Seminary has great significance in helping a pastor understand how to dissect the Bible in a scholarly way. It will increase critical thinking skills, teach you to work with deadlines and expose you to brilliant minds. However, there are things that seminary doesn’t teach you. Why? There isn’t enough time in the program, and it’s not the job of the seminary to teach you everything. Many pastors leave seminary well-equipped to teach the Scriptures and study in a scholarly way. Still, they struggle to understand many things in the operations side of ministry and how to reach the everyday person. So, here are eight things they don’t teach you in seminary.
1. Your Emotional and Mental Health Issues Will Be Magnified
Ministry doesn’t make your emotional and mental health issues go away. The first few years of ministry are fun. It may seem like ministry has “cured” them, but many pastors hit an emotional wall. Years of wounds from rejection that have produced insecurities come to the surface. They find themselves battling anxiety, anger, and depression. Pastoral ministry is the very front line of ministry. Pastors have people betray them, leave, and constantly criticize their leadership, and they have to keep up with the non-stop grind. So, their mental health issues that have been hidden for years are now magnified. Pastors need to be equipped to notice this and get professional help before they crash their church, marriage, or family with poor choices.
2. You Will Need to Reach People Digitally
COVID-19 accelerated the usage of digital life. So, churches have to be equipped to reach people through a digital strategy. Pastors and churches are generally ill-equipped to reach the digital community. Social media is a powerful tool to communicate the mission of the church, show the community and church the good that the church does, and is a great way to advertise to people where they are located.
Google is the top search engine. Unchurched people will go to Google to search for churches. They will usually search for “churches near me” or “churches in ___________ (city).” The first churches that come up will get a virtual visit via the website from the person searching. This is an excellent way to reach people in the community, and the kicker with Google is that they are searching for the church! The church isn’t advertising to those who aren’t interested. However, this is something that is not taught in seminary, so pastors have to learn it on their own.
3. Your Sermon Series Is Content Creation
People regularly watch episodic stories on TV and digital platforms such as Netflix or Disney+. They think thematically or in “series.” They enjoy a focus, a theme, and a specific duration.
Sermon series are an avenue to help people learn in the way they are used to learning culturally. Series need to have focused content and Biblical narratives, and yes, they need to be creative. Seminary is not going to train pastors on how to create sermon series that keep the congregants engaged as well as reach unchurched people.
4. You Are Expected to Resolve Conflict Among Staff and Church Members
Figuring out who exactly penned the book of Hebrews or trying to dissect precisely who the Nephilim were in Genesis isn’t generally stressful to a pastor. However, pastors do talk about stress from conflict among staff, volunteers, and congregants.
Resolving conflict is something that a pastor or staff member will always have to do to keep the church healthy. It is a primary task, but very few who finish seminary are empowered to do this. They don’t have training in personality profiles or conflict resolution.
This is where the stress comes in. They feel like they are always fighting battles they can’t win with conflict management. If a pastor doesn’t figure out how to deal with the stress of always resolving conflict, then it begins to take a toll on them.
5. You Will Need to Utilize Growth Engines for Your Church
Seminary graduates are taught how to manage the basics of a church, but they are never taught how to specifically grow a church by reaching the unchurched in the community. They are not aware of how to manage or leverage growth engines for their church. Growth engines are leveraging big days (Christmas and Easter) with invites, social media, or online searches and how to craft or create a compelling, prayed-down vision for the church. Because of this, most seminary graduates feel frustrated when attempting to grow their church.
6. Your Church Requires Strategic Calendar Planning
Seminary helps you strategically exegete the Bible, but it doesn’t help you with your strategic planning calendar for the church.
There are three times a year that a church can expect to see new faces. Those days are Christmas, Easter, and the Fall. Seminary doesn’t teach you how to leverage the first four weeks leading up to the big day with an invite strategy, how to double in attendance the day of, and how to connect those new guests the following several weeks.
To reach people for Christ, the pastor/team needs to plan accordingly. The strategic calendar helps pastors plan volunteer recruitment “push” months, rest months, sermon series planning, and even a strategic time to fill flow charts by appointing leaders.
7. You Will Need to Lead Staff and Board Meetings
One of the essential pieces of training that is missing from seminary is how to lead effective meetings with staff and aboard. Those meetings dictate the health and direction of the church. However, most pastors have no idea what an effective meeting looks like. This makes it very difficult to lead the leaders of the church.
An effective meeting has a time limit, objectives, vision, problem-solving, delegation, dreaming, decisions, and a follow-up plan.
8. You Need Crisis/Trauma Response Training
Pastors end up living in the quadrant of problem-solving and crisis. These crises can range from walking with a family through the death of their loved one, experiencing the moral failure of a staff member, responding to someone who is seriously contemplating suicide, and, in some cases, caring for the family of a person who did commit suicide. Seminary doesn’t train pastors on how to handle any of this or how to care for themselves during and after going through this.
Pastors need care as well because of the amount of trauma they deal with on a personal level. This is similar to the role of hospital chaplains; however, a hospital chaplain usually doesn’t know the person in crisis and their family. And once the crisis is over, the chaplain is on to the next family. However, a pastor will already have an established friendship with the afflicted person and their family.
H.B. London wrote an excellent book called They Call Me Pastor. This book intertwines his crisis care with his church and practical applications of how to apply it.
London explains that pastors must know two things when dealing with any trauma or crisis. First, they are not there to fix any problems. They are there to be a non-anxious presence and present for those in crisis. Secondly, the pastor must get time to rest and disengage from caring for others to care for themselves. This may even include counseling for the pastor.
Your Pastoral Career Requires More Than Your Seminary Degree
Seminaries are very important to the development of a pastor. They help in many ways, but there is so much that they don’t address. The key for the pastor is to be a life-long learner in practical ministry to handle the multi-faceted demands of the church.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions pastors might ask:
1. What are some strategies for pastors to engage with diverse cultural groups within their congregation?
Pastors can engage with diverse cultural groups by fostering an inclusive environment that respects and celebrates different backgrounds. This includes educating themselves about various cultures, encouraging multicultural participation in church activities, and promoting open dialogue. Building relationships through community events and culturally relevant programs can also enhance engagement and unity within the congregation.
2. How can pastors develop resilience to cope with the emotional demands of ministry?
Developing resilience involves self-care practices such as regular exercise, adequate rest, and seeking support from trusted colleagues or mentors. Pastors should also consider professional counseling to process emotional challenges. Engaging in reflective practices like journaling or meditation can provide mental clarity while setting realistic expectations, which helps manage stress and prevent burnout.
3. In what ways can pastors stay updated with technological advancements to enhance their ministry?
Pastors can stay updated by attending workshops, webinars, and conferences focused on technology in ministry. Joining online forums and networks allows for the exchange of ideas and resources. Subscribing to relevant publications and following thought leaders in church technology can provide insights into emerging tools. Continuous learning and adaptation are key to effectively integrating technology into their ministry.
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