Letter to a Professor

[Mr. Rogers]

Letter to a Professor

I am currently seeking advice and clarification about my future educational goals and studies; both personal and academic. I have learned the value of advice and wisdom from people who have been on the road a lot longer than I have, so I am contacting professors, pastors and Christian leaders who I both know personally to some degree or who I may have come across some other way.

If I began by telling you about my future plans, that might provide some clarification. I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in English: Non-fiction Creative Writing. I do not know if this major completely encompasses all the subjects I would like to be competent in, but it should provide me with a strong basis for well-written and clear communication. I would like to be a missionary to Japan as soon as possible. I do not completely know what this would look like or to what capacity I would be able to contribute in this great task. Things that come to mind are worship ministries and home churches or Bible studies. The is also great potential in the arts. My ministry in the church up to this point has mainly consisted of worship ministries, where I play the bass guitar.

The situations there are similar to the conditions of many of the churches in the United States - the pastor is expected to do almost everything. There are always exceptions, of course. The church is in great need of leadership and the Japanese Christians need to be built up so that they will be equipped to make a difference in their families, society and workplaces. There is also a need for deep understanding of Japanese society and mindset and "doing church" in a way that would connect with the Japanese people (many churches in Japan are modeled after the Protestant churches of the USA and Europe).

For some time now, people have always told me that God would use me in great ways. I have been feeling like, although I may spend time working in the secular workplace, I would also like to be equipped to contribute to the Church in a more direct way. A friend of mine, who is a pastor (who I am sure understands the heart of God and people), told me that he could see me being a pastor one day.

I have struggled with faith and large questions throughout my time as a Christian and some important topics seem to have come out of that:

Church and Jewish history, general history of religion, philosophy, Biblical and theological studies, as well as history, language, culture and any topics that might be useful in understanding a specific country. I have learned the importance of having a sharp mind so the church can be better equipped to answer the difficult questions that many people ask us or struggle with. When the church isn't able to answer, people will find their answers elsewhere - many times to their detriment. Nothing beats the Holy Spirit, simple Gospel, conversation and love, but the mind mustn't be neglected, either.

I was wondering if you would be able to provide any advice for a potential educational path, subjects to be studied, or any other advice you may find relevant. You may also be able to ask questions I haven't yet thought of, or give some wisdom in areas I have not mentioned.

Thanks you very much for any feedback, as I am sure you have a busy schedule,

Jim Rogers
Chicago, Illinois

I am currently thinking of sending this letter around to various professors and Christian leaders I know and know of. I thought I would post it here, too, if anyone has any thoughts on it.

[Furen]

I think it looks good, I'm only going into grade 11 though so I can't be that amazingly helpful on the subject...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Study theology. You already have english down. Take lit courses. They will really broaden your horizons. Especially lit theory when you get into postmodernism/poststructuralism. And if you want a basic text for philosophy, books like "Sophie's World" (a novel) and "Questions that Matter" (a textbook) are great resources. Of course if you want to get into the deeper stuff, you'll begin looking at primary sources by the authors which are prevalent in the history of philosophy.

As for Theology, there are plenty of resources floating around, but can be hard to acquire outside of a college setting. Now, in my opinion, most stuff you simple google is pretty basic information that isn't quite exegetical. Some of the more deeper theological studies goes into the specific school of theology itself. Some of my favorite theologians are Paul Tillich, Jurgen Moltmann, and Karl Barth (And Kierkegaard, although he wasn't as focused on theology, but was nonetheless foundational for people like Tillich and Barth). Fortunately, the religion department in my school is well-rounded in theology. Both from a more orthodox position as well as a more "liberal" position. So I feel like I'm getting a quality education from my professors.

[Dante]

I would make sure that the professors you send that too are both "Christian friendly" and in line with your view points.

When the church isn't able to answer, people will find their answers elsewhere - many times to their detriment.

<- This.

By saying that it is to people's detriment to find answers outside of the church, you're basically declaring that you would find an education to be of detriment to you.

That is, the reason you get an education is to provide an understanding of how to think for yourself, so you can answer your own questions. It is not to get you to follow the answers provided by a church (In fact, if you get a good education, you're likely going to be missing a lot of Sundays). It also provides a vast amount of knowledge and a worldview that is not necessarily in line with any church viewpoints.

In other words, you're kind of telling a professor that you would find their instruction harmful because their instruction does not necessarily come from a church.

A college education will vastly change who you are because you will be bombarded with information and knowledge at such an accelerated rate, that what you think you know about the world will radically change in a VERY short period of time... at least if the education is doing its job.

The process radically transforms individuals in such a way that they often form an incredible range of viewpoints of the world, even within the same major. It's therefore, not unexpected that you will have a completely different way of looking at life then your friends in church or your pastors. You will still be you, but you will have to work diligently to redefine your faith so that it can fit within this far more complex world.

It's certainly more difficult to adapt ones faith to this viewpoint (it certainly won't earn you any brownie points with a church -- instead you'll more likely be considered "going soft" or "becoming of the world"), but if integrated with great effort, there is a chance that your own faith will grow beyond that provided by churches. Then you, not a church, but you alone, WILL be able to handle a wider array of troubling "human" issues that the church's viewpoint, simply isn't equipped to handle, and so they act like it's wrong, non-existent or slap a label on it and run.

Anyways though, that's just a thought on that sentence. If you want to stay in line with church dogma, you probably shouldn't get an education. If you want to define yourself more and be taught to form your own viewpoints on these subject matters (and challenge those presented by your pastors and friends), then an education can give you powerful tools. But you must work extremely hard to earn those tools and you will be forced to leave the simple life of pure faith should you choose to do so.

The is also great potential in the arts.

^ Needs to say, "There is also...

*I would also note that taking Japanese can be very difficult. Thus, if you plan on taking courses in the future in Japanese, only do them with very easy courses.

[Kaori]

Pascal, I think that what Mr. Rogers meant was that he, as a potential future pastor, wants to study these things . . .

Church and Jewish history, general history of religion, philosophy, Biblical and theological studies, as well as history, language, culture

. . . so that the lay people who come into the church will be able to find the answers that they need from the church, rather than having to turn to worldly modes of thinking for answers (cf. Rom. 1:21 and Coloss. 2:8). I really don’t think he’s trying to denigrate the value of education. If he is saying what I think he is, then I agree completely: we Christians ought to cultivate our minds so that we can give a strong answer when people ask us why we believe.

@ Mr. Rogers: I was wondering if there is a particular reason for sending this to former professors instead of talking to current professors. Is there anyone you can talk to in person? If it were me, I would rather find someone I trust to talk with in person, because I think the conversation would be more fruitful that way than via email. I think your letter looks fine, though.

Although I don't have the credentials or life experience of a professor, if you don’t mind, I would also like to give some input on the subject of what course of study to pursue. For what it’s worth, I am now beginning my fourth year as a missionary teacher in Japan, so that’s the perspective I’m writing from.

It’s true that creative writing will give you communication skills, which are useful generally and can be applied to a variety of different professions. However, I think that there are two particular areas that would be helpful for training to be a pastor in Japan.

The first, of course, is Bible, theology, pastoral studies, missions, etc. A class on contextualization in missions would be especially helpful. When speaking the gospel to someone from another culture, it’s important to relate it to what they know and understand. Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson is a book on that subject]before [/I]going to Japan as a missionary, and then commit to staying long-term. It is all too easy to burn out and leave, on the one hand; or on the other hand, to go to Japan thinking you will get your credentials later, but then end up just hanging around Japan indefinitely without ever furthering your professional development. It’s difficult to go back and get credentials once you are settled into your work. Get all the credentials you need to be a pastor now, then be prepared to stay in Japan long-term: that’s my advice as a missionary who has been around for a couple of years.