The last thing you must do to prepare well for the transition while in seminary is to make a list: who will your mentors be in ministry?You will inevitably face circumstances that you won't know how to handle, or will need some basic orientation for. Your first wedding or funeral; the first time you do a hospital visitation; the first Session meeting you moderate or Board meeting you oversee. You may

So you're getting a seminary degree... what does that mean to you?For many (most?) of us, it was an accomplishment that we were/are pretty proud of. It means a lot of hard work: difficult study, learning new languages, writing papers, reading mountains of books. It also means building new friendships, getting to know some amazing professors and others, getting to study the Bible and other wonderful

A few articles, posts, and other such have come to my attention recently that those in transition (or considering it) may find interesting. How a Presbyterian Minister Should Resign. Good thoughts here on the way that a resignation is approached-- not in a strictly businesslike manner, but with care and consideration for one's responsibilities as a Pastor and Presbyter. PCA Ministerial Glut. Back

The second thing you can do to prepare for an effective season of candidacy is to assess the tools you'll need for ministry.You're already gathering some of these tools as a part of seminary education: the know-how to do many of the tasks that will be before you is key, of course, but even more important is having a catalog and library of information to go to when you need answers. The truth is, most

What stands between you and your first pastorate or ministry? If you think it is only graduation and candidacy, you may be in for a big surprise.If you're affiliated with a denomination or other ecclesiastical affiliation-- or if you intend to serve in ministry in one-- there are probably additional requirements beyond the simple academic exercises. Most denominations have some sort of formalized process

What can you do now, more than a year from graduation, to ensure that the stage is set for an effective candidacy? The first thing you can do is get the experience.By now, you've probably figured out that you're not going to learn everything you need to know for ministry in the classroom; there are plenty of essential ministry skills that can only be gained in the doing. You've heard this before--

In working on the manuscript for my book, I decided I needed to completely re-work one chapter-- the one on seminary life. The work I've already done on that topic may eventually form the backbone for another book; I'm not sure one chapter trying to summarize that much information will be effective. It's a good time in the school year to revisit this, as well.If you're approaching your final year of

As I begin to pursue publication of my book on transition, I'm already beginning to consider how I might promote it (besides on this blog for my tens of readers).I was recently invited to participate in a "blog tour" for Andrew Peterson's new book, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Primarily, this consisted of reviewing the book on my Pastor's blog. I was also given an extra copy to give away

Here's a good (brief) piece on choosing references... eventually I'll get back to the information packet and will offer some additional thoughts to this.I finished ordination last month, and my ordination service was 10 days ago (2/17). It was great!I sent out a handful of proposals for the transition book yesterday. No telling how they will respond, but I'm shooting for the big guys first: Baker Academic,

I know it seems like I keep coming back here, saying I have stuff to post and then promptly abandoning this blog for a few weeks (or more!). The truth is, (I think) I have a lot to say, and I really do want to get it out there (or out here?) for you.Of course, I can't make this blog my FIRST priority, since my family, my pastoral ministry, and my consulting work have to come before this. But I do remain