“I fear we are graduating preachers with too many beliefs and not enough convictions.”
—Dr. Daniel Walbert to the 1963 graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about this very thing over the past ten years. Now, let me just say, I will never be accused of being an academic! 😀 The joke among my buddies and me in seminary was always, “C equals M.Div.” But I did OK in spite of my laziness in studying. Though I’m thankful that I have Greek and Hebrew under my belt, I’ve told my congregations over the years that I passed Greek by the grace of God and Dr. Chris Stratton.
It’s amazing to me that the above quote is from about 55 years ago. I think it hit a bull’s-eye, but the problem is that nothing changed through the years—this only got worse on our seminary campuses. Most likely, in the 50s and 60s, you would never have had professors hired by seminaries who didn’t even believe in God, but that is often the case nowadays, and it shows in the church. We entrusted young, called people to professors who had issues with Scripture and their own agendas. And we wonder why so many people still stay away from the church.
Between theological malpractice and the power plays that happen in congregations, I wasn’t much good as a pastor on some days. I was second career and was doing pretty well in life, but God called me—and He called me hard. So Natalie and I entrusted every part of our being to God’s will and way, and we were blessed because of that.
But as I made my way through a sick system and the ridiculous organizational dynamics of the church, I often felt like I was doing ministry with one hand tied behind my back. Young people and the unchurched see absolutely no need to add that extra stress to their lives.
About three years ago, I had a revelation. It didn’t cause me to pep up like Popeye after eating a can of spinach. Instead, it led me through deep and rocky times in my soul and spirit. But what came out of that murky season was this: I emerged on the other side with much stronger convictions.
I don’t want to be dogmatic, judgmental, or unkind. My prayer is that I will always speak the truth in love. But the quote above haunts me. I wrote it in the front of my journal today so I’ll see it day after day and remember that, though we have a world full of seminary-educated graduates, we still have much to do to become the true people of God—and we’re behind the eight ball.
Yes, I understand the cultural differences of Israel in the first century. But a good preacher’s goal will always be to lead a church into the ways of the early church described in the Book of Acts.
The formula for winning the world to Jesus is conviction combined with radical grace. That’s a picture of Jesus. How we ever forgot that in the church, I don’t know. But I’m committed to seeing people’s lives transformed by that great, great power.
How about you?
In Christ,
James