THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES

BIRTH OF SEMINARIES

After Martin Luther’s Reformation, Catholic priests and nuns rushed to get married, causing considerable commotion in the Catholic Church. The Pope called a special council in AD 1545, which felt that the priests were not properly indoctrinated and so decided to start seminaries. Perhaps this is the reason why seminarians after graduation give so much importance to getting a license to solemnize weddings.

CATCHING FISH IS A SKILL

Clearly, the cognitive, analytical approach favored by systematic theology has dominated Western theological schools, producing generations of bookish debaters who imagine that “high quality” lectures and reading will save the world. Yet just the opposite has happened. American churches have experienced a free fall into rapid decline whilst European churches nosedived into a post- Christian era.

Theological Seminaries are driven by knowledge-based egg heads requiring a plethora of books, tons of paperwork resulting in an enormous waste of time and resources. However, the product suffers from a huge “skills deficit”, when it comes to converting sinners into saints. This makes them misfits for the apostolic agenda of the Ekklesia. The most dangerous, if not sinister, aspect of such education is that its aim is to end all further debate, making sermons the last word on a subject. Yeshua’ method was life-driven, dialogical, spontaneous and practical, transforming lives. It was also experiential: “I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you” (John 13:15). 

YESHUA REJECTS THE SOFT GENERATION

Yeshua did not give scholarly discourses with human wisdom but showed the way of salvation in simple words and deeds. He rejected the soft generation of religious scholars at the temple. Choosing ordinary fishermen was a masterly recruitment strategy because they can work all night in wet, dirty, smelly, and hazardous conditions for very little money. Yeshua needed people who were willing to work under all kinds of hostile situations to change the world (Luke 9:57-62). When Pharisees and Sadducees saw the preaching, mighty works and boldness of unlearned and ignorant Peter and John, they marveled and acknowledged that the only qualification they had was that “they had been with Yeshua” (Acts 4:12-14). Interestingly there is no record of Yeshua Himself ever attending a Madrasa. The picture has not changed much, it is still the unlearned and the ignorant who are changing the religious profile of the nations through boldly preaching and doing mighty deeds in Yeshua’s name. 

YESHUA WAS A PRACTITIONER 

Yeshua spoke only what the Father told Him to speak and he did what the Father commanded him to do (John 12:49). He practiced what He preached. He said, “Whoever believes in Me, will also do the works that I do, even greater things than these.” He told them to believe in Him for the sake of the works that He did (John 14:1012). When enquired of John the Baptist who was in jail, he said, “Go and ‘show’ John that the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised up and the gospel is being preached” (Matt. 11:5). 

Yeshua did not tell them to go and tell John but empowered them to go and ‘show’ (demonstrate) all those mighty works. Yeshua has commanded us to go make disciples, baptize, teach new disciples all his commands and send them on. He has clearly defined who are his real lovers, “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, it is he that loves Me” (John 14:21). On his return He will reward us according to our works. (Rev.22:12) The Scripture tells us that faith without works will not get you any reward from the Lord on His return (James 2:19-26). Beware believers, it is not good enough to be a believer, even the Devil believes and trembles (James 2:19). “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

THE HARVEST FIELD IS THE BEST PLACE FOR TRAINING

Figures suggest that vast majority of the new believers coming to Messiah in India are doing so through the ministry of first-generation grass-root practioners, many of whom have no formal, traditional Bible training and are only “functionally literate”. They have gone through a highly effective workshop approach like George Patterson’s “Train and Multiply”, or the author’s “Saturation Ekklesia Planting” seminars available in English and Hindi on YouTube. These approaches present simple biblical practices with little abstract theology. Participants learn in small groups, then translate their insights into goals that they plan to implement in their areas of influence.

Over the past 500 years, Christian Leadership in the West has been based almost exclusively on “knowledge”. We must return to true leadership based on character, obedience and an ability to win souls. Entering into a covenant relationship with Yeshua, to release captives from the fetters of darkness, whilst suffering persecution, can only be taught through direct interaction in the school of hard knocks. There needs to be a reversed flow of learning, moving from the grassroots to the corridors of knowledge. We must affirm the unsung Heroes of Faith who are advancing the kingdom, and humbly learn from them.

YESHUA, THE BAPTIST, SETS THE BENCHMARK

The Pharisees accused Yeshua of baptizing more than John did (John 3:22.26; 4:1). Yeshua Himself did not baptize, rather His disciples did. Yeshua modeled strategic recruitment (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 3:13-19), practical training (Luke 10:1-9), effective disciple making, instant baptism (Matt. 28:19), mandatory flocking (Matt. 12:30; John 10:16; Heb. 10:25), and then sending them out (John 17:18; 20:21). The of seminaries must train world changers and not mere pulpit orators.

Sadly, in the quest for academic excellence, the performance indicators of disciple-making, baptizing, equipping and soul winning are constantly sacrificed. In the NT, the number of baptisms was a constant barometer of overall reproductivity and effectiveness of the Ekklesia. Yeshua clearly expects thirty, sixty or a hundred-fold return on investment (Matt. 13:23; Luke 19:11-27). He warned that unfruitful branches will be cut off and thrown into a fire. Yet we see an abundance of barren branches clinging to the church like parasites because of their academic tags (John 15:6; Luke 13:6-9).

KEYS OF THE KINGDOM

Yeshua not only has the Keys of the Kingdom but also of Hell and death (Rev. 1:18). He removed authority from religious leaders, giving the keys of the kingdom to ordinary people to build His Ekklesia (Acts 4:13; Matt. 16:19). Unfortunately, the keys are back again in the hands of those who neither enter heaven nor allow others to do so (Luke 11:52). Yeshua said to such leaders, “Woe unto you hypocrites, for you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourself” (Matt. 16:23).

Ability to use the spiritual key effectively is a benchmark of mature Christianity. Sadly, most Christians are not even aware that they hold the keys of the Kingdom. There is no comparison between the ineffective factory-processed seminarian and the effective harvest field processed apprentice. This is the key to unlock closed doors. All businesses follow their products carefully in the market and either improve it or produce a completely new model, if needed by consumers. 

Sadly, the sign of an irrelevant, dying, “leather bound” seminary is its motto: “This is the way we have always done it, so take it or leave it.”

FLOCKING IS A PROCESS AND NOT AN EVENT

Yeshua has given us a clear directive, “Whoever gathers is with Me and he who scatters is against Me” (Matt 12:30). To win the winnable is a doable principle of missiology. Where the harvest is ready, it would be sinful just to haphazardly pick up a few sheaves here and there and exult, we must employ a combine harvester to systematically reap the entire harvest (Mark 4:26-29). Yeshua has left to us the greater task of reaping and gathering the harvest before He comes to take His Bride (Luke 10:2; John 14:12). Flocking the sheep is just as important as finding the lost ones (John 10:16). Many mistakenly think that having preached the gospel, they can leave the rest to the Holy Spirit or, worse still, leave it to those who have no burden for the lost. This is abdication of responsibility. Disciple-making is a process, not a one-shot event. The work of the Holy Spirit and the application of human effort are equally important for edification (1 Cor. 14:12-15; Rom. 12:1-2).

THE TOWN CLERK SAVES PAUL AND PARTY

The term “Clergy” was originally used of town clerks. The city clerk of Ephesus saved Gaius and Aristarchus from mob violence. (Acts 19:2841). Even today, clergy function as dignitaries and masters whose secular verdicts carry authority. Ephesus has a magnificent temple of twelve breasted goddess Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world. Amazingly none of the temple goers who came to Christ ever thought of building a temple for Him. Paul spent three years there and shared the whole gospel publicly and from house to house (Acts 20:20,27). 

SCHOOL OF PROPHETS

The Ekklesia is a school of prophets, “When you gather, let two or three prophets speak… You can all prophesy one by one” (1 Cor. 14:26-32). Paul trained prophets and planted prophetic Ekklesias. He boldly interacted for three months in the local synagogue, reasoning, and persuading. But when the Jews spoke “evil of the way”, he shifted to the strategically located School of Tyrannus near the fish market in Ephesus. Within two years, all Asia heard the gospel. Unusual miracles glorified God (Acts 19:812). In the OT, the prophets Elijah and Elisha held schools for prophets. Moses reproduced seventy prophets just by intercession (Num. 11:14; 24-30). It is time our Ekklesias mentored strategists, catalysts and visionaries to speak prophetically in strategic locations, so all can hear the gospel (Acts 2:17-18; Romans 15:19-20).

SCHOOL OF APOSTLES

The Apostles do not merely have Bible knowledge. they have supernatural revelations of the Word, through the Holy Spirit. Paul studied at the school of scholars, at the feet of Gamaliel, but that knowledge made him a murderer. He remained spiritually blind until the Lord graciously opened his eyes. All the scales of his knowledge fell, when he counted his knowledge as rubbish (Act 9:18; 22: 3-4, Philip 3:7-9). He then boldly declared, “For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Yeshua Messiah” (Gal 1:11,12). Anyone wishing to be an Apostle, must first junk all those academic tags hanging on the walls of his office into a trashcan and then humbly go and find a genuine Apostle and be equipped by him. Apostles are men of revelations and only Apostles can replicate Apostles (Act 22: 3-4; Philip 3:1-14).

THE IMPORTED LEADER IS A CONTROLLER

There is no room in the Scriptures for outsiders to control and direct local churches. White man imported more white men, and the South Indians copied that model. Many missions have become employment agencies for family members who come and usurp local authority. Leaders are mentors, coaches and disciple-makers, rather than controlling authorities. Today, “control” is a dirty word that is fast dissipating from secular management parlance, though not so from the church. Yeshua handed over the baton to the local leaders like the Samaritan woman within hours, and His disciples within a year, while Paul did so within weeks and months (Acts 6:27; 14:21-23; 20:31). Succession Planning must start from day one. One big mistake that a cross cultural missionary can make is to hang on too long.

SAVE A ROGUE AND BE SAVED

“You shall know them by their fruit” (Matt. 7:16, 20; John 15:56). No fruit, no entry into heaven. Every church has a remnant of achievers who must be equipped and released into the harvest fields. Thieves, rogues, perverts and the wicked cannot be saved in a regular church. They need privacy, persistence and prayer to be saved. “Anyone who turns a wanderer from truth, will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (Dan. 12:3; Jam. 5:20).

YESHUA IS THE MESSAGE AND WE ARE HIS MESSENGERS

Yeshua said, “The kingdom of heaven comes not with observation but by violence and the violent take it by force” (Luke 17:20; Matt.11:12). This does not mean religious fanatics shooting with sophisticated weaponry. This means that we as the temple of the Living God, constitute a walking, talking, militant Ekklesia, ready to dismember the demonic world with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Yeshua walked dusty roads from city to city and from house to house, to where He reasoned, persuaded, argued, admonished and even publicly rebuked. Dialogue, confrontation, and encounter were His preferred methods.

Yeshua is the same yesterday, today and forever. Neither He nor His methods become outdated. It is time to serve notice to all inert Christians, who shadow punch with velvet gloves, who fight with a sheathed sword, to wield their double-edged sword of the Spirit, or to quit. The church will be better off without the nonfunctional impediments (Matt. 11:12; John 2:15-16; Acts 19:8-10; Eph. 6:17).

YESHUA NEEDS MENTORS AND MARTYRS BUT NO REVERENDS

Training leaders to academic heights, without creating downwards linkages, produces dysfunctional figureheads who fudge the mandate, who do not bite but bark to “brain dead” audiences. Whilst many a church swears by a worldwide constituency, their impact does not exceed beyond their four walls. Yeshua summed up the role of leadership, “I am here not to be served but to serve” (Matt. 20:28). None of his disciples retired with a pension, for they were all martyred. Peter exhorted elders, as “a fellow elder” (1 Pet. 5:1). James called himself “a bond servant of God” (Jam. 1:1). No one ever called himself Reverend, not even Peter or Paul. 

In the NT, we see young people being mentored for martyrdom (2 Tim. 2:10-12). When Stephen, James, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Silas and others died, younger leaders picked up their flags and marched forward. Yeshua called His disciples “friends” (John 15:14-15). He went with them wherever they went. Likewise, we too must go with our friends to encourage them (Luke 10:1).

THE HOME-GROWN VARIETY MAKES THE BEST SHEPHERDS

Over the years theological seminaries have done more harm to Christianity by training pulpit orators rather than soul savers, than any other heresy.  Medical schools train doctors for the sick, whilst Bible schools train for the saved. Yeshua did not ask us to be keepers of captive fish; he commanded to go catch lost fish. Seminaries train professionals for “bless me” constituencies, whilst they need to train “fishers of men” if they want to be relevant for the salvation of every tribe and tongue. Yeshua never gave any paper degrees to his disciples. Hence, all paper degrees and diplomas should be thrown into paper shredders to be used for vermicomposting to make manure to produce better harvest. They need to be replaced with modules that impact character building, obedience, fruitfulness and harvesting of souls. The disciple-making of the nations must remain the core curriculum. 

DIGITAL DISCIPLIERS

While evangelism by crusades, conventions and revival meetings have been largely replaced by digital media sounding forth from everywhere, disciple-making skill remains a scarce commodity. This results in unacceptable attrition rate of new believers. Evangelism is an event that produces potted plants that bear little fruit and die out if not cared for. Disciple-making is not an isolated event but a process like a farming operation that includes weeding, plowing, seeding, watering, manuring, etc., until the harvest is ready for the sickle and then gathering it in the Barnes. Similarly, preaching, teaching, baptizing, and mentoring must go on until every believer becomes a disciple-multiplier. Many believe that discipling is relational and therefore requires personal mentoring. However, in the lock-down or in some cases lock-up scenario, there is urgent need to develop and hone special digital discipling tools to leverage all those new believers into digital disciple-makers.

CHAIN DISCIPLE-MAKING

Paul laid the foundation of discipleship chain. He instructed Timothy, “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men (anthropoi = men and women) who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Paul did not exclude women from teaching. Every coach should pursue at least “four generations” in discipleship chains.

“Paul” is the first generation, “Timothy, Titus, Silas, Priscilla, Lydia and twenty others are a second generation, “Faithful men” are a third generation, and “Others” are a fourth generation.

Thousands were trained in “discipleship chains” by the seminary-trained Pastor Paul, evangelizing the entire Mediterranean world. Paul, like his master Yeshua, focused on a few to reach many. His “home grown” servant-leaders training program shifted from the sanctuary into homes and the marketplace, thereby he became the most effective, productive harvester of all times. This method also protects the Ekklesia from the preacher-creature dichotomy.

GEMS:

• Religion is what you do once a week in the church. Worship is what you do on the weekdays at workplace.
• Paul gave three month’s theological training to his twelve disciples in a Synagogue of Jews and then two years of coaching with the Gentiles, such that all Asia heard the gospel (Acts 19:8-10).
• “Knowledge-rich” seminarians, need to learn from “skill-rich” grassroots disciple makers, on how to apply their knowledge and produce skilled practitioners with ability to turn the world upside down.
• Bible schools train theologians, while Yeshua trained fishers of men. Seminaries need radical restructuring to prepare not only theoreticians but practitioners, mentors, catalyzers, strategists, visionaries, performers, and achievers.
• Yeshua modeled strategic recruitment, practical skills, effective disciple-making, instant baptism and obedience, resulting in prolific multiplication.
• Yeshua is the Lord of the Harvest. He said, “Open your eyes and see that the harvest is ready now”. A seminary that is not orientated to equipping students for the harvest of souls, is high in the abstract and thin on the ground (John 4: 35).
• Harvest is not the problem, for it has been ready for the last 2000 years. The problem lies with the skilled laborers who know how to handle the sickle. A laborer who does not know how to wield the sickle is no use to the Lord of harvest.  (Luke 10:2).
• The function of the seminaries is to equip royal priests who offer up lost sheep as sacrifice whilst as kings they rule wherever they have planted God’s kingdom.

 Copyright © 2023 Dr. Victor Choudhrie

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