So, who needs theological college?

Who needs Theological College? Everyone! Well, sort of…

Theological Colleges ideally exist ‘to prepare God’s people for works of service’ (Eph.4:12). But isn’t that what the local church should be doing for all its members? Of course. However, some do it better than others, and some not at all. Nevertheless, some believers begin to sense a call to serve the Lord in a more full-time capacity as pastors and teachers, evangelists, missionaries, church workers, youth leaders etc. Do they need to ‘go to college’ to train to do so?

When I started seminary some 50 years ago, the answer was generally ‘Yes’ ! So I upped sticks and sacrificed Liverpool for London! Not everyone thought that a good idea in my local church: ‘Why can’t you train here on the job?’ they’d say. I did notice the same commentators seemed to think differently when another young person, perhaps a son or daughter, went off to study medicine, or even origami (OK, that’s a joke – such courses usually fold quite quickly).