seminary classes for you
>> September 29, 2009
If your husband went to seminary, I don't have to tell you what an unlike-real-life experience seminary is. You are constantly around other couples who are in the same boat as you. Your husbands relate to each other; you can share your ministry life frustrations with other wives. Often times it's a safe place and a cocoon life where you have opportunities to grow spiritually and in gain skills for the real world of being a pastor's wife.
Some seminaries, like Western Seminary (campuses in Portland, San Jose and San Francisco)even have certificate programs for, what they call, Partners in Ministry. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary also has courses for pastor's wives, including Woman to Woman Ministry, The Art of Teaching, Ministry through the Home and even intro classes to Greek and other Biblical languages.
Did your PH's seminary offer classes and workshops for the wives? Was it helpful for you? Or have you had to learn in the school of hard knocks?
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Seminary was great but I would definately say "school of hard knocks" was most influencial in our learning and growing as church planters. We would never trade the seminary years because they were invaluable to us, however, some things just aren't in the greek textbooks.
Seminary was great but I would definately say "school of hard knocks" was most influencial in our learning and growing as church planters. We would never trade the seminary years because they were invaluable to us, however, some things just aren't in the greek textbooks.
My husband and I both went to Bible college, and although we learned a lot, school of hard knocks and real ministry life were our true teachers.
Hard knocks - no debate. Nothing can prepare you for the reality of leading a church that's for sure. Yikes we have only been going for one year but it's been both extremely rewarding & extremely difficult all at once.
Seminary was good for theories and teachings and lots of debates between passionate pastors-to-be who didn't have much experience... :) There was even a class or two for the young wives (which were sorta helpful and halfway realistic, I might add).
However, my husband still says that the best pastoral training he received was the year he spent managing our university's student insurance policy as a part-time job... He got plenty of practice dealing with organizational budgets, angry students who didn't think they needed to pay their premiums, and frustrating outside businesses and vendors. You know, a lot like church... :)
For us, seminary was nice for the fellowship and the friends we made who are now our colleagues in ministry across the country - but the school of hard knocks definitely wins!
We met in seminary. I don't remember there being classes for spouses, but I may have been oblivious as I was working on my own grad degree. Seminary prepares you for studying and somewhat for preaching and teaching, maybe a bit for counselling, if you chose to take courses in that. But it didn't teach a lot of other things, like how to lead, how to guide a church in setting a budget, how to manage volunteers .... and lots of other practical stuff. It was the school of hard knocks and continually reading of good books that taught a lot of the ministry lessons we needed. Seminary spoilt us fellowship wise. People in the church are at a wide variety of places by comparison, which makesfellowship a lot more challenging.
My husband attends Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY and the presidents wife heads up the Seminary Wives institute there. I've only taken a few courses through the institute and they were a Baptist Beliefs class where I went through the entire Baptist Faith and Message and got to hear some really great profs at the seminary. I also took an Old and New Testament Survey class, a Biblical Parenting Class and a Spiritual Disciplines class. For the most part I really enjoyed the classes, but I've had a really difficult time relating to many seminary wives because of some of my own issues. But if a seminary wife is not like me at all, then she can and should enjoy the benefits of those classes.
When DH was in seminary at Midwestern in KC, I did take the first Student Wives workshop class they offered (would've been in 1992). It was very helpful and I met a LOT of ladies there who were helpful and encouraging.
However, nothing teaches like being in the church. Sadly, it is full of painful lessons.
When I was a young PW, I hated it when the older PWs were all bitter and "just you wait missy, you'll see it's not always good in the church." I fight that tendency to be bitter even now, because truly, young ministry couples are idealistic, and sadly, that idealism and enthusiasm will likely get squished. Esp. if they serve in small congregations.
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