We must believe that God actually will provide for our needs if we are putting His kingdom first. He promised He would. Many missionaries around the world are sacrificing financial stability in order to grow the Kingdom. We must also live the same way in the States. Making faith decisions based on finances can be very dangerous.

If you truly believe God is calling you to a ministry, unless that door is completely closed, you must be faithful to it. He will provide a way to take care of bills if you take care of your priorities: serving His Kingdom, taking care of your family, and caring for the souls of people.

Just my two cents.

I agree that if Jesus came to earth now to pick out 12 Apostles, he probably would not go to a university/seminary. But then again, I would gladly trade all of my education for 3 years of having face to face, person to person instruction from Jesus. Who wouldn’t? But since Jesus is not coming back to teach 12 more Apostles, there might just be some value in encouraging those who are being called into ministry to seek out some form of training (and maybe we might just consider finding a way for the church to help support them prayerfully and finacially as they aquire such training).

As for leaving the vocation of full-time ministry for another vocation… I will not judge those who have done this. However, I will say for myself that I did not enter into the vocation of full-time ministry because of my own personal desire. I was CALLED BY GOD into this vocation through the my own discernment as well as the discernment of some other Christians around me at the time. Through spiritual discernment, God has continued to confirm this call. Prior to this, I was part of the secular work force and had a good-paying job. If God calls me out of f/t ministry as a vocation, then so be it. But until I discern such a call, I will stay committed to the call God has made.

If I ran accross a Christian who discerned that God was calling him/her into f/t ministry as a vocation, I would never discourage it. Far be it for me to discourage someone becoming obedient to the call of God.

Also, as far as my graduate education went at Harding University Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR)… Two weeks prior to begining HUGSR, my wife and I experienced the death of our first child. A year and a half later, I found my faith in such a shattered state that I nearly gave up on God. Had it not been for a few of my Professors (and especially Dr. John Mark Hicks), I may not even be here having this conversation with you all. So I have no regrets about my education and vocation and I would encourage anyone who discerned God calling them into full-time ministry to do the same.

Grace and peace,

Rex

How about we look back to our own restoration ‘first century’ and the many great, spiritual, and dedicated men who took it upon themselves to preach the word.

A good many of them had not much more than a middle school education, knew no greek, had no initials behind their names, and rather than being held back by that were some of the men that carved out great congregations in service to the Lord.

Maybe, just maybe, a desire to preach God’s word and to serve Him in all that we do can once again produce great results for our God. When Jesus himself looked to collect a group of men to continue His work he didn’t go to Gamaliel, the Sadducees or Pharisees, or any other of the recognized religious think tanks of the day.

I am not sure that if He came to America today that he would be selecting his Apostles from any of our ‘Christian Institutions’ either. Once again we are following after the pattern of the world around us (gotta have that degree to be eligible for this position) and that mentality has created jobs rather than ministries.

My intent is not to disparage any of the schools, but rather to examine our own take on their necessity for a qualified man to do the work. You might argue that we live in a different world, a different time, and it requires a different set of qualifications than in Christ’s time. Somebody will have to prove that in order for me to believe it to be true.

Jimbo

One of the problems with graduate education in Theology is the cost. I would not trade my education for a minute and do not regret pursuing it but I have heard on more than one occasion other ministers with graduate education speak about the financial limitations it seems to place on where they can realistically afford to live and serve God in a local congregation. I have often wondered why our “Christian” universities/colleges can afford to offer full scholarships to athletes but not to every Bible/Ministry student committed to full-time ministry as his/her life’s vocation.

Any ways… after reading your comments, talking with some other trusted Christians, and, most importantly, taking with my wife, I have decided that I will wait and see if God will provide by allowing me to take on some substitute teaching assignments and approaching the congregation leaders (we do not have elders at this time) regarding any additional financial needs. If after the holiday’s there is no change, then I will consider looking to see where I might be able to serve God elsewhere.

Again, thank you for the conversation and advise. You do not know how much I really appreciate it.

-Trying to have faith in God!

It is one thing to put yourself into debt in exchange for an education that will pay for itself, it is another thing entirely to to pile up a huge debt and then have little prospect for anything but low wages, high expectations, and financial ruin.

I am saddened to hear about young men who have taken on the ministry only to find out that no matter how much they want to preach the gospel, it just isn’t going to pay them enough to keep their heads above water financially. Our preaching schools may have reached the point that they cost too much to attend.

Jimbo