What a Degree Didn't Prepare You For but You Need to Know
A Ministry Application Handbook
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After four years in Bible College and another few years in Seminary, you would think that one would at least be theologically prepared for ministry. After all, we came into Bible college and seminary needing to broaden our theological knowledge. At the conclusion we feel like we are ready for whatever the ministry has in store for us. That might be true, but many young men studying for the ministry think that a BA, BS, Master’s or doctorate degree will be all you need to have a successful ministry. However, as I have learned, and want all of my readers to be aware of, is that book knowledge and even Biblical knowledge does not necessarily prepare you completely for all you will face in the ministry. Certainly, my education was profitable in many areas. And my professors did all they could to prepare us for ministry. However, it was my “hands on” ministry experience that taught me so much more than what I learned in my theology books. A pastor friend of mine once said that ministry is all about dealing with people’s problems. As I thought about the truth of that statement, I also thought about how my own personal issues added to the difficulty that ministry posed. I want to be clear at the beginning, that God’s grace is sufficient for all of us who call Him Lord. (2 Cor 7:9) His Word is just as relevant for our lives today as it was when men of God moved by the Holy Spirit penned the scriptures. However, Paul’s lesson on the sufficiency of God’s grace was personally learned by the Apostle as he was dealing with the thorn in the flesh that God had allowed to remain in his life in spite of his faith and prayers because that’s how God teaches best and how we as His children learn best. James 1:2-4 assures us of the blessed affect and effect of trials in our lives, while also reminding us of God’s purposes in them.
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About the Book
This book is a manual to help inform and encourage those who are about to go into pastoral ministry or are already in the ministry and are struggling to hold their lives and families together. In it, they will learn, from a pastor with over forty years of ministry experience, the ministry and family challenges that they will encounter and how to navigate the rough waters of these challenges. This manual will give them encouragement and insight into building necessary personal habits and family structures to thrive and persevere in the midst of these challenges . Bible college and seminary students especially will be helped to be better prepared to understand and avoid the personal and family pitfalls that full time ministry will inevitably bring .
About the Author
Pastor Louis Curcio is a pastor of a non denominational church in northern NJ serving with his wife Patti. He received a BA in Bible from Northeastern Bible College and an MA in Theology from Biblical Seminary. He has over 40 yrs of pastoral ministry experience and has served in many diverse ministries within the church. He went thru a four year period of clinical depression and ministry burnout where he experientially learned the pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned so that he might be able to share these important things with other pastors and their wives who are just getting started or who are thinking about getting into the ministry. Pastor Lou has four children and seven grandchildren.