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Blessed are the Balanced by Paul E. Pettit and R. Todd Mangum

Blessed are the Balanced by Paul E. Pettit and R. Todd Mangum

When I told my friends at my church that I was going to Seminary to become a Chaplain, several  of them said, "stay saved."  Apparently, there was a widespread belief that Seminary was bad for spiritual health.  Here is a quote from "Blessed are the Balanced by Paul E. Pettit and R. Todd Mangum

Seminary, believe it or not, can be hazardous to your spiritual health.

I went into seminary with what might best be referred to as trepidation about what I was getting into.

What Petit and Mangum aim to do is provide a guide for the Seminarian who wants to "stay saved".

Honestly, were it not for a few dedicated disciples and one in particular, I would not have made it out of seminary (actually seminaries) I would have not finished with both a Masters of Divinity and a relationship with the One about whom I would teach.

What the authors do is provide not only guidelines and checklists to warn those in danger about the minefield the Seminarian is getting him-or herself into.  One example is does the seminarian's identity depend on winning a theological argument or simply in knowing Christ?  Do I have the be the smartest biblical scholar in the room, or is it all right to be secure in my identity with Christ? On the face of it, this seems like a simple and easily answered question, but based at least partly on what many Seminaries and denominational bodies (as well as Christian cultural critics) reward and encourage, it can be a Sophie's choice.

"We must continually strive for balance between a humble pursuit of godly wisdom and an insatiable appetite for acquiring theological knowledge." The authors encouragement would ring false for me were it not for one person in my Seminary in Washingon, D.C.

Brown was a former Marine and, like me, a future US Army Chaplain, who was "on fire for Jesus".  He had already had a life that, were it made into a movie, few would believe it.  The reason he was able to run the homeless ministry at his church while also training for marathons, being a full time student in Seminary and a Naval Reservist at the same time was because he recognized the difference between being a seminarian and being a minister both of which he was at the same time.  The authors recognize this distinction as necessary and communicate that belief through the use of an extended analogy viewing Seminary as a place far behind the lines of battle where strategy, tactics, argumentation and evaluation, while churches are the "boots on the ground" places where that knowledge is applied.  Balance in this context is not only beneficial, but necessary.  For those in this kind of context, this book is not only beneficial, but necessary.