You’re not essential.
Sarah Kendzior’s Al Jazareera article The closing of American academia has begin a discussion across the blogosphere (see The Conversation Continues) over the bleak prospects of finding a good job after one completes doctoral studies. She is an anthropologist, but as Peter Enns has noted in The Closing of American Academia: More Reality Therapy from Prof. Eeyore…uh…I mean Enns and Your Go-To Source to Get Really Depressed about Jobs in Academia those of us who dreamed of jobs teaching biblical literature, theology, religious studies, or history related to these subjects are facing the same miserable employment prospects. In fact, one article posted on The Daily Kos titled Ph.D. to Food Stamps is written by someone who wanted to teach theology.
Right now I am an idiot. I know that there are no jobs in biblical studies. I know that there are people who are far more intelligent than me who will be fighting for those jobs. I know that being a realist means that I may have to settle for adjunct work if I am going to teach somewhere. As Enns said, once you factor all the data regarding adjunct work and the low pay it offers, “….it begins to sound like you are in a pretty stupid line of work.”
I have filled out one application for doctoral studies and I have begun another. My prospects for the first school are quite positive and it seems like it won’t cost me an arm and a leg to do the program. I have done a BA, a MA, and a ThM and my academic debt is lower than many people who spend one year at major universities. There are three reasons that I have decided to pursue doctoral work although I know there is no guarantee of a full time job in academia when I graduate and even less of a chance at something like a tenured professorship: (1) I have religious reasons for doing it. You can call this a “call” if you’d like to name it something. (2) I sense I have the ability to do it, so may as well enjoy the learning and let the chips fall as they may. (3) My finances are in good shape for a thirty year old with this much education and I think things will get easier when I move to Texas next month. So I don’t feel like I am being a unwise steward with my limited resources.
Also, I am committed to the service of the church so if my main vocation has to do with a local assembly somewhere–pastoring, teaching, administrating, directing education of some sort–I am at peace with that. There are plenty of people who earn a living working for a church who spend $30,000 on a new pick-up truck. I won’t regret spending that money on education and working to my full potential instead.
But I know some people who are academia or bust. As an enrollment counselor at a mid-sized evangelical seminary I have met many people who tell me they want to do a MA or MDIV so that they can get into a doctoral program so that they can become a professor. In their minds it is as simple as the twelve step program they have invented to move them from graduating from college to being teachers in a university. They have no idea about the politics of academia either Sometimes I want to remind them that it is unlikely that the University of Oregon will hire them to teach religion with an MA from Western Seminary, but I don’t. I want to sit them down, look into their eyes, and tell them, “Listen, that may happen, but it is far more likely that you’re going to be an adjunct and it is going to be terrible.” You don’t want to crush dreams, but I know that if every potential student that told me about their plans to teach became full time teachers they would fill about a third of all the employment opportunities in this country! Western Seminary is a great school, but there won’t be that many full time professors coming from here. There won’t be that many coming from Duke or Yale for goodness sake.
Maybe this is good for the local church. I have heard some people say that they’d rather see the education manifest itself from the pulpit rather than the lectern. Maybe! But I fear that my experience has shown that most congregants don’t want more intelligent pastors. They want more caring pastors, more relevant pastors, younger pastors, pastors with better rhetoric, pastors who are dogmatic and make them feel like their Christianity is the pure and true Christianity, but not pastors who have doctorates. It is what it is. Also, I should add, that many of my peers who are fighting the uphill battle toward academia do not want to work for a church. If they end up working for a church they will see themselves as failures and they may be doing it for a paycheck only with their eyes scanning job openings at the local Christian university. I’m not sure that congregations want or need that kind of pastoral care.
August 24, 2012 at 2:33 pm
You know Brian I commend you and others for pursuing your doctoral programs. Being someone who will one day, by God’s grace, do a doctoral program for very different reasons then a job, I do questions why so many are so inclined and adverse to filter into the church. I do agree that many churches want more caring pastor but why don’t many of these doctoral students filter into more cultural fringe churches that could greatly use them like the Hispanic church in America that are under represented in the seminary environments? I only mention the Hispanic church because that is my experience you could fill in the blank with any group. I really don’t understand, Even the anthropology Ph.D graduate, business, or any other have skills in research that could greatly benefit the church and maybe address issues from a data perspective like why our churches in America are so segregated? Research into culture. The way I see these students who are Christians have a huge opportunity to do what they love if they would connect, work together, and get with some more experienced business person to do consulting. Just a thought from someone that does not understand.
August 24, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Danny
Indeed, there remains many areas of need and avenues within the church that can benefit from students going non-traditional routes. I imagine there are a few reasons why people struggle with the idea of giving their gifting to the church rather than the academy.
For one, if you feel “called” to teach it may seem like you are not fulfilling that calling if you are the administrative pastor at a local church.
Also, there are many churches with anti-education undertones. Even if they talk of appreciating education it is possible that they have a very restrictive view of what should and can be taught in a church. Also, there is the tough task of translating one’s academic knowledge away from the lofty language of the classroom to the street language of every day parishioners. I think Eugene Peterson has mentioned the importance of this on several occasions.
Then there is the pure joy that some experience with the “intellectual life.” Not everyone loves hours of research in a library somewhere, but some do, and the thought of spending time in board meetings with elders discussing funding for a new sanctuary addition in maddening.
I try to pray a prayer that goes something like this: “God, I want you to use my gifts and talents for your Kingdom as you see fit. If you think I should be in a classroom empower me to be there so that your Kingdom is blessed. If it is a pulpit, empower me to be there. Wherever you want my service please gift me and give me a heart for that place and I will go.” I rationalize that if I am doing something for the Kingdom that I sense is being led by the Spirit it will be far more fulfilling than doing what I think I should be doing because I want to do it.
August 24, 2012 at 2:51 pm
This is one of the reasons I am going to do the PhD at South African Theological Seminary. It is affordable, logistically prudent, and allows me to earn an accredited PhD which stands for something (meaning, that it declares I have spent focused time and done rigorous research in an area intended toward being obedient to the cohortative found in II Tim. 2:15–in short I do this for the purposes of fulfilling my ‘call’ or ‘gift’ or vocation as a Christian person in the Church of Jesus Christ [not the latter day of course
]).
August 24, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Bobby,
Maybe you’ll run into John Ronning down there. He wrote a great book on John’s logos theology recently.
August 24, 2012 at 3:23 pm
I have thought in depth about all these issues as well. I have spent hours in prayer and if you asked me a year ago what I was going to do with my life I was confidentially going to reply, “teach in a Bible College, be an Associate Pastor at Church, and spend a significant part of my life on the missions field teaching in a Bible College.” I knew what I had to do and I knew the costs. So I set off and read, studied, worked on my Biblical Languages and even started dabbling in German because I knew it was necessary. I finished my B.A. went and taught overseas in a Bible College, was shopping a Masters (at Nyack because of their new Masters and PhD or Gordon Conwell) and even found a tutor for German. I continued to read, study, pray and work hard to develop a few basic thesis ideas that had people actually interested that I could build upon from Masters to PhD. I searched for a pastoral position that would allow me to work and go to school and I just couldn’t find one, heck I couldn’t even find a full time one. So I read Nijay Gupta and every other blog out there about getting a PhD in the New Testament and it seemed like everything was telling me to stop. Months later the passion was gone and I knew I couldn’t proceed; I just couldn’t put my family and myself in that kind of financial situation. Therefore, I now stand on the outside looking in, keeping up with the blog sphere of Biblical Studies, looking at the book reviews and abstracts of leading journals and seeing what books people are talking about that might be of interest. So in the end before falling prey to the disappointments of the financial burden of getting a PhD I decided against it.
August 24, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Bobby G.
I think that is a wise move. If you get the education you want and you can do it without being mastered by debt then the employment thing is a much lighter load.
Bobby N.
I completely understand your thought process here. One thing to remember is that you can still benefit and enjoy the fruits of scholarship even if you can’t immediately contribute. We should think of it like baseball. We may not all make the MLB, but we can play in the minors (or college, or high school), or we can coach a college of high school team, or we can be journalist who write about it, or at the very least we can watch the games, scream at the TV, and live vicariously though the players…which is still quite fun!
August 24, 2012 at 3:48 pm
I should clarify: those of us who do not end up in academia aren’t failures who get to watch the real talents “play,” we would just be talented in different areas.
August 25, 2012 at 1:36 am
@Patrick,
I will be pursuing this disagree by distance, and will only (maybe) be in SA for graduation; and that is if I ever can raise the funds I need to actually start
. That’s great to hear that some good stuff is coming out of SATS faculty!
@Brian,
I thought you were already going to do that program through the Oxford school (not Oxford University, but the other one), with Craig Evans; is this not happening now?
@Bobby N.,
Has anyone ever told you that you have an awesome first name; well you do
! By the way, don’t lose heart, keep pressing forward, and the Lord will indeed open doors and provide clarity in ways that won’t, in the moment, seem to make sense. At least that’s how he’s been working in my own theological development and journey. I have the same kind of passions and desires that you do, relative to being involved in Christian education; it’s just happening in a different way than I thought it would (and maybe how I thought it would look still might happen some day, I don’t know). Anyway, don’t ever give up on the desires the Lord has given you; he has given those to you so that you might enjoy him in worship of him, and that the overflow of this might edify the rest of his body … keep pressing, brother!
August 25, 2012 at 1:39 am
Wow Patrick,
It is late! I meant *degree … “disagree,” what
hahaha.
August 25, 2012 at 3:05 am
I just wanted to add my two cents to this discussion. As someone who has done a ThM at Western Seminary, and just come through the other side of the PhD, I am very aware of the job prospects. They are not great. I applied to over a dozen jobs this year, and I have friends who have been teaching for 5+ years that are having trouble getting a new job when the funding for their position has run out. There is no doubt it is a tough market.
But one thing needs to be said to all of us who are beginning this process and seeking to enter life in academia. And that is this, it only takes one job. I faced a host of rejections this year, but none of that matters because I did get one job in the end, and I will be starting my first full time teaching post this year at a good evangelical college attached to a major university. Granted it is a one year contract, but you have to start somewhere. I know I was not the most experienced candidate, and I probably wasn’t the sharpest, but for some reason I was deemed the right person for the job. So with all the fears about the lack of jobs (and they are appropriate) it is good to remember that it only takes one!
August 25, 2012 at 6:18 am
Brian–thanks for this. If your blog is any indication of your talent, determination, winsomeness, etc., you’ll do great in the years ahead! Of course, talent a job does not guarantee, but still… it’s refreshing to read this.
to your: “But I fear that my experience has shown that most congregants don’t want more intelligent pastors. They want more caring pastors, more relevant pastors, younger pastors, pastors with better rhetoric, pastors who are dogmatic and make them feel like their Christianity is the pure and true Christianity, but not pastors who have doctorates.”
I’ve actually been fortunate to have an “all of the above” sort of experience in congregations that wanted both intelligent and caring pastors. All the more reason to bring back the scholar-pastor model? (I think perhaps so…)
August 25, 2012 at 8:00 am
There must be balance somehow. Take theological scholarship away from pastorship, and what remains is a social worker. Remove the pragmatics of pastorship from the academic program and theology becomes sterile.
I know this doesn’t speak to the practical question of congregation or students. I have no experience with such things never having had the opportunity to attend seminary or religious education.
August 25, 2012 at 9:16 am
Brian -
You stated: They want more caring pastors, more relevant pastors, younger pastors, pastors with better rhetoric, pastors who are dogmatic and make them feel like their Christianity is the pure and true Christianity, but not pastors who have doctorates.
I don’t think there is a problem with people having doctorates, as long as the pastor is caring, bringing the teaching to the ‘normal’ folk, and possibly relevant, as you suggest. But, I might add that, if a PhD is not high on the list, a DMin is probably not too much of a problem. DMin trains for practical ministry and that is what a pastor is involved in on a regular basis. This is why I’m thinking DMin for me now instead of a PhD.
August 25, 2012 at 10:56 am
I’m considering the possibility when I am all finished with school looking at places abroad to teach. Schools in Asia, Africa or something where there are not as many PhD’s and ThD’s flying around in biblical studies or theology. This may mean learning another language…We’ll see.
August 25, 2012 at 11:57 am
As an academic (beginning PhD studies) and a full-time pastor of 13 years…I have to say I enjoy both worlds. But that is my own calling and personality. I’m not looking for tenure…I want to stay in the pulpit…and I want to teach overseas. So it works for folks like me.
August 26, 2012 at 10:35 am
Bobby
If all works as planned I will have Evans as my outsider supervisor, but I am applying to Bristol now. Both John Nolland and David Wenham expressed interest in my dissertation proposal. I send off my completed application packet this week.
Ben
That is a good reminder. It is a scary one though because even in its optimism it shows how unstable one’s career can be at the beginning.
Abram
I would love to see more scholar-pastors!
Andrew
Good point.
Scott
I think there is a lot to be said for the D.Min. My pastor in SF was a graduate from Gordon-Conwell. By no means could his degree prepare him for the uniqueness of pastoring there, but I think he came far more equipped then others. That city can eat up a pastor.
Ben
That thought has crossed my mind as well…though by then I may have children and there is no guarantee my wife would want to go where there are openings.
Rick
I think I could satisfied with both worlds as well. We’ll see.
Pingback: SEBTS Professor David Alan Black’s Advice for Seminary Students Contemplating Doctorate
August 27, 2012 at 6:08 am
Greetings, All: I’m working on a Ph.D. through the Free (Vrije = “liberated”) University of Amsterdam, after doing a M.A. through a South African university (Pretoria). Both options allow part-time distance work, but they are research-based degrees, which require a high level of self-motivation. The Free University requires that I travel to Holland once a year for 2 days of research discussion days. A little known fact is that most Dutch Ph.D. programs do not involve tuition. The Dutch government pays the universities for every Ph.D. student they graduate. The standards are high, and they will drop you if you don’t perform well. But, I’ve found the Free University exceptionally helpful and intellectually stimulating. I’m studying with world class scholars, and only have to buy plane tickets once a year. Of course, the European economy might change all this, but it’s worth looking into.
I also think we need to be open to going where the needs are greatest–overseas, especially in Africa and Asia where the church is simply exploding in growth. All these new churches and new Christians need educated and faithful teachers. We need more missionary academics!
August 27, 2012 at 6:49 am
I think one of the saddest things about our current economic situation (though it’s really true most of the time given the cost of education) is the fact that education has to be viewed as being “useful” for something. I get asked sometimes what I am going to do with my M.A. in Applied Theology I am working on. I don’t necessarily have a good answer – at least not one that satisfies the typical person. I am an academic librarian, and so a second “subject masters” degree in any additional field is always seen as a good thing (and is actually required elsewhere at some universities) and I’m getting my M.A. through the school I am faculty at, so there is the lovely benefit of it costing very very little for me to get my M.A. so it’s somewhat a situation of “why not?” (Plus, it very much has seemed like it was the right time, and God was saying it was the right thing to do right now, which I don’t discount at all) What will be harder is if I decide to go on for a PhD – I’ve had a couple of visiting professors suggest it to me, and I am interested – but since I am not looking to change careers, I will be looking for online or otherwise distance programs intended to be done while working full time, and cost is certainly going to be a factor since I won’t be able to get any kind of assistantships or whatever. And I REALLY will have a harder time explaining that I don’t think one has to have a “job” reason to go on for more education at that point…
August 27, 2012 at 10:28 am
Alison,
Great thoughts, they inspired this post: http://nearemmaus.com/2012/08/27/education-for-the-sake-of-being-educated/
Pingback: Education for the sake of being educated. | Near Emmaus
August 28, 2012 at 11:17 am
You mean to tell me that I would have no hope to ever receive a tenured position in academia anywhere if I might earn 2 Bachelor’s, 4 Master’s, and a Ph.D. summa cum laude from a well known European university. “Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feyman”
August 28, 2012 at 11:24 am
I know, I know, breaking news!
Pingback: Theology Around the Blogosphere — August 2012 « Cheese-Wearing Theology
Pingback: Roundup: Contingent Labor News | Academe Blog