I Have a Master's Degree, Actually

If I am brave enough to tell someone I've recently met that I'm a pastor, the ensuing questions are always interesting, to say the least. Often, I get to hear all about their own church involvement, or lack of it and the reasons why, or their own theological take on the world. (The number of people whose personal theology includes extraterrestrial visitation would truly alarm most folks. I met most of those people in airports, too, lest you think I hang around strange places.) One of the most common questions, though, is whether I went to school for this.

The question bothers me, I'll admit, because it's rooted in an idea that ministry isn't something that requires special knowledge or training. And so, I reply, with a slight edge in my voice, "I have a master's degree, actually." It's a Master of Divinity, and here's what it involved.

It's a degree that took a year longer to complete than most master's degrees. Other people who have an MDiv are often impressed when anyone who completes the degree in a mere three years. Mine is 85 credit hours; if you don't know, that's a lot of credit hours.

I took classes in the practical arts of ministry, things like religious education, preaching and pastoral care. I took classes that are considered more academic like church history, biblical studies and Hebrew. I was required do on-site training as a hospital chaplain and in a church. As is the case with most on-site training programs, the amount of work required was in no way proportional to the number of credit hours I received for the work. 

So what's the value in so much training? Why bother since there are many pastors without that training? Here are the biggies:

• It ties me to the broader Church. I have been deeply formed in my own tradition. But church history and classmates have tied me to the broader church in a way that would be otherwise incredibly difficult to achieve. The theological claims of my particular tradition have become clearer; my ties to the people of other traditions are stronger. 
• Questions are welcome. We're a postChristian society. People who have read the Bible and want to talk about it aren't always people of faith. Without significant training and education, I wouldn't be able to have conversations about where the Bible really came from. Or how we differ from other traditions. Or why those traditions behave in a certain way. Or answer most questions in a way that doesn't have to involve the word "faith."
• There's a cost. I spent 3 years of my life earning that degree, not to mention money and the angst of things like studying Hebrew. (Tears and beer will get you through. Or tequila in my case.) That was on top of college. That matters. The things in life that are worth doing require work and preparation. That applies to the church, too. Why do you think Jesus spent three or four years with his disciples before he left them?
• I have studied and shown myself approved. I'm in a denomination, not an independent church, for a reason. I wanted to be ordained for a reason. I wish my ordaining board had asked more questions, been more strenuous, more concerned with testing me. Because my yes to ministry wasn't just a yes to God's call, it was a yes to the church. And the church had to say yes to me. Rigorous training should be demanded. This call is for the whole church and that church has every right to ask questions and demand even more.
• God still called. Let me be clear, I was called to this work by God. I have no doubt of that. God was present before and during and after seminary. For everyone who says God's call is sufficient for ministry I say yes--but if a job switch is all you think God is asking of you, you might need to listen some more. And yes, my possession of a graduate degree remains a testament to God's presence and call on my life. That might be the strangest part of the conversation yet.

But yes, I have a master's degree, actually.