Seminary: Is it necessary?

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Rick Lazor knew Nu'uanu Baptist Church was looking for a new senior pastor who was an ordained minister and had at least a master of divinity degree — but preferably a doctorate.

His master's in social work from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa will just have to do for now. He was "called" by the congregation to serve as pastor in 1991.

"Seminary education has to change," said the 50-year-old Lazor, who said he would like to pursue a master's in divinity someday, when he can find the time between leading the 500-member congregation and raising his two teenagers. "The definition of pastor has changed."

Indeed. Today, when getting your "Reverend" can be as easy as a double-click away, how much training does that cleric at the altar have, anyway?

"Parishioners rarely ask about that," said the Rev. Klayton Ko, 43, senior pastor at First Assembly of God on Red Hill, one of the largest churches in Hawai'i. "In fact, nobody's asked."

The Rev. Hal Weidner's parishioners don't have to ask. Roman Catholic priests like him who are in religious orders undergo training as long as a medical doctor's: a bachelor's degree (usually philosophy or theology), another year spent in prayer in that particular religious community, then three to four years of seminary training, serving at least six months as a deacon — think the equivalent of a residency program — before being ordained as a priest.

"It's a long, long process," said Weidner, explaining that before ordination, priests also undergo psychological testing and evaluations by their supervisor and co-workers.

"We're not looking for saints or a perfect person, but you're looking for something in the ballpark."

Then he laughed, remembering a good friend at an Episcopal rite of ordination who was asked, "Is this person worthy?"

His friend said, "He'll do."

Psalm pilots

In some churches, seminary is not required to become a lay leader — or even a pastor. Especially in Hawai'i, said Jon Rawlings, the International College and Graduate School's executive vice president, who runs an academic program at the Nu'uanu-area Bible school/seminary that draws a high number of evangelical pastors to its programs.

"It's different from churches on the Mainland," he said. "There, it's pretty typical to have an MDiv (a three-year master of divinity degree from a seminary) to be a senior pastor or youth director. Here, it seems with the evangelical churches — especially some of the new evangelical churches — people are planting churches and then getting their education."

Also in Hawai'i — where there is no mainline Protestant or Roman Catholic free-standing seminary (see list, right) — ordination at some places of worship occurs in-house. Sometimes all it takes is a group of church members laying their hands on the head of the pastor and praying for his or her "calling." This can occur in the same place where theological training was undertaken, either formally or informally.

There can be a drawback to that, said Rawlings: "People go out into pastoral ministry not as well-trained as they could be. Not only educationally, but spiritually. They're not as mature as Christian ministers should be. Of course, my colleagues there will disagree with me strenuously."

With the "new Christian" movement of the 1970s and '80s, which Calvary, Hope Chapel and New Hope, among others, are part of, the focus is on evangelism. And in evangelical traditions, Rawlings said, a simple message is key.

"Because they keep the message simple, ... (some) don't feel the need to go into a detailed study of scripture," said the Harvard-trained Rawlings. "Once they're saved, they are taught how to share their faith with other people, go out and lead more people to Christ. Along the line, though, people begin to look around, have 150 to 450 people in their congregation, and realize they can't focus on just evangelism forever. They need to know more about scripture to live the message."

University of Hawai'i religion professor George Tanabe explained that while mainstream religious organizations, including Catholic, Jewish and mainline Protestant denominations, typically set up academic training programs, "a lot of the smaller denominations really see no need for that heavy emphasis on academic training." They focus instead on their denominational point of view, which can be absorbed in a training session more quickly than it takes to get a full divinity degree.

"Some see this as inadequate because they're not exposed to broad-based (teachings) ... but they have their own needs and simply do not see there is a pressing need for that wider kind of training," said Tanabe, a former chairman of his department.

"I don't know if I'd say it's inadequate. It's adequate for their uses."

Of the 843 places of worship listed in the Yellow Pages, Tanabe ventured to guess that most have some kind of training program.

Reading and righting

At the recent Hawaiian Islands Ministries convention, two speakers, Arch Hart and Jack Deere, took time out from a luncheon meeting with pastors and their spouses to discuss whether a divinity degree is necessary, or indeed, even important.

Each took opposite sides of the argument:

"I don't think you have to have a seminary education to be ordained," said Deere, who taught Hebrew and Greek at Dallas Theological Seminary. "... You can learn all the theology you need to know outside seminary."

He named several pastors at Mainland evangelical mega-churches who dropped out of seminaries after a year. "They said it was irrelevant."

Hart, dean of the School of Psychology at the respected Fuller Theological Seminary, disagreed. The biggest benefit of seminary training is that it opens one's truth up to the cold, hard light of scrutiny, he said, and sets a system of accountability.

Seminary training "helps to weed out those who are harmful to others," said Hart, author of "Mastering Ministry" and several other books that are required reading for some ministers in training. "All you need is a church leader who is personality-disordered, who can do a lot of harm."

There's potential for abuse in a situation when a leader comes from an insulated church, where the leaders don't have outside training, Hart said: "That breeds incest. Any closed system is in danger of breeding monsters."

But does training protect against abuse of authority? Several Protestant ministers, ordained and not ordained, point to the issue of the Catholic sex-abuse cases in Boston as proof that it does not. After all, Catholic priests are among the most highly trained clerics.

The problem of priests sexually abusing children "has nothing to do with their education," countered Weidner, "it's supervision."

Chaptered and versed

If you take your model of the perfect clergyman from portions of the Bible, the original apostles were uneducated men, said Mike Kai, senior pastor at Hope Chapel West O'ahu.

He says education is essential — but that a divinity degree isn't. Kai now is taking undergrad classes through International as well as at a satellite campus of Wayland Baptist University here.

"It would be arrogant to say I don't need a degree," said the 35-year-old Kai. "But I've had an education and on-the-job training through Hope Chapel Kane'ohe for 12 years."

He and the Very Rev. Dr. Ann McElligott, the dean of St. Andrew's Cathedral whose last job was as principal of a seminary in Australia, sat down for coffee and a question-and-answer session and came to quick agreement that education alone is not enough for a minister; it must be matched to experience in the church.

In an earlier interview, Kai said, "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called."

"Becoming a pastor isn't necessarily a vocational choice, like going to a guidance counselor and choosing what you want to do with the rest of your life," said Kai. "So when you're called into the ministry, probably the most important thing you can get is on-the-job experience."

He added that his denomination, Foursquare, makes sure "there's major accountability" by a board of directors of the church; he also reports to a divisional head and district superintendent: "There are people smarter than I am, who let me know if I'm off, in terms of doctrine."

McElligott's and Kai's callings have followed a similar path: She was a divorced 22-year-old when she first felt the stirrings; he was a single father, age 23. Both found their church service didn't easily squeeze into the lives they had envisioned for themselves. Kai had to drop his job as a mechanic with American Airlines.

McElligott found that adhering to the stringent educational standards set up for a minister in the Episcopal Church was part of the surrender required to serve.

"The Episcopal Church always looks for the basing of ministry in one's life. That's why a person starts with a commitment in their own church," said McElligott.

Living together with other ministers in a Christian community, an experience that a seminary provides, allows a hothouse effect for reflection, she added, crystalizing and clarifying one's spiritual journey.

"I'm sure you can interview umpteen priests who say, 'I didn't learn a thing in seminary that made a difference.' I can say absolutely that my seminary training was invaluable. It has to be accompanied by that ongoing mentoring, experience and reflection on your experience."

The Very Rev. Dr. Ann E.P. McElligott, dean of St. Andrew's Cathedral, left, and Mike Kai, senior pastor of Hope Chapel West O'ahu. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

• Denomination: Episcopal
• Education: Bachelor's from Metropolitan State University; master's of divinity (cum laude), General Theological Seminary; Ph.D, New York University.
• Ordained: Doctor of divinity, with honors, General Theological Seminary
• Is a divinity degree important for today's clergy? Yes. "It is part of the overall formation for those who are in leadership, primarily in allowing one to enter into the 2,000-year-old conversation of the whole Christian community."

Mike Kai
Senior pastor of Hope Chapel West O'ahu

• Denomination: International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
• Education: Working toward a bachelor's in biblical studies
• Ordained: Expects to be ordained within the year
• Is a divinity degree important for today's clergy? No. "A divinity degree would be a great thing to achieve, but the essentials are a definite calling, leadership ability, being able to teach the Bible, along with mentoring and discipleship."

Religious education

O'ahu's seminaries and religious higher-education programs:

• University of Hawai'i: Offers undergraduate/graduate-level secular degrees in religion, but no divinity degrees or doctoral program. In January 2002, UH President Evan Dobelle suggested expanding Religion Department into a full divinity school, but the idea has since been shelved. UH is now looking at implementing a departmental project based on the Center for Religion and Public Life, which Dobelle helped found at Trinity College.
• International College and Graduate School: An accredited, interdenominational evangelical Bible college (undergraduate) and seminary (graduate), in Nu'uanu on the grounds of the International Baptist Church, offering a bachelor of arts, master of arts and religion, and master of divinity; 20 Dowsett Ave., 595-4247, (www.icgshawaii.org).
• Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary: This Fort-Worth, Texas-based seminary is conducting doctor of ministry classes for seven Southern Baptist students at the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Center, 2042 Vancouver Drive (the state office of the Southern Baptist Convention); www.swbts.edu or 946-9581, ext. 229.
• Pacific Rim Bible College: Affiliated with New Hope Christian Fellowship's denomination, the International Church of the Four-square Gospel, its undergraduate two- and four-year programs are not yet accredited; 1190 Dillingham Blvd., www.prbc-hawaii.edu, 853-1040. (Also has an extension program with Bethel Theological Seminary in San Diego.)
• Wayland Baptist University Hawaii: Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, it offers two- and four-year programs. A satellite campus of the Texas-based college, its classes are held on military bases and at 99-080 Kauhale St., 'Aiea; 488-8570; www.wbu.edu/hi.
• Redemption Bible College & Graduate School: A Pentecostal school that meets at His Highest Praise Worship Center, 423 Kamake'e St., and at Ben Parker School, it offers two- and four-year programs as well as graduate degrees. Not accredited. 592-2300.
• Other churches and denominations offer online and in-house courses to train pastors.