Three Things Bible School Taught Me

 I have been privileged to pass through four Bible schools and receive theological training. There is a focused sharpening that school gives you that if rightly used can be a great blessing. It is worth stating that Bible schools do not make pastors, churches do. The discipleship instruction in 2 Timothy 2:2, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” is given in the context of the local church. With that said, Bible schools are a helpful complement to churches in training men. They come alongside churches in training men for the work of ministry. Here are three things school taught me.

1. Rigorous study and reading widely  

School forces you to study rigorously. There is something about assigned reading that makes school reading different from your social reading. You are forced to read a diverse range of books and to finish them by a set deadline. You are further required to exercise high levels of comprehension from the assigned reading. This lesson though often painful and exhausting is extremely valuable in ministry. It instils a valuable discipline to read extensively and deeply. The effectiveness and longevity of one’s ministry are in some ways tied to their diligent study.

2. Dealing with constant pressure

Deadlines and due dates are the student’s primary source of stress. By the end of the first week of the semester, after all the classes are introduced, the student goes away with a stuck of books and a load of assignments that will be due over the coming months. All the required reading, writing, quizzes and exams combine to build and apply pressure on the students. This pressure is necessary and intentional. It teaches discipline and perseverance. School in many ways comes down to one’s discipline and endurance. It is not enough to have academic acumen. One requires the resolve to persevere amidst unending pressure. Those who endure the “pressure cooker” of school are prepared for the pressure of ministry. There is a reason Paul exhorted Timothy to endure hardship, it is because ministry comes with all forms of hardships. The minister of the gospel must be able to handle the often unceasing pressures of sin, deadlines, sermon preparations, difficult relationships, hard and urgent decisions and criticisms etc.

3. Structured and broad thinking

In many ways, school is structure. It first structures your everyday life, through classes, semesters and the duration of the program. Then the assignments structure your life in the sense that they dictate what you give your time to, such that the students who usually excel and make the most of school are those who have a defined structure in their lives. This kind of structure is an essential element of ministry for the minister. It is important in personal and ministerial planning, leading meetings, sermon preparations and delivery. Unstructured people, meetings, ministries and sermons are difficult to follow.

Furthermore, school teaches you to think broadly, by reading widely and engaging with other schools of thought. You engage with other views by reading the people who hold the position. It gives you both an appreciation of the thinking process and argumentation of others. It also helps you understand the dynamics other people faced at different times in church history.

The narrowness and shallowness that people who are not widely and well-read have are painfully hard to bear. They often treat every issue with the same weight and they refuse to see the complicated nature of some matters. This kind of spirit simply betrays one’s lack of structured and broad thinking.

Bible school is a blessing and a useful tool. It teaches the student rigorous study, instils the ability to handle pressure and helps them develop structure and think broadly. I am grateful for the privilege of studying and for the blessing of using what I learnt in the local church.