Archive - school RSS Feed

Think Hard Before You Go to a Christian School

August 31, 2011 in Articles, Church Planting, school, seminary, The Church with 15 Comments

I used to work with high school students. Every fall as kids went back to school and seniors settled in to their new role atop the hallway pecking order, the issue was the same: “Where should I go to college?”

There were some, of course, who had known they would fulfill their dream of going to Georgetown since they were 10, and others who had planned on following in the Husker family footsteps for as long as they could remember, but for many, they had no idea. The pressure of choosing a school was significant, especially for those Christian students who thought there might be just one “right” choice that God desired for them, and many other wrong choices.

That was my story. As a student athlete, I knew that I wanted to compete at the highest level in a quality program. And yet, I also felt a strong sense that I would be serving in vocational ministry and thought going to a Christian school to get a ministry degree just made a lot more sense. Boy, was I wrong. Continue Reading…

My Trek to Mosaic

June 12, 2008 in Photo Blogs, school, seminary, Videos with 1 Comment

Img_0256_4

This last weekend I had the privilege of heading out to L.A. to check out Mosaic and interview for their protege program. It was a great trip. I got to connect with my old friend Julia the night I flew in, hit up three Mosaic worship gatherings and tackled three interviews the next day, and then enjoyed that night bonfiring on Huntington Beach with my buddy Kurtis before flying out early the next morning. It was packed couple days, but it was great! After following Erwin and Mosaic for the last five years or so, it was a huge blessing to be able to be out there and experience the community first hand. I love their heartbeat and the culture of creativity, love and passion that has been nurtured there. If God would see fit to make it possible, I would love to be able to serve, train and grow alongside Mosaic
for the next couple years. Megan and I continue to pray about where God will have us this fall. And we hope to FINALLY make a decision really soon!

Here’s a look at Mosaic’s downtown campus which meets at the night club pictured above:

While I was there, I managed to get some video of a crazy thirty minute performance done at Mosaic. They are currently going through their core values. This last week was: "Love is the Context for all Mission." The performance was pretty unreal in scope and content – check it out. (Also, if you get a chance once the message gets posted, the message Erwin preached was powerful!) Enjoy!

seminary or cemetery?

October 13, 2007 in comic relief, culture, school with 4 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about seminary lately. If you know me, then you realize just how strange this is. I am very skeptical of cemeteries…ahem, seminaries. I recently heard a statistic that claimed the average seminary student drops out of ministry just two years after graduation. Wow, seriously?  Whatever happened to "equipping servants for the work of the gospel"?

Shortly into my first year of ministry, I remember reading Steve Farrar’s Finishing Strong (a great book for any Jesus-follower, especially anyone in ministry, considering ministry, or owning a penis.) I remember being completely floored by the statistics he shares. He, too, cites the 2 year mark as the point in which most pastors exit the ministry. I recall just a couple years later speaking with Rich Peil, CEO of Reign Ministries, who spoke to me about his mentoring seminary students to help them prepare for future ministry.  "Aaron," he said, "9 out of 10 of the guys I mentor are completely unfit for ministry." How is that possible? Why do SO MANY pastors crash and burn? And where do schools fit in to the problem?

I suppose I can’t blame it all on seminaries. I mean, it is only common sense that socially retarded home-schooled kids whose moms sew their pants and force them to watch TBN and read the Left Behind series are going to get eaten alive when they step out into the real world for the first time at 25 with their shiny new MDiv.

But that doesn’t mean seminaries are off the hook. After all, they’re the ones welcoming these guys into their programs. I completely understand that seminaries have to pay their professors and what not, I do, but shouldn’t there be a screening process to weed out some of these guys? "Hey man, you seem like a good guy and all, but have you ever considered computer programming?"

When it comes down to it though, I believe the real issue is not so much with the students, but with the schools – specifically in their failure to equip men and women for ministry. It seems to me that seminary, needs a complete overhaul. I’ve heard Driscoll say that he is convinced that seminaries are on their way out. He believes that all ministry training in the future will primarily happen within the context of local churches. Although it’d be tough to consistently do with excellence, I generally like the idea, mostly because it would force those who think they want to go into ministry to actually get their hands dirty first and DO ministry before wasting years of their life and the lives of their professors. This would also eliminate the damage that these people WILL cause if they go into ministry.

All that being said, I still find myself wanting to study the scriptures at the graduate level. And seminary seems like my only real option.

I guess I’ll just have to learn to put up with the home schooled kids and their crappy music.