create learning communities of stu- dents conducive to fellowship and prayer. Professors should get stu- dents conversing and working on projects together. After all, much ministry happens through teams (and committees!) of people working to- gether to advance Christ’s kingdom. Professors need to model how to humbly, convictionally, and chari- tably converse with others from dif- fering perspectives so students learn how to relate and lead within our di- visive and pluralistic world.
3. Spiritual Formation
Spiritual formation centers on students’ relationship with Jesus Christ —the condition of their in- ner lives before God. Certainly, local congregations are the primary locus for spiritual formation, and students themselves bear the responsibility to apply the means of grace. However, in academic theological study, there exists the temptation to view Jesus as an object to master rather than as a King to love and serve. Moreover, ministry leaders constantly face the temptation to do things for the Lord be- fore being with the Lord. Students need to learn how to be a “Mary,” meta- phorically sitting at Jesus’s feet in de- votion and love, before they get busy in serving in ministry like “Martha”
So, seminaries, alongside local
churches, need to nurture students’ spiritual formation with intentional- ity. Students should be encouraged to deepen their devotional practices and engage with the classic spiritual disciplines. Professors should be transparent about how they do this in their own lives. Every course should include a spiritually formative com- ponent integrated with theological content, in addition to prayer and devotions. Chapel services, retreats, mentorship opportunities, and coun- seling should be offered. In conjunc- tion with ministry supervisors, semi- naries should also evaluate students’ spiritual growth over the course of time from admission to graduation.
4. Ministerial Formation Ministerial formation, or voca- tional formation, refers to students’ growth in leadership skills for the
September/October 2024
Kingdom of God. The previous three essential dimensions of formation—theo- logical, personal, and spiritual—should be true of all Christians. Scripture calls everyone to grow in our knowledge of the Lord, in relationships with one an- other, in our self-understanding before the Lord, and in our personal love for Christ. However, besides the rigorous academic study of theology, what dis- tinguishes seminary education from Christian discipleship generally is this di- mension of leadership formation for the Kingdom of God. Many students are called to be pastors in local churches. Others are called to be ministry leaders in other contexts or as leaders outside of “vocational ministry,” who integrate their faith with their work in service to God’s Kingdom. Thus, part of what makes seminary “seminary” is this particular dimension of ministerial forma- tion focused on leadership and ministry calling. First, effective ministerial formation in seminaries requires what Christian
Scharen and Eileen Campbell-Reed (2016), in their Learning Pastoral Imagination project, call “teachers who know the game of ministry” rather than those that only know the game of the academy (p. 51). While seminary professors ought - ence pastoring people, navigating the common landmines of ministry, wres- tling with issues of their own ministry calling, and actually doing the common tasks of ministry. They should be able to move back and forth in dialogue with students between conceptual theology and its immediate practical application within the real world of ministry. They should be able to discuss with students their lives. I’m thankful that I can say that this is true of all full-time professors at Erskine Seminary.
Second, seminaries must not only teach the host of skills that people in min- istry need to competently lead a congregation or organization, but also develop opportunities for students to practice those skills, both inside and outside class- es, with feedback. This ideally requires collaboration between seminaries and students’ ministry contexts, between students, professors, and students’ minis- try supervisors. A good example of such collaboration at Erskine Seminary is the “Applied Ministry Evaluation Report.” In many classes, students take what they have been learning in the course and create a project, write a sermon, or design a teaching to be implemented in their local congregation. A pastor then observes the contextual implementation and provides feedback. Then, the pro- fessor takes this feedback and provides additional feedback to the students. In this way, seminarians gain facility in skills of ministerial leadership.
Conclusion
A seminary’s intentional integration across these dimensions represents an obedient response to the Lord’s Greatest Commandment to “love the Lord your God will all your heart [spiritual formation], and with all your soul [personal formation], and with all your mind [intellectual formation], and with all your strength [ministerial formation]” (Mark 12:30). Thus, may it be so for Erskine Great Commission of Jesus Christ,” who can skillfully apply the gospel as the only cure for broken souls toward a whole-personed transformation patterned after the image of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Seth J. Nelson, Ph.D., is the Dean of Erskine Theological Seminary and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Educational Leader- ship. He is an ordained minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, having previously served for ten years in pastoral ministry in two local congregations.
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