Pastors In High School Research Paper

This is a great time of year! School is starting. There’s an air of excitement and anxiety. People are open to new experiences. And many new pastors are beginning their first fall in the life of the church. Maybe they are in a new church and learning the culture of that church and community; and perhaps they are in the first church they have ever served. For the recent seminary graduate this fall is filled with opportunity, excitement, some anxiety, and maybe a bit of fear. They have experienced years of education, denominational processes, and personal discernment. They have preached that first sermon, led that first worship service, possibly even held their first funeral and first wedding. Certainly they’ve held that first business meeting. A lot of firsts have already happened over the summer and many more are on the horizon.
Years ago I heard a phrase that shocked me a little. I admit I thought it was a pretty condescending thing for a seasoned pastor to say, even if it was somewhat in jest. He said this phrase in response to the ideas of a new young pastor at a denominational meeting, “NSGD” or “New Seminary Grad’s Disease.” Later he explained, “that many of us pastors,
Don’t let your degree divide you from the congregation. There are very few communities in the United States where more than 30% of the population has a college or advanced degree. Educationally speaking, you are in the elite. You have had an opportunity and experience that most people have not. Pay attention to the demographics of your congregation. Your experience in college and seminary will help immensely in your ministry; but the way you reference it in conversations, sermons, and even Bible studies may push a bit of wedge in between you and your congregation. Be careful not to appear arrogant simply because you’ve been educated. Another way to say it, ‘don’t be a know-it-all.’ You have more to learn from the people in your congregation and community than they have to learn from