and have continued to talk to Muslims. I’ve come to accept that while I’ve got a handle on their basic beliefs, I’ll never be an Islamic expert. I’ve also learned that I do not need to know everything about them to alert them to the fact that, behind their religious façade, they are still guilty before God and have no hope other than John 3:16.

Should a missionary go to seminary? Yes or no, now or later, resident or correspondent--I don't know. But I do know that regardless of his educational background, every missionary had better keep learning, stretching, and growing AS he labors for the Lord in the harvest fields.