Things They Don't Teach In Seminary - Part III

I am proud graduate from Talbot School of Theology. I feel as if they did an exceptional job in preparing me for vocational ministry. Nevertheless, Bald Wisdom is presenting (a long overdue) series on "Things That They Don't Teach In Seminary. Enjoy.

Part III - Games

I don't know what percentage of my time is spent playing games, but I play a considerable amount of outdoor games, board games, and video games with my students. It is a perk of the job to fellowship and interact with students in this manner. My fellow youth pastors would agree with me on this. From my experience, I have discovered that students love beating their youth pastor in any type of game (although that truly is a rare experience). Now, if the youth pastor were a pushover, then the joy the students experience is quite limited and students will get bored. Anecdotal evidence (which is the best kind of evidence) has taught me that students that are bored are most likely to cause trouble and/or walk away from the Lord. Students enjoy a challenge, and if the youth pastor is a challenging opponent, then students relish the opportunity to slay Goliath. They will stay engaged to the church in search of the pursuit of victory. Furthermore, when the student achieves victory, that moment will be as sweet as honey found in the carcass of a lion.

So with this in mind, seminaries need to prepare pastors that will work with children, youth, and young adults to compete at a high level in a variety of games. Otherwise, our students will grow bored when they constantly win when playing with their youth pastor, which will ultimately cause them to leave the church.

This also makes me wonder if a youth pastor can truly be trusted if he can't handle a video game controller or play foosball?

All this is to say that our seminary students need to be prepared to be able to game and game effectively upon graduation. I recommend a minimum of 3 classes that focus on outdoor games, board games, and video games.

I am eternally grateful to my seminary, but they really dropped the ball on this one...