Surviving and Thriving in Seminary: An Academic and Spiritual Handbook

Me encantó y me ha ayudado mucho a contar el costo de emprender el llamado a prepararme a un nivel de seminario sin ser ministro de tiempo completo. Lo recomiendo ampliamente!

“What have I gotten myself into? What am I going to do now?”These thoughts and others like them have likely crossed manypeople’s minds upon first being confronted with the academicrigor and numerous other challenges that accompany any seminaryprogram. Fortunately, Zacharias and Forrest have written animmeasurably useful little book to help one not only to “survive”but even to “thrive” in seminary. Written by two individuals whohave “been where you are” (3), Surviving and Thriving was explicitlywritten for the purpose of making clear those “things thatshould be covered in every seminary orientation” (1). The authorsstate, “We want not only to help you understand the realityof what you are getting yourself into, but also to help equip youwith the skills to succeed—spiritually, relationally, and academically”(1).Incontrovertibly, the book delivers on its promise to help assistthe fledgling seminary student by offering a wealth of practicaltips, good advice, and other words of wisdom from an informedbiblical and theological perspective—not to mention theinvaluable assistance that they provide by engaging with anabundance of other resources, the specifics of which will be delineatedin more detail below.Aside from a brief introduction and some concluding finalthoughts, the book is organized into three main parts: (1) “Preparation,”(2) “Managing Time and Energy,” and (3) “Study Skillsand Tools.” Some of the specific topics that are covered inindividual chapters include “Taking Care of Your Body,”R2 McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry 19“Juggling Ministry with Your Studies,” “Research Skills,”“Reading and Writings Skills,” “Preparing Your Mind”/“Heart”/“Family” (each of which are individual chapters), and“Managing Your Time.” There are also three appendices thatcover other topics, namely (1) “Choosing a Seminary,” (2) “Payingfor Seminary,” and (3) “A Word to Spouses.” Regrettably,there is no name/subject or Scripture index, so finding specificinformation in the book can be quite difficult at times.Throughout this volume, Zacharias and Forrest are forthrightand candid in their discussion of the subject at hand. The authorsthemselves even state, “We’re . . . not going to coddle you orpull any punches. We know exactly how students sabotage themselvesand procrastinate because we’ve done it and seen it done.Being a seminary student is rewarding, but it is also demanding.You need to know this ahead of time so you are not blindsided”(2, emphasis original). While one may think this particularmethod of presenting the content would be somewhat off-puttingor counterproductive to the overall effectiveness of the book, theoverarching mood of the volume remains one of hope andencouragement. Indeed, the otherwise fairly blunt messages thatare often conveyed such as “the fact that if you’re a parent youstill need to parent if you’re a seminary student” (2) are oftentempered with numerous (but not too many) personal stories ofthe authors’ own missteps and personal journeys of discipleship.Although many of the analogies and illustrations thatZacharias and Forrest use are fairly insightful and stimulating—see, for example, the concept of “well-digging” and “protectingthe well” (esp. 27–28) and the encouragement to “be a buffalo . .. not a cow” when facing storms (12–13)—some of the pointsthat are emphasized seem to rely excessively on emotion. Onesuch example that stood out to me was this: “When you are inministry later, you will always be able to go back and look up thedefinition of antinomianism later should you need it. You cannotgo back to when your daughter was five and was excitedly recountingher realization that in heaven we get to meet Jesus!”(57). In my opinion, it would perhaps have behooved the authorsto understate their points at times or craft their propositions in asomewhat less theatrical manner.Interestingly (and also most welcome), the book contains numerouslinks (in framed but unshaded boxes) to various apps,videos, and other online resources. Material available onZacharias’ personal website addresses subjects such as “FindingAcademic Resources for Theological Studies Utilizing ATLAS”and “Reading for Information Extraction.” The authors alsomake extensive reference to various note-taking helps (e.g.,Evernote, OneNote, DEVONthink, LiveScribe, and SmartPen),flash-card aids (e.g., Quizlet.com), popular presentation methods(e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi), calendar/scheduling tools(e.g., iStudiez Pro, myHomework, Passion Planner), bibliographic/reference-managementdevices (e.g., Zotero, Endnote,Bookends, Mendeley, Qiqqa, and Sente), and Bible software programs(e.g., Accordance, BibleWorks, WORDSearch, Logos).References to these resources and tools are quite helpful.As much as one might appreciate this material, it is worthnoting that one may perhaps question the unusually strongemphasis that is consistently placed upon Logos in particular.Zacharias, for example, states explicitly that “he has had manystudents tell him that one of the most important things he taughtthem is how to use Logos Bible Software” (164). WhileZacharias’s website does advertise a course entitled “MasteringLogos Bible Software,” such explicit statements (especially sincethey are made on a consistent basis) could be viewed as advertisementsfor Logos. Note that Surviving and Thriving also appearsas a full page advertisement in the March 2018 issue ofDidaktikos: Journal of Theological Education, a series “writtenby professors, for professors” that is published by Faithlife, themaker of Logos Bible Software.In addition to discussing online resources, the authors alsorecommend some books for further reading. One noteworthyrecommendation is Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise forYoung Theologians (translation 1962). However, as appreciableas the recommendations may be, the authors fail to mention ahost of good books and articles that address the same generaltopic, such as Andreas J. Köstenberger’s remarkable work Excellence:The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue(2011) and other helpful resources like John F. Evans’ A Guideto Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works (2016). Theseomissions, I believe, detract from the usefulness of the work as ahandbook.That being said, Surviving and Thriving still provides thereader with a useful guide to the topic, including clear warningsconcerning potential pitfalls. As such, those who are thinkingabout going into seminary or are currently involved in seminaryin some fashion, whether regretting the decision to do so orsimply looking for more tools to assist them in making analready good seminary experience even better, this book willprovide help and encouragement. Its primary audience will bebeginning seminary students and, one hopes, mentors/advisors ofacademic research students and the academic deans of Christianuniversities, Bible colleges, and seminaries.

Surviving and Thriving in Seminary is full of valuable information. If you are a seminary student or considering going down that path, I would say that this is a must-read book. However, I also believe that anyone who is involved in ministry could benefit from it in many ways. There are a couple of theological points that I would quibble with but, other than that, it is definitely a worthwhile read.

This is a must for any grad student not just seminary students. A MUST READ.

Completely satified. Most helpful for the ministries studies.