This editorial first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2008 edition of In Touch Magazine. For reprint permission contact the Director of Public Relations at 1-800-251-6227.

by Jim Holm

When people ask me what kind of person the seminary seeks to graduate, I usually answer with some form of the following statements. The seminary seeks to do five things with each and every student. For ease in remembering them, they all start with “C.” The first is “Content.” Every seminary student needs to learn the content of the Bible, of theology, of church history, and other matters pertaining to Christian leadership.

Second, “Competence.” Each student needs to develop competence in the skills of ministry, whether preaching, or teaching, or counseling, or leading, and so on.

Third, “Community.” Graduates of the seminary must see the church as a community rather than a group of individuals, and must also care for the community in which they will do ministry.

Fourth, “Character.” Every seminary student should be brought to a place where they dearly love and constantly rejoice in Jesus, in who he is and what he does.

Finally, “Context.” Every student must learn to understand the cultural context in which they minister, whether in North America or in other parts of the world.

It is this last “C,” context, that this issue of In Touch seeks to address. Culture. That’s a word with a variety of definitions. While we may not all agree on the technical definition, most of us have some idea of what we mean. We mean the context, the setting, the atmosphere in which we work, live and play, in which we fulfill our ministry.

One of our goals as a seminary is to help students “read” their culture. What kinds of people live there, what kinds of opportunities for ministry are there, what are the potentialities and the pitfalls of ministering in that setting? Obviously, the seminary cannot explain the details of every cultural context, but we can give students tools, insights, skills, that will help them learn to “bloom where they are planted,” as the saying goes.

To address this “C” of context, the seminary is evaluating its degrees, programs and curriculum to give our students the most assistance possible in preparing for ministry. To that end we have adjusted our Master of Divinity degree, the primary degree for pastoral ministry, to have more of what are called “practical” components. In addition to the biblical and theological grounding that all seminary students ought to have, we are seeking to make certain that their education is as practical as possible.

Sometimes people think that a seminary is only or primarily an academic institution. While we wish to emphasize the ability to think—in fact, we want to improve our students' abilities to think—we also want to help them connect. The recent changes in our curriculum are designed to do that.

For example, this year, students on the Fresno, California campus will have the opportunity to meet part of their Cross-Cultural Encounter/Counseling requirement with a trip to Honduras or India.

So read on, friends. Learn in this issue about the role of culture in the ministry with people, and you will get some insight into how seminary is shaping itself for the demands and opportunities of the twenty-first century.

And, while you are reading, please continue to pray. Pray that God will continue to call men and women for training, that they will listen, and that they will respond. Pray that God will bless the ministry of the seminary. We are in partnership together, you and the seminary. Thank you so much for your participation by praying for us.