My Kind of Seminary
Whenever I introduce myself as a church leader I regularly get the question about what seminary I went to or if I’m thinking about attending one soon. I always want to give a sarcastic answer like, “I plan on attending the same seminary as Peter or Moses.” Then I think about most Jews in Peter’s day and realize, they would have had the whole Old Testament memorized in their teenage years. So instead of sly remarks I passively just shrug off the inquiries about my education and inform them that I just don’t believe that seminary is where God is calling me (at least not right now).
I can’t handle structured religion well. I get claustrophobic whenever walls get put up around my faith in Jesus Christ. I understand the need to be orthodox in my beliefs but I’d rather take a trip following Jesus than spend my life arguing about church government or which John was more handsome: Wesley or Calvin. I’m not knocking them, they’re both incredibly intelligent men but in the end I know my faith in Jesus Christ will come in handy whether I was predestined or chose my faith freely. What’s important to me is being the hands and feet of Christ and seeing God move in radical ways. That’s why I feel such a strong calling to join the World Race and become the part of the church that cares for the sick, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, comforts the dying, prays for the lost, plays with the children, loves the neighbor. That’s the kind of seminary I want to be associated with.
Bring Back the Flannelgraph
Is it possible to give a message anymore without some type of electronic screen. I mean let’s face it, we live in the time of the projector screen. As a church leader I reflect on how many people actually pick up a Bible or Hymnal during worship services. Why bother? Everything today is thrown up on a screen. Can the church today thrive without projector screens, explosive sound systems and comfortable seating arrangements? Coming from a Generation Y’r or Millenial (whatever you call a 23 year old) that lives off Facebook and cell phones, this is beginning to be a serious question to me.
My goal as a World Racer is to be a witness to how God is moving without the big elaborate technological setups that many churches today have. I found an old flannelgraph in a Sunday school room one day and I was intrigued. This was at one time the church’s way of communicating the story of God. I want to continue to keep digging deeper into how the message of God reaches people. I feel called to new ideas and ways of spreading the Good News during the World Race. Through relationships, sports, technology, hospitality, mercy, music and many other means of grace the kingdom of God is upon us. I’m humbled to know that I get a first hand look at it growing.
