Wait, Where Do You Go to School?

This weekend I had the opportunity to reunite with my old coterie at a gathering. In the case of this event—some individuals took the opportunity to lighten their spirits with spirits. I was an observer. In my experience, these kinds of gatherings arouse our peers (both Christian and secular alike) to loosen their tongues about the kinds of things that we study in seminary. This, of course, is not the only opportunity for this to happen. Revealing your vocation to others will open up a whole can of theological or philosophical worms. It seems that when someone learns that you are a seminarian they like to probe you with any and all of their musings about faith. You might even find yourself in circumstances where someone tries to put you to the test. After all, our vocation piques the interests of colleagues, friends, family, and strangers alike. This was an all too familiar scenario in which I found myself this weekend. I was run through a gauntlet of bombastic (and sometimes trivial) “Christian” questions: some answerable—others not.

As a Christian leader or representative you will need to be prepared for these situations. We sometimes have inherent access to the trust of others—and we should appropriately open our ears and hearts when those around us “spill the beans” so to speak. The most important morsel of advice I can give you is that it’s OK to not know everything. Complacency doesn’t have its place with things as big as God. As I have matured I have found that there are things that no amount of education will make comprehensible to the human mind. I would wager that everyone has an interesting story of faith—from the most pious Christian to the most incredulous atheist. Their life experiences have either been shaped by faith or have shaped their faith. If you’re lucky enough you might learn a thing or two from those who are willing to share their stories. Although you will most certainly not always have an answer to the big perennial questions about faith, the inner workings of the universe, and God—you can at least lend them an ear.

-Dan