The Future of Seminary

Sunday night after church I was out with a few fellow Journey-ers and we were talking about the future of seminary. It’s been a frequent conversation around the Village in recent years- what to do about educating this next generation of Christian leaders, who are currently being prepared for a Church that may or may not continue in its same form, and arguably not preparing them for leadership in the emerging church. There is also the issue of cost- not only monetary but time- associated with a traditional 3 year seminary. It seems less and less possible these days for someone to drop everything, move somewhere to study for 3 years, and then graduate to be paid very little in return on that hefty life investment.

It’s a monumental question that will require a lot of creative thinking, and frankly I think the answer lies in a multiplicity of models. Recently the Parish Collective has been addressing this issue, and they’ve garnered a unique partnership with the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology (formerly Mars Hill Graduate School). I really love what they’re doing, and if the seminary question is of interest to you, you should explore what they’re attempting. Below is a video of  Dwight Friesen talking briefly about the Think-Tank Model. Dwight is an innovative thinker and great friend of EV. He’s always worth a listen!

What do you think are the major questions/issues facing the future of seminary education?