Assignment Title: Church Leaders Are Both Students of God’s Word and Educators for
God’s Message
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
2022
Professor: Dr. Mary Smith
Liberty University
Church Leaders Are Both Students of God’s Word and Educators for God’s Message
As a minister, people will turn to you for all kinds of knowledge and wisdom. No matter
how strong your calling, if you aren’t prepared with the information and training, you’re not
going to be able to give them what they need.
That’s why most minister jobs today require that you earn at least a bachelor’s degree in
divinity, Christian studies, or a related field. More and more of those positions require an even
more intensive education, a master’s degree or higher in divinity (MDiv) or similar.
Although there are many paths to the ministry, all of them require study.
Your college training will elevate your understanding of God’s Word and Grace as well as
the context in which you will preach of them. A course of studies in Christian ministry or divinity
will include classes in areas such as:
Bible Studies – A complete study of the Bible is critical for anyone who hopes to preach the
messages it contains. People expect ministers to have a full understanding of both established
doctrine and the remaining mysteries of Christianity. You’ll learn about those by intensive study
of the Book itself as well as comparative religious studies that look at various interpretations to
help you better understand how every denomination comes to its conclusions.
Theology and the philosophy of religion – Understanding Christianity also means
comparing it to the alternatives, and exploring its relationship with the spiritual impulse that
seems to underlie all cultures in all periods of time. Theology unlocks some of the traditional
and scientific ways of understanding how faith fits into our world and how Christianity meets
that we all feel for purpose and fulfillment.
History of Christianity and Culture – Old and New Testament passages will be read and
explored in depth with knowledgeable instructors who will help you understand how the
teachings of Christ have been understood over the course of the past 2,000 years. The history
of the early Church as well as developments through the ages shape how religion is practiced
today, and religion in turn has been an important influence on culture as it has evolved over
time.
Preaching and counseling – Most Christian studies programs will offer plenty of practical
preparation towards one of the areas where ministers will spend the bulk of their service:
actual preaching and ministering to people. Just like any professional public speaker or
counselor, ministers benefit from training in how to evaluate people in distress, how to reach
out to them, and how to find the right words in situations where no words seem helpful.
Composing and delivering sermons also takes training, and these courses are where you will
find it.
Religious studies courses might also come with a wide variety of electives to help explore
various parts of the ministry you are interested in. Those can include classes in:
Multicultural ministry
Pastoral leadership
Biblical languages
Bible hermeneutics
Secular Studies Are Part of Your Education When Preparing for a Career in Ministry
Ministers do not usually have the luxury of surrounding themselves with other persons of
the cloth and only engaging with deep matters of theological significance. The work of a
minister is by its nature all wrapped up with matters of the secular world as well as the spiritual.
So you need to study more than just the Bible to become a minister today. You will need a
broad-based education that informs you both in religious and temporal knowledge in order to
be an effective minister. Your degree will also include important general knowledge and
scientific studies to help you understand the secular world your congregation lives in. At the
same time, there are many temporal teachings that a minister can profit by in their religious
functions. So you’ll want to make sure your degree includes courses in subjects such as:
English literature and writing – Communication may be the most important part of a
minister’s job. While you will get the Word of God directly from the writings of the prophets,
learning how to present those concepts in ways that resonate with your audience can use a
little secular polish. If the Bible is the best-selling written work in history, the plays of
Shakespeare are not far behind. The Bard and his successors knew a thing or two about pitching
important human truths to a large audience, and you can learn from both historical and
modern works how to craft your own language to hit its mark.
Speech and rhetoric – Writing a sermon is one thing, but getting up in front of an audience
and delivering it with the fire and tenderness to hold their attention is something else entirely.
Ministers can benefit from courses in public speaking and the arts of rhetoric to assist both in
speech to groups and to boost their communication skills in one-on-one conversations.
Psychology – Understanding the mysteries of God can sometimes seem simple compared
to understanding the mysteries of humankind. Many ministers find their parishioners more
complicated than the Scriptures, so studies of individual and social psychology can pay off
quickly as you wrestle with the hard problems of human emotions and mental issues. While
God’s grace can help anyone in trouble, as a minister you are the conduit, and you will be a
better servant as one who can apply some understanding of basic human psychology.
Social studies and culture – Your ministry may take place in familiar settings, or in lands
where you are a stranger. Either way, it’s a good idea to enter into your mission with a good
grasp of the culture and history of the people who you are among. Just as you’ll learn in
Christian studies how your religion has grown and evolved over time, you’ll see in studies of
secular history how important Christianity has been to culture.
