On the Value of a Seminary Education
I recently enjoyed John Piper’s latest contribution to Christian biography at January’s Desiring God Conference. 
Piper walked us through the life of Robert Murray McCheyne, an evangelical Scottish pastor/evangelist, whose “untimely” death of tuberculosis at 29 cut off a very promising life of service for Christ. God gives some men many years and some men only a few. In the midst of telling McCheyne’s compelling, yet humanly tragic story, Piper stops to reflect on the tension between having an overwhelming burden to reach the lost, the brevity of life, and the need for adequate education. The comments are worth a careful listen by all who are preparing for the Lord’s work or thinking of the same. The remarks may be found starting at 36:48 and run to 41:15 here.
Afterthought: Had McCheyne been a seminary professor, he doubtless would have said, “The greatest need of my students is my personal holiness.” Oh God, make this my great quest.
