Episode 50 – Balancing Education & Ministry

In today’s episode, we sit down with Pastor Tim Bonebright (M.Div. Class of 2024) to talk about balancing education and ministry. We discuss the process of preparing for the doctrinal defense and how taking classes has supplemented pastoral ministry.

Full Transcript:
Ep. 50: Balancing Education & Ministry

Micah Tanis, Host

Welcome to the Central Seminary Podcast today. We’re glad you have joined us. We’ve got a special episode for you this week. This is during the time of our semester when we have our graduating students come in for their doctrinal defenses. We just had a Doctor of Ministry defense with Mark Herbster and a really neat time to go through that. We are currently in the time of going through our senior MDiv students. And I’ve got one of our senior MDiv students with us here in the podcast studio, Pastor Tim Bonebright.

Pastor Tim, Thank you and welcome to the podcast.

Tim Bonebright

Well, thank you Micah. It is great to be here It’s a joy to be on campus

 

MT: Yeah, and there’s a little extra joy in your voice today Tim because just just an hour and a half ago Tim Successfully defended his doctrinal defense. So congratulations Tim I’m sure that’s a weight off your shoulders?

 

TB: It very much is now I just have to finish up the last few classes and get back here for graduation

 

MT: So it’s great to have Tim on campus here because right now Tim is pastoring and Tim is pastoring in Kansas, I understand. What’s your church? Tell us just a little bit about your church in Kansas.

 

TB: Yeah, it’s Goodland Bible Church in Goodland, Kansas. Goodland is 17 miles across the Colorado -Kansas border, a little farm community. It’s a church of 60 to 70 people if everyone was there. Just a neat little church with some wonderful people there that love the Lord. We’re not a perfect church, but there’s just some dear people there that I love being able to serve with.

 

MT: And how long you’ve been pastoring there, Goodland?

TB: Coming up in June, it’ll be nine years. Excellent, yes. I accepted the call there in June of 2015 and moved there in July of 2015.

 

MT: We’ve got Tim here to just share a little bit about some of the events and the ways that some of our students go through the semester. Even this doctrinal defense, what is that? Is it like ordination? And it’s a neat opportunity. And so we’re going to ask some of those questions, but really what I wanted to bring Tim here to ask him some questions about how taking classes has supplemented pastoral ministry.

 

We’re going to get into that topic a little bit today on our podcast as we come here to think about how God is using His word and that deep study of it to supplement pastoral ministry. So first talking about the defense because that’s just what was happening today.

 

What was some of the preparation for that doctrinal defense?

 

How did you prepare the documents necessary for that? What was that process for you?

 

TB: Well, as a student, you go through the systematic classes, but what you do as a senior is there’s a Senior Seminar that Dr. Brett Williams leads, and each week you present a different area of systematic theology, and you talk through it, and then he sends it back to you with comments on it, and then after the semester, you put it all together, you make the changes that are necessary or that he recommends, and then you send it back to him.

 

And then he has a few more comments. And once that’s done, it’s given to the, to the professors and you show up to, for them to question you, but it’s, it’s actually a very, a longer process than just what I said, but it’s a very helpful process. Dr. Williams does a great job of engaging the seniors and helping them not necessarily trying to change what they think, but to sharpen it and, and help them to kind of formulate how they, how they, how they think in a way that’s, that’s clear and concise and able to be presented not just in a doctrinal statement but to the teachers as you defend the doctrinal statement.

 

MT: Going through the process as you just went through that today about two hours, maybe just some of your thoughts as you were going through and presenting that. I understand you’ve gone through ordination so you’ve pursued that process and then now with a doctrinal defense just fielding some of the questions. What was that similar to Sunday school? Teaching, pastoring?

 

TB: Yes, in some ways in that you get questions but the difference is in Sunday school, there are people looking to you for the answer that they don’t know. In this situation, they’re looking for the answer that they know and they want to hear your answer. And so it’s similar to ordination, but it’s a bit different because it’s with the teachers, the professors here, it really is a time of learning.

And what I found helpful is they started out and I was expecting to be grilled and just immediately out of the gate, just question after question, just rapid fire, kind of how ordination sometimes can be, but it was, they explained the first doctrine theology proper, gave a short concise statement of my statement, and first moment there was silence. But then instead of asking questions, they looked at something, well consider this, and consider this, and not that there wasn’t questions, but it was walking me through things, and if there was something that maybe I wasn’t a little clear on, they would actually ask me questions in a way that would help me to get to an answer and that they suspected I had.

And so that was very helpful because

it was Dr. Williams that said, it’s really a celebration. And being on this side, I go, yeah, it really is. It really is a time of joy. And looking back, I wouldn’t say this during it, but look back and go, that was fun because you’re talking theology with men that are godly, men that you respect, and men that know the Word very well.

 

MT: I want to get into the meat of our conversation today to talk about how that has equipped you or it was right along with the process of pastoring. So taking your classes, how has taking the classes at Central Seminary been helpful in your pastoral ministry because you’ve been doing both for these many years?

 

TB: Yeah. Well, it’s funny you asked that because I started at Central because I had gotten on at Goodland Bible and I was growing. And I was at the place in life where I realized I don’t have all the time in the world. Because when you’re 20 and 30, you’re going, OK, I got a lot of time. But then as you get closer to 40, you go, I need to speed up this process. And so I knew Dr. Pratt from Maranatha where I went to college. And I really respect him and connected with him at a convention and said, that’s where I want to be because they had a distance program. And it’s been very helpful because Central isn’t a seminary that is easy but it’s also a seminary that wants to help pastors and wants to help people in ministry. And so they will engage you and engage your mind and challenge you, but they also want you to be successful in ministry. For the church, for the gospel is truly a line that not just is on the slogan, but is what Central does. So it was very beneficial and kind of a broad scope in this side of it six years later that it just, it just, it prepared me in ways for ministry, for pastoring. And I can get into more of that as we get into that.  

 Central isn’t a seminary that is easy but it’s also a seminary that wants to help pastors and wants to help people in ministry.

MT:  Speaking, thinking of your church family, what are some of the benefits they’ve received of you being in seminary? I know that can be a balance and we’ll talk about that in a few moments, but what are some of the things that they get to take some of the classes alongside you, meaning you’re taking a class and then you get to maybe teach on that right away the next semester or next year?

TB: Yeah. Well, like part of it, again, big picture is a greater understanding. I’d taken Greek in college and then I didn’t use it and then I retook it here and incorporated that into my study. And then with Expository Preaching with Dr. Odens, he’s one of the best homileticians in the world if you were asking me. And so I feel like right now I’m at a place where I’m getting kind of all these things coming together where now when I preach I feel like I’m much more focused and even my wife will tell me that it wasn’t bad before but there’s the direction is better.

 And so I get as far as for my church, I think there is better clarity in the preaching because now I’ve got the proposition, I’ve got the main points that connect to the proposition, or that’s the goal in preaching. And whereas before I didn’t think about that as much, alliteration was important, but which it’s not that important. A good proposition and good main points are far better than alliteration. So that has been beneficial.

We could say that that there’s times where maybe I do a paper and then I can teach on that. In fact, there was a paper that Dr. Bowder asked the question of, is homosexuality ever allowable? And so I normally don’t teach Sunday School, but there was one week I did and I said, well, I can do a regular lesson or we can answer this question and I’ll let you guys vote. And they voted on that. So we had a good hour conversation because somebody could say, well, no, move on. Well, okay, we agree with that, but… Why? Because these are questions that, and I even said, your kids and your grandkids are being brought to their attention, because there are some people that are presenting ideas that are really capturing hearts and minds, and they’re going, okay, yeah, well, how do we respond? And I couldn’t have done that had I not been in… Well, I could have, but being here at Central made it a lot easier.

 

MT: Being a pastor, down in Kansas, what were some of the formats of classes that you took to complete your MDiv. Were you pretty much all online? Were you able to take in a week modular? How did you take the classes to finish your degree?

 

TB:  Through Zoom mostly. I was here one time for a modular in the fall of, spring of ‘19, excuse me. My goal was to be here on campus more, but life and family and kids happened. And so COVID. Well, COVID happened, but you got to take the classes. Yeah. The nice thing about Zoom is if you are in ministry, you can get a top-notch education and still be involved in your ministry. The bad thing about it is you don’t, once class ends and they click close on the Zoom room, you’re done. And so you don’t get that interaction, which is a part of seminary that is helpful, but not necessary.

 

MT: Speaking of that interaction, what are some of the ones, and just even talking with the professors, I would hear your name come up, especially my office right next to Dr. Pratt, so I’d hear your name up. What were some of the interactions that you were able to continue? I understand you had even Dr. Pratt down to your church. How were you able to get some of that interaction as a pastor?

 

TB: Well, one of the wonderful things is that I’m a firm, let’s say, believer in Central, but I very much appreciative of Central Seminary and the ministry here because you get teachers that are, like I said earlier, very knowledgeable. They’re godly people, but they invest in the students. And so as my teachers, they would interact with me. If I were to call them and have a question or want to talk through things, they are available for their students. They will stop what they’re doing if they’re able to engage with you. If they’re not, they’ll get back with you and they will.

 

They’re there for you in a way that I haven’t seen in any school that I’ve been a part of. And they treat you as one of them. And that’s really an incredible thing because these are people that I look up to, that I appreciate and have great respect for. They treat me as a friend.

 

MT: You spoke about the strength of the study, the rigor of that study. How did you balance that? You’ve got a personal life and anybody that would be looking or pursuing to take a class. You’re also a pastor too. How did you balance those parts of learning and pastoring and family? How did you learn in that balance?

 

TB: Well, with great difficulty and sometimes not too well. But it’s one of those things, whether you’re in seminary, there’s always the ebb and flow of life. And so what I would, how I would do that is some nights would stay up after the family would go to bed and do some reading. And so there were some nights that I didn’t get as much sleep. And then, how can I say, I compartmentalize where I have, okay, certain days I’m gonna work on this, and then this day I’m gonna work on this. And so, because a lot of times what it would be is there was one semester that had a lot of work. 

 I was in Greek exegesis and Hebrew exegesis at the same time. And that was pretty taxing, but I would, after class on Friday, then put away the seminary stuff. And then at that point, really focus on on church stuff. And but then throughout the week, you’re you’ve got church stuff that you’ve got to do. And then there’s also the you can only do what you can do. Yeah. And so even with seminary, there’s certain things I would like to pursue this further. I just can’t. And so I’ve got I’ve got to preach on Sunday. And that’s more important. And so, again, not too well. I didn’t do this too well, but I told my wife I’d rather succeed as a pastor than as a seminary student because I’m a pastor before I’m a seminary student, but the seminary student is to help me as a pastor. And so sometimes I probably should have put the seminary stuff away sooner, but one of the things that I like about being a seminary student is you can engage your mind that way. And ministry’s hard sometimes, and seminary allows you to kind of disengage. Maybe it’s wrong for me to say that, but it’s so you have to be careful that you don’t disengage what God has called you to do for something that is there to help you in your calling.

 

MT: If you were giving advice to a student sort of like yourself, maybe looking even back at yourself who’s going into a pastorate and saying hey, I don’t know if I can start this what if I’m gonna pursue it What advice would you give somebody? Pursuing a master’s degree a master’s divinity. What what would you tell them?

 

TB: I would tell them do it. But as you start maybe start slow. Kind of get your feet wet to where you start it and then you’ll see that you can do this and that if they were here at Central, they have people there to help them along the way. It’s not that somebody’s pushing you into the deep end and saying, well, we’re gonna see if you can sink or swim. It’s like they’re there with you, kind of walking with you to help you through this process. And so I’d say do it. And then I would say, get from it what you can and that take advantage of the opportunity because it is a wonderful opportunity.

 

MT: Do you remember any turning points in your seminary education where it started to maybe even take the next step or just defining moments through the time that you were taking the classes?

 

TB: Yeah, I think one of them was when I did the first year Greek and didn’t really necessarily incorporate that into my study, but then as you get into syntax, you’re now able to start incorporating it into your study and to where you’re looking at, okay, this is this part of speech, but how’s it functioning? And then you’re learning the diagram and different things like that that a lot of people are going, okay, I don’t want to do that, but when you’re studying the word of God to preach and you’re seeing how God’s word is, what the writer is saying and you’re able to get it and in starting to do that, was able to start to see how, OK, this is how this, this what the main point is, and here’s how he’s doing that.

 

And then so that to me was a turning point, because now I’m incorporating on a weekly basis what I’m learning here. And then with finishing up that and then taking the expository preaching where we’re now I’m getting how I can take this Greek that I’ve learned and now turn it into to a sermon. And that those were two kind of defining moments for me that I’m applying what I’ve learned on a weekly, daily basis.

And that was phenomenal because now I feel like I’m better able to proclaim the word.

 MT: Going back to your church, what are some things you’re excited about in the next year or two in your ministry? One, not having classes probably, but the opportunity to, hey, completing it. What are some things you’re looking for with just with your church family?

 

TB: I think an element that I’m looking forward to is having some more time freed up to engage in some things with the people that I wasn’t able to do. Because if you’re going to do this, you do have to block out times. You have to be more structured in your schedule. But I think there are some things I’m already thinking through of how can I engage the people in a way that I wasn’t necessarily able to while in classes. And just to whether it’s have them over to my house more or just some different ideas that I have of fellowship with the people because churches need that.

 

MT: What are some of the things that excite you about shepherding the congregation that you’re excited about? It’s our world can look at all of the news cycle. Everything is. We open our newspapers today. What are some things that excite you about pastoring?

 

 TB: To be able to walk with people and see when they make, I don’t want to say connections, but when the word of God at times comes alive, where, I don’t know, comes alive would be the right word, but where they have that moment where they just go, I get it. And you see the changes that they make or you’re able to walk with them and be with them.

 

And then also another thing that excites me is to be able to learn from them because we often here we’re at Central Seminary and there’s some really smart people here. But one of the things that’s refreshing about ministry, these are people that are just faithfully serving the Lord. And to be able to just do life with them and do ministry is a joy. And like my church, they want to do a workday at my house here in a couple of weeks. And it’s just to be able to love people and be loved by them in something deeper than sports, but something eternal is, there’s nothing better. Nothing better.

 

MT: Being down in Kansas, you mentioned just a few miles from the Colorado border. What does some of the fellowship that you look like with other pastors, how are you able to rub shoulders with other pastors that around? It’s a neat opportunity. I’ve heard you mentioned some of those ones that Dr. Pratt, you got to run into him. How do you pursue some of that fellowship out in Kansas?

 

TB: My church is part of what’s called the IFCA International. And so they have regional meetings. The difficulty for me right now is we’re several hundred miles away from any like-minded church, whether it’s the IFCA or a like-minded Baptist church, something along those lines. And so there is some difficulty. And I haven’t been able to go to the regionals like I used to because I have a younger family and then being in seminary. But when I can, I do that.

 

And there’s different pastors that text me on Sunday mornings telling me they’re praying for me and things like that. And then also one of the things that has been beneficial about being at Central is the engagement that Central really tries. They’ve had to rethink this with Zoom, with a lot of students not being on campus, but how can they engage the students though they’re not here on campus? And so I’ve had good fellowship with these, the teachers and I’m able to call them and talk through a problem or they’ll pray with me when I’m going through some hardships. And that’s been helpful.

 

So as far as in my local area, there’s other pastors that are believers, but there’s some doctrinal differences that are, the gaps are pretty big. I’m friends with them, but it’s different than somebody like you or people here at Central where I know that I’m aligned with them pretty much. I’m not gonna say 100 % very close in a lot of things.

 

MT: I want to ask you about just the preparation that God has put you through to bring you to the point of pastoring and what are some of the unique ways that God shaped your life to be a pastor? That if I went back to 12-year-old Tim and told him, hey, you’d be here in 2024 just finishing up a doctrinal defense, what would you have believed yourself?

 

TB: I would have not. Oh. The funny thing is when I was a kid I was very shy. And I tell people that and they go, I don’t believe this. Ask my mom. I was incredibly shy and kind of give you the history. When I got to high school I started wrestling and I loved it and did well with it. And then God has used wrestling in a lot of ways to direct my steps. It got me to Maranatha where I met you as a boy and we had lunch early.

 

MT: And tried to talk me into the wrestling team at my high school. I didn’t do it, no.

 

TB:  And then I moved to Colorado to do some wrestling and be involved there and I coached at a high school and went through some hard times and God had to humble me. Pride is something that unfortunately I still deal with. I tell my kids that you’ll be dealing with that till the day you die. Yeah, you don’t graduate from that. God had to break me and I was coaching at a high school and it was really God used coaching at the high school to kind of get me to a place where to recognize this is what God has for me. I’m called to serve him and engage and invest in people. And I was able to do that at the high school with the kids I coached, which ended up at a church in Colorado Springs. My pastor there was somebody I wanted to work under, Jeff Anderson, and got to work under him. And then it was a two-year position to get me to go to Goodland and then well, not that I thought I was going to go to Goodland, but the funny thing is, a year before I went to Goodland, he had mentioned Goodland Bible Church and I said, not going to Kansas. So here I am. Yeah. Yeah. And now you claim Kansas. I claim Kansas. I grew up in California. I don’t claim California. I claim Kansas.

 

MT: What are your thoughts on the future of theological education? You’ve seen a shift from both taking an undergrad, Maranatha like I did as well, and then having the opportunity to take some of these synchronous courses and doing that. What are some things you see about the future of theological education?

 

TB: Well, I’m excited and encouraged because of the open doors that people have. One of the exciting things about being a student here at Central is I’ve got classmates in Africa. And initially I thought, well, this is great that Central can be a blessing to these pastors in Africa. And it didn’t take me but a day or two to go, no, these guys are a blessing to us. This guy’s a blessing to me. And so there is the opportunity to learn from people in other continents and to see the ministry that God has given them and they are students of the Word. And I go, wow, I want to be a student like they are. So there’s encouragement that I have. It’s encouragement for me personally that I was able to do this. And then there’s down the road to continue here at Central and some of the other opportunities they have here. And so it’s, I’m excited for the future with this.

 

 And one of the exciting things is it’s just another avenue for the word of God to get out. I love one of my favorite verses is where Paul says the gospel cannot be changed. And one of the exciting things, one of the things I enjoy about Central is this is just one of the ways that the gospel is moving forward. I get to be a part of it at my church and through the ministry of Central.

 

MT: I got to step into the very end of your doctrinal defense, really, when they were congratulating you that, Tim, you passed. And we’re glad to say that. And as it was really sweet to hear you just share some of the impact that the professors had had on you, what are some of maybe those professors or those moments that they took that just had a deep impact in your life of just stepping into you and walking with you in ministry?

 

TB: Yeah, it’s just Dr. Pratt when I reconnected with him at the ISA convention, just first thing he says to me is, Dr. Pratt, he says, Tim, call me John. I said, yes, Dr. Pratt. And just the engagement as a friend, as a fellow believer and as a friend, as an equal was just as, well, it’s funny because at the convention, I reverted back to a 21-year-old kid because he was my college teacher where I’ve got to sit straight up. My wife’s sitting next to me. She’s cracking up. I’m not doing what I normally do. I’m sitting still. But it’s just the fact that he treated me as a friend, or there was a time where every class period they’ll start with prayer, and sometimes they’ll say any prayer requests.

 

And so I can give personal requests, I can give pastoral requests, and there was one time where in church history I just said, pray for me, there’s a situation. And after class I was able to call Dr. Shrader who taught the class and explain him a little more. He said, I’m meeting with the other teachers, and we will pray for you. And then in dealing with that there’s times where you get uneasy, and I was able to call him and he prayed with me. And so they are there for you to take your calls not just on hey, I got a question on this academic issue, but I’ve got this personal issue or I’ve got this pastoral issue and I just need some counsel. I need some help. And so each teacher here, even the adjunct professors, they will connect with you on a personal level and just engage you as a person, which is very important.

 

MT: It’s a sweet thing to see how students are able to come together. One of the things you guys have is a small group where you get to meet with a professor every so often. What are those like, just some of those small groups where you’re meeting with a professor, who is your maybe small group leader right now? And then what does that look like to get to be in that small group?

 

TB: My small group leader now is Dr. Bruffey. He’s the first-year Greek teacher, the librarian, and then the Registrar. And Dr. Bruffey is a unique and wonderful man. And so when we meet with him, we get there and he just says, I’ve got no agenda. Let’s just talk. And so you just get to talk. You can talk about ministry. And there’s times where it does get into academic. He goes, I’m trying to stay away from that, but you know, you take it where you want to.

 

And so you can and then kind of tell where you’re at in life and ministry and then just and I think he tries to connect individually with each student because I remember after one class we talked about connecting and after one meeting he just we just both stayed on and he visited with me for 20 -30 minutes. Excellent. And so that’s because I think each year I’ve been here, I’ve had different teachers that were my faculty and they would call me during the year just to check on me, just to pray with me. And that was very, that was nice. That’s nice. That’s good. Something that we love to ask in the podcast as we have our guests on is maybe a book that has been helpful to you. Recently, I know you’ve read a lot, so you’ve been studying, so you don’t have to pick a textbook. But Tim, has there been a book that has been a particular encouragement to you, maybe one you’re chewing on that you just want to share with our listeners? Maybe they haven’t picked up, maybe they know about it.

 

Yeah, one of the classes I’m finishing up this semester is personal evangelism and world missions. And there’s several books that Dr. Jeff Brown has us read. He’s an adjunct professor, is dealing with evangelism. And so there’s a couple books he had us read that had been helpful. One was Bill Fay “Share Jesus Without Fear.” And one of the things that was encouraging in that book that Bill Fay talked about is that the responsibility is to share the gospel. And we always worry about, well, will I say the right thing? Will I do it the right way? And he says the only wrong thing is not to share the gospel. Take those opportunities.

 

Another book in that class was Greg Koukl’s “Tactics.” And one of the things I appreciated about that is how he approaches it by asking questions. And that we’re actually, having done this evangelism, we are, in my church, doing evangelism now. In Sunday school, we’re actually going through Tactics by Koukl and then I’ve been I’m dealing with the Lord’s Prayer and we’re going to move into doing some messages on evangelism Which I added that to it because I thought well, this is I want to do this.

 

And then I also read recently was David and Norman Geisler’s “Conversational Evangelism” and so those were good books to read because they give you ideas on how to share the gospel and one of the things I think sometimes we get, we feel like we have to do the whole work in one setting. And one of the things they’ll talk about is it’s, you might just be able to, as Coco says, put a stone in their shoe. And if that’s what you do, that’s good because then the next person can come. And so it’s to do your part and to engage them. And it’s been fun to do that because I’ve been able to have opportunities to where I have been able to share the gospel and I’ve seen the challenge that I’ve had to overcome and sometimes I’ve failed but then because I failed here the next time I make sure and I actually was able to at the nursing home there was a man that said I thought I was a goner last night and I sat down and I said well I want to talk to you about something and I explained to him the gospel like hey I want to know that you know I want you to know that you’re going to be with the Lord when you die and I said I want this friendship to last a long time but and I explained to him the gospel about, hey, you’re a sinner and Jesus is the Savior. Put your faith in Him, believe in Him, trust in Him to forgive you. And he prayed and said, God, forgive me for the wicked things that I’ve done. So I said, well, amen. So I… And earlier that day, the plumber is at my house and he told me about a heart attack and I was able to talk a little bit about Jesus, but I didn’t share the gospel. And I went to the nursing home and I said, I’m not gonna fail here. I’m gonna get it done. And when that opportunity presented, I said, I’m not blowing it here. Having read those books, I was ready. I was ready to engage this man.

 

MT:  As we think of the works of God in our life, and I feel like we’ve been able to for half an hour just to testify of the works of God in your life. Anything else just that maybe within your personal, your family, that you just want to praise the Lord for working in a really sweet way, just as we close our time together that God’s active in your life. It’s evident to see, but just to testify of His work.

 

TB: Just His faithfulness. I sit here in a month; I will get to graduate. It’s been a six-year process. Just His faithfulness with me, even though there’s times I haven’t been as faithful as I should have been. I haven’t been as good of a pastor as I should have been, as a father, a student, but God has been faithful. And just one of the, there’s a couple things, other things.

 

One is the fellowship that I have with my church family. There are some dear people there that I love to do ministry with, that I love to serve with them. And then just my wife and my kids, they’re a blessing to me. And being able to know that tomorrow I get to go home and they’ll pick me up from the airport and I get to be reunited with them. And the next time I come, they get to be with me. And so it’s just that.

 

God’s faithfulness in my schooling, in my church, in my family, another is just His Word. It’s refreshing. Life can be exhausting. Whether you’re a pastor, a plumber, whatever you do, life can be hard. Life can be exhausting. And where do we go to find refreshment? You can take a vacation, great, but in a week you come back to work. But how can you be encouraged and challenged? Well, God’s given us His Word. And it’s to be able to open it up every week and study it and prepare sermons and then get up and proclaim it, it is a joy. There’s nothing else I’d rather do. So it’s a blessing.

 

MT: Thank you, Tim, so much for being on the podcast, just sharing what it was like to be a student but also be a pastor. Look forward to seeing you walk across the stage, get the cap and gown. It’ll be a neat opportunity just to see how God has been working and I’m certain that your family, your congregation is cheering along with you, but thank you for being on the podcast with us.

 

TB: Thank you and I look forward to you being able to watch me walk across the stage. Thank you for this time and again thank you Central Seminary. Continue to my prayers that Central continues to grow and it is second to none in my opinion. And I would encourage anybody who is thinking of seminary, look at Central, you won’t find a better school.

 

It’s hard work, but when you get to this point, it’s worth it. It truly is.

 

MT: Well, thank you for listening today to this episode of the Central Seminary Podcast. If you’d like to know more about Central Seminary, maybe taking a class while you’re in ministry, we would love to connect you with that. You can visit our website, and we would love to further you and strengthen you for the church, for the gospel. Thank you. 

 

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