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{"id":4054,"date":"2008-03-27T00:30:41","date_gmt":"2008-03-27T05:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2008\/03\/27\/grand-rapids-theological-seminary\/"},"modified":"2008-03-27T00:30:41","modified_gmt":"2008-03-27T05:30:41","slug":"grand-rapids-theological-seminary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2008\/03\/27\/grand-rapids-theological-seminary\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Rapids Theological Seminary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yesterday I was in Grand Rapids \u2014 speaking twice at GR Theological Seminary<\/a>. First, in chapel (more below) and then later to the Faculty (about future seminary education \u2014 I\u2019ll keep this under wraps for now). It was good to see Doug Fagerstrom and Peter Osborn again, but I\u2019m making enough friends there that I can\u2019t mention any more names. And, it was great to see John Frye and some Mars Hill folks in chapel. Here are some observations:
\n(By the way, Jeremy Bouma has a link to the chapel talk here<\/a>.)
\nBefore I say any more, let me say how much I like what is going on at GRTS. They have developed a new church planting program and in the last 4 years or so they have planted more than 50 churches. They are also deeply involved now supporting the pastors in the inner city of Grand Rapids \u2026 I could go on. These are the sorts of things that visionary and creative leaders and schools are now doing.
\nIn chapel \u2026 although I must have originally said something about addressing Spirituality and Empire, as the time passed I was prompted more to speak about the reality of pastoring and how to prepare for pastoring. (After all, I was speaking to future pastors.)
\nI began with Daniel Gilbert\u2019s Stumbling on Happiness<\/em>: humans have a frontal lobe in which the brain can \u201cnext\u201d (make linear logical connections) and \u201cimagine.\u201d Imagining a future triggers emotions of happiness and much of our happiness, truth be told, is based on a future that is not likely to happen.
\nFuture pastors are prone to think of \u201cwhat it will be like when they begin to pastor\u201d.
\nThen I suggested that the Roman forum, filled with destroyed and corroded and broken and no-longer-existing columns and buildings, is what many of our imaginings and hopes of future pastoral ministry is like \u2026 (negative, to be sure).
\nSo, what to do? We turned to James 1 and I brought up three points that speak to the need to let ministry flow out of the present realities of our own spiritual life \u2026
\n1. Be receptive to the Word (1:21)
\n2. Do what you hear (1:22-26)
\n3. Be holy and compassionate now (1:27)
\n(I finished with my blue parakeet story \u2014 which story will have to be restricted in analogy when the book comes out next Fall).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"