Seminary graduation: Reflections and photos

Today was our annual graduation ceremony at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia. Ten students graduated from our 4.5 year undergraduate program in theology and seven students from the online one-year specialization in Ethics and Christian Thought. Seven of the ten students from the undergraduate program were in my first course I taught here, Religious Systems.

Graduates of the undergraduate theology program. Faculty and administrators in back.

If there was one theme that summed up for me the message that was communicated at this year's graduation it was the following: being a theologian (as they call seminary graduates here, even if they go on to do pastoral work) is first and foremost about being a person of wisdom and character. I saw this theme come out in at least three key ways:

First, one of the songs that I sang as part of a vocal quartet, which was based on 1 Corinthians 13, said that if one speaks words on the part of God, knows the depths of every mystery, has a faith to move mountains, and even gives all he has including his life, but lacks love, it's not worth anything and one isn't truly serving anyone.

Second, our seminary president, Elizabeth Sendek, gave a very powerful message from James 3 about the responsibility to exercise one's teaching ministry in a way that takes responsibility for sound doctrine but also for using our words to truly build up rather than tear down the body of Christ. To be honest I never had given much thought to the way that what James says on taming the tongue applies to the attitude that one has as a teacher within the body of Christ, but it is true that it is so easy to destroy other Christians with my words when I am entrusted with a teaching role.

Another interesting point she made was that 85% of church leaders in the majority world (that is, most of Latin America, Africa, and Asia) have no formal theological formation to speak of. So, the point of the warning James makes is not to restrict teachers because there are an overabundance, but to be realistic that it is incredibly easy to use one's position of leadership to pursue a worldly vision of wisdom instead of the wisdom that comes from God and that expresses itself in transformed relationships (James 3:13-18).

Falco, one of the graduates, giving a speech reflecting on his experiences as a student.

Finally, it impacted me to hear students read together as part of the ceremony their "Commitment of the graduate of the Biblical Seminary of Colombia." Each graduate commits to the following as part of their graduation ceremony:

"As a graduate of the University Foundation Biblical Seminary of Colombia I have a unique call and responsibility, that I express today before God and those who attend this ceremony as witnesses:

• I commit myself to submit all the acts of my life, public and private, to these highest norms given by the Lord: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength... and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
• I commit to protect my Christian testimony as a treasure, in such a way that I honor God in my personal, family, and ministerial life every day.
• I commit to work as a servant of God and of his people, without lording it over the people of God, in whichever Christian ministry God calls me to.
• I commit to seek the peace and wellbeing of the society where God leads me to serve, whether in my country or in other lands.
• I commit to pray for the ministry of the University Foundation Biblical Seminary of Colombia, to stay in contact with my alma mater, and to contribute to the development of its ministry.

I assume this commitment freely. I ask God to grant me the humility to live in joyful submission to his will, renouncing the flesh, the world, and the evil one; that God strengthen me and make me wise to serve his people and in his world as an instrument of his love, for the blessing of his people and his world and the glory of his name."

Graduates of the undergraduate program reading the commitment mentioned above. 

Overall, the ceremony was very meaningful. I thought it showed well that while we are an institution which strives for educational excellence, the core heartbeat of who we are is training leaders who will sacrifice for and serve the church as an expression of their love for God and his people. Whether that ever factors into the government's measurements in their national rankings of universities is a lot less important than responding to our most foundation calling as an institution - to serve God and serve the church. For me that was a good reminder of why I am so blessed to be able to teach here.

With Julián, a former student who was graduating (and who appeared in the video update I made at the end of 2014).

Graduates of the specialization in Ethics and Christian Thought; faculty and administrators in back. This program is designed for people who work in the secular world and are looking to integrate theological formation with the exercise of their vocation. I haven't taught any courses in this program.