{"id":1421,"date":"2013-05-18T20:55:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-18T20:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html"},"modified":"2013-05-18T20:55:00","modified_gmt":"2013-05-18T20:55:00","slug":"how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html","title":{"rendered":"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically “Liberal” Christians Behind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

by Crystal St. Marie Lewis<\/a><\/span>
R3 Contributor<\/span>
First posted at Crystal St. Marie Lewis<\/a><\/span>

<\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/a>There\u2019s a new article\u00a0in the Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0about seminary graduates who don\u2019t plan to enter ministry. According to the write-up, \u201cAbout 41\u00a0percent of master\u2019s of divinity graduates expect to pursue full-time church ministry, down from 52\u00a0percent in 2001 and from 90-something percent a few decades ago, according to the Association of Theological Schools, the country\u2019s largest such group.\u201d The writer lists a variety of reasons for the increasingly popular choice to obtain seminary training without seeking a church vocation, including a sense of spiritual calling to a secular career and general misgivings with the church as an institution.<\/span><\/div>\n
As I read the Washington Post piece, I thought about the number of graduates who won\u2019t enter church ministry for another reason. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the writer does not mention that many won\u2019t become ministers because they\u2019ve been barred from eligibility on the basis of their personal theology and\/or social views.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/a>The process known as \u201cordination\u201d can be an ugly one\u2013 specifically for candidates seeking credentials in a major denomination. In addition to meeting academic, \u201cmoral\u201d and mental health requirements, candidates are required to submit to a review of their personal beliefs, including a detailed assessment of their \u201cpersonal theology\u201d. I have observed a variety of these reviews during the past few years of my trek through seminary as my colleagues have worried if some nuance in their understanding of a theological concept will send up a red flag for their ordination committees. I have personally witnessed the fear associated with the prospect of one\u2019s vocation meeting an abrupt and unceremonious end because their personal statement of faith or the oral defense of said statement revealed a nontraditional perspective. I believe there are a variety of problems with this, including the following:<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Many denominations require candidates to obtain a graduate degree involving work in the areas of theology and philosophy. In those graduate programs, professors spend countless hours training students to think outside the theological box, only for their ordination committees to demand that they put God (and their capacity for exploration) back inside the box. Seminaries are often free and open spaces where people are encouraged to draw their own conclusions about sacred matters. Yet, students endure rejection after the academic stage of their ordination processes\u2013ironically for drawing unapproved conclusions. I have come to think of this as the\u00a0Explore Now\/Pay Later<\/b>\u00a0model. (And, by \u201cpay\u201d I mean in terms of consequences and not dollars\u2026 The excessive number of\u00a0dollars<\/i>\u00a0required to obtain a seminary degree are another matter altogether.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The\u00a0Explore Now\/Pay Later<\/b>\u00a0model is detrimental to the spiritual and intellectual growth of the ordination candidate. Students who are afraid that they might begin to\u00a0believe<\/i>\u00a0something that could cancel their eligibility for ordination can be resistant to the transformative process of intellectual pursuit. For these students, the information presented at seminary is viewed as a threat. Those who fall into this category could go through the motions of obtaining their graduate degree without appreciating the value of what they\u2019ve learned. This reduces the rich history and diverse ideas within Christianity to a mere hurdle for the student to overcome, rather than something to be embraced, understood, remembered and passed on.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Many students will enter the ordination process with the intention of concealing their beliefs from their professors, ordination committees, and congregations. They enter ministry at the expense of their own sense of authenticity\u2013 often sacrificing their sense of self to the demands of the institution. I occasionally receive emails from pastors who fit into this category. They\u2019re miserable in their parishes because they have to dress in a theological costume that doesn\u2019t fit them\u2026 day after day\u2026 week after week\u2026 liturgical cycle after liturgical cycle.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    As I read the Washington Post article, I thought about the words of Marcus Borg in his book titled\u00a0Speaking Christian<\/span>. With regard to the Christian preoccupation withbelieving<\/i>\u00a0certain things, he wrote:<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
    The meaning of\u00a0believe<\/i>\u00a0prior to [the year] 1600 includes more than [mental assent]. It comes from the Old English\u00a0be loef<\/i>, which means \u201cto hold dear\u201d\u2026 Thus until the 1600s, to\u00a0believe<\/i>in God and Jesus meant to\u00a0belove<\/i>\u00a0God and Jesus. Think of the difference this makes. To\u00a0believe in<\/i>\u00a0God does not meanbelieving that<\/i>\u00a0a set of statements about God are true, but tobelove<\/i>\u00a0God. To\u00a0believe in<\/i>\u00a0Jesus does not mean to\u00a0believe that<\/i>a set of statements about him are true, but to\u00a0belove<\/i>\u00a0Jesus.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
    This meaning goes back to ancient Christianity. The Latin roots of the word\u00a0credo<\/i>, with which the creed begins and from which we get the word\u00a0creed<\/i>, means \u201cI give my heart to.\u201dHeart<\/i>\u00a0does not refer simply to feelings, to emotions, though those are involved. Rather,\u00a0heart<\/i>\u00a0is a metaphor for the self at its deepest level\u2013a level of the self beneath our thinking, willing and feeling. To whom do you give your heart, your self? To whom do you commit your self?\u201d (pgs. 118-119)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
    I wonder how the ordination process would change\u2013 and subsequently, how Christianity would change\u2013 if instead of asking people:<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
    \u201cWhich of these statements do you affirm, under penalty of exclusion from candidacy, are wholly and indisputably true\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
    \u2026we asked\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
    \u201cIn what way do you demonstrate that you belove God, and that you belove Jesus? How do you demonstrate to the world that you have given yourself to them?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
    I am not sure\u00a0exactly<\/b>\u00a0what would happen if the criteria for one\u2019s \u201cbeliefs\u201d were to change. I do, however, suspect that such a change could forge the marriage between the liturgical and academic arms of the faith\u2013a union which many Christians have desired over the course of the past few generations. And over time, after an infusion of out-of-the-box thinkers into ministry roles, Christianity could see some change in its reputation for being an anti-intellectual religion. Such a shift would likely be very uncomfortable in the beginning, but could be exactly what the church needs in the long run.<\/span><\/div>\n
    Until that day comes, our seminaries and ordination committees will continue to miss an amazing opportunity to tap into what could be a great ministry resource today. There are people in this world who crave the opportunity to hear what alternative voices in Christendom have to say about matters related to theology, morality and the social direction of the world. To cast those voices aside, particularly in an age when people are walking away in droves from the \u201cintolerant, anti-intellectual, boxed-in\u201d church just seems short-sighted. Of course, while I hope such an epiphany\u2013an epiphany about the short-sightedness of telling theologically liberal voices to sit down and be quiet\u2013will strike our institutions, I know it\u2019s not likely\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
    Still, I can hope\u2026 Can\u2019t I?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie Lewis There\u2019s a new article\u00a0in the Washington Post\u00a0about seminary graduates who don\u2019t plan to enter ministry. According to the write-up, \u201cAbout 41\u00a0percent of master\u2019s of divinity graduates expect to pursue full-time church ministry, down from 52\u00a0percent in 2001 and from 90-something percent a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically "Liberal" Christians Behind<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie LewisThere\u2019s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically "Liberal" Christians Behind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie LewisThere\u2019s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-18T20:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre E. Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andre E. Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html\",\"name\":\"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically \\\"Liberal\\\" Christians Behind\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-18T20:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-18T20:55:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/892ad446aed3fd242a430151516a83fc\"},\"description\":\"by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie LewisThere\u2019s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically “Liberal” Christians Behind\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/\",\"name\":\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/892ad446aed3fd242a430151516a83fc\",\"name\":\"Andre E. Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8740442d3e2978d7a9dd204585be3ed0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8740442d3e2978d7a9dd204585be3ed0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andre E. Johnson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/author\/ajohnson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically \"Liberal\" Christians Behind","description":"by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie LewisThere\u2019s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically \"Liberal\" Christians Behind","og_description":"by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie LewisThere\u2019s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html","og_site_name":"Rhetoric Race and Religion","article_published_time":"2013-05-18T20:55:00+00:00","author":"Andre E. Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andre E. Johnson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html","name":"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically \"Liberal\" Christians Behind","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-05-18T20:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-18T20:55:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/892ad446aed3fd242a430151516a83fc"},"description":"by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 ContributorFirst posted at Crystal St. Marie LewisThere\u2019s a new article in the Washington Post about seminary","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/05\/how-seminaries-and-the-ordination-process-leave-theologically-liberal-christians-behind.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Seminaries and the Ordination Process Leave Theologically “Liberal” Christians Behind"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/","name":"Rhetoric Race and Religion","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/892ad446aed3fd242a430151516a83fc","name":"Andre E. Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8740442d3e2978d7a9dd204585be3ed0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8740442d3e2978d7a9dd204585be3ed0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andre E. Johnson"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/author\/ajohnson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}