The Top Ten Things I Learned About Seminary In Seminary

Well, I did it. I finally finished seminary.

I started seminary in the summer of 2010. We had one daughter, I had more hair (not much), and I was blogging roughly 4 times per week.

Now it’s basically the summer of 2019. We have three daughters and a baby boy (!), I have less hair, and I’ve been blogging roughly once every 19 months. Give or take.

I knew when I started seminary that I would be a very part-time student. The Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) campus here in D.C. is designed for people like me, after all, who want to pursue theological education without having to pack their whole family up and move to somewhere where they could actually afford a house.

But I never thought it would take me this long. 9 years? That’s a long time. I took two breaks in there: one when I took a new ministry position, and one when my dad passed away. Looking back on my seminary experience, just two days before I officially receive my official diploma and wear my official black robe and get my picture with all of the seminary officials , I’m thinking about some things I’ve learned about seminary while being in seminary.

1. No one is really sure how to pronounce “Augustine”.

2. The best way to sound smart is to use the word “eschatological”.

3. It’s impossible to discuss the name “El Shaddai” without an Amy Grant reference.

4. “Dry erase markers”? More like “dry markers”, am I right?

5. No one ever likes the guy who asks the professor a question one minute before class is supposed to end. Just keep it to yourself, dude.

6. If having kids doesn’t turn you into a coffee drinker, seminary will.

7. The more initials a theologian has in between his first and last name, the smarter the theologian. (Sincerely, Jamie L.M.N.O.P Brown.)

8. OK, so we know what the first, second, and third uses of the law are. Could we all just agree that the fourth use of the law should be to keep that guy from asking the professor a question one minute before class is supposed to end?

9. If theology should lead to doxology, then the doxology should lead to free donuts outside after chapel.

10. Reading one book is good. Reading several books is better. Stacking up piles of books around your house and/or office makes you look REALLY smart.

And so as I come to the end of my brief 9-year seminary journey, I would like to thank my friends and family who supported me and encouraged me along the way, for RTS for helping me grow in my knowledge and love of the Lord, and for you, the readers of this blog that has been pretty inactive recently, for your patience and nice comments, especially on that “…Headed for a Crash” post 5 years ago.

In closing, here’s a picture of my new little boy. I think he’s pretty cute.