I admit that this title might be overselling it; finishing the four year Pastoral Training course at London Seminary is not an era defining marker. Yet it is significant enough that I will need to re-adjust four years of practices, schedules, and time-keeping. But that’s not what I want to write here; it is the impact the Seminary had on me that I want to briefly reflect on.
Steve asked me to write a series of short pieces in Connect concerning my studies, which I am glad to do; watch this space, and for now, here are my initial thoughts; three (of course!) areas to high-light.
Christ at the centre.
It’s in our name as Christians: we are about Christ. We read our Bibles because Christ is the Word Incarnate. We preach Christ because He in Him alone is eternal life. We call all to worship and obedience to Christ as God. We subject in everything to Christ. Romans 1:5, 11:36.
Christians must keep thinking Christianly.
We are being restored to the image of God as seen in Christ. This includes our minds, which is under constant pressure to conform to the world’s way of thinking. God revealed Himself in a book to be read and understood, the only way to combat the pressure.
This is a Spiritual exercise. Romans 12:1–2.
I am the project.
“You are the project.”—I heard this in a Pastoral Theology lecture I attended at the Seminary before beginning the course. It never left me. Through my pastorate, through the church, God is shaping me. Which means ministry is not about me, but about making God’s work visible through me, as an example to the flock; 1 Peter 5:1–5. Because church, Brothers and Sisters, is not about us, but about God displaying Himself through us. We are the project, “God’s handiwork”, Ephesians 2:10.
Let me again thank you all for supporting me and my family in my studies. I pray we will all be blessed through what I learnt.
Calix
Pastoral Elder
July 2022
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