March of Order

I wonder if we have things backwards.  I was talking to a person who is engaged in a ministry the other day.  He was “trained” as a pastor.  He was sharing how he was building up a new believer.  He shared that he was giving the person books to read.  They were good books.  But he was not showing the man how to get into the Bible for himself.

At seminaries students are taught systematic theology, Christian education, Church history, missions, etc…  They are not taught how to ground a young believer in the Word.  They are taught to preach, not how to show someone how to have a quiet time.  The premium is put on groups.  Not on investing one’s life into another person.

So when the person that has been “helped” in that way gets further along in the Christian life, what do they see as normal?  Perhaps they assume that in order to really mature they have to do what their pastor did, go to cemetery – I mean seminary.