We studied with great intensity, listening to lectures, viewing videos, and even watching live demonstrations. But there was the inevitable time in forestry school where my classmates and I had to climb a tree and take off the top 10 feet. Perched 40 feet above ground with my spurs dug into the tree, the razor-sharp chainsaw blade spewing sawdust and chunks of wood, I thought how crazy this was—and how exciting as well!

At some point in the learning process, we all must do something new for the first time. So it is at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS). There is much to learn when one is called to the pastorate, though it is not all found in books or the classroom. How does what you learn in seminary work out in the life of a congregation, corporately and individually?

For 210 years, this area has been one of the unique strengths of RPTS. Many seminaries offer the same course of study in theology, Bible, church history, preaching, spiritual growth, and evangelism. Reformed Presbyterians take a different track than many, merging rigorous classroom training with hands-on, practical experience.

Think about it. Would you rather have heart bypass surgery conducted by someone who has read 50 books on the topic, investing hundreds of hours of study, or would you seek the services of the doctor who has performed hundreds of surgeries after careful study and preparation? Since the earliest days of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), men have prepared for ministry at RPTS under the supervision of a pastor who also serves as a professor. Today, RPTS’s full-time professors are currently or have been pastors, which enables them to show students the practical outworking of the subjects studied in the life of the church.

One student noted, “There is little doubt that the pastoral approach RPTS takes is its greatest asset. All the classes that I have taken are strongly geared toward preparing a student for pastoral ministry.” Another student said that “I have grown so much in my spiritual life during my time at RPTS. This has been fueled by the desire of the professor to stress the value of not only theological knowledge, but the necessity to live a holy life in the sight of God and man.”

It is in the “laboratory” of the real world that deeply theological studies in the classroom become immensely practical.

Preaching

As the proclamation of the Word of God is the culmination of our worship every Lord’s Day, preaching is the hinge pin of a seminarian’s training. One of the great joys of the RPTS community is watching young men progress from their first preaching assignment. The change that the Lord facilitates is stunning as those who clung tightly to the pulpit for support that first time become confident expositors of God’s Word.

RPTS students preach at least seven times in chapel and are required to preach in other settings as well. Structured in a very systematic way, first-year students carefully work on the sermon preparation process under the close instruction of Dr. Barry York. Subsequent courses focus on preaching from various sections of Scripture, such as the Gospels and the Psalms, as well as the narrative and prophetic books.

A unique option is a segment on street- or open-air preaching, where groups of men head to Pittsburgh’s university neighborhoods to winsomely proclaim the promise of salvation found in God’s Word.

Apologetics and Evangelism

Two of the more anxiety-­inducing courses are Evangelism and Apologetics, mainly because they are areas where students sometimes have less experience. Evangelism students study key aspects of the topic while learning the importance of listening and responding with God’s holy and inerrant Word. President emeritus Dr. Jerry O’Neill has taught this course for several decades—an unusual activity for seminary presidents—and has hit the streets with hundreds of RPTS students, personally demonstrating the sharing of our hope of salvation from sin. Taking a pair of students at a time, Dr. O’Neill heads into the neighborhoods around RPTS knocking on doors or meeting with people in the street.

These students then go out together on their own to replicate what they have seen demonstrated, inviting people to attend an Andrew Dinner (see John 1:40–42). The goal behind the dinner is to bring someone into relationship with Jesus, just as Andrew did with Peter. At the dinner, which is prepared by the members of the class, an RPTS faculty member shares an evangelistic message. Evangelism students also take an unbeliever through a multi-week study of the Gospel of John.

Complementing the Evangelism class, the Apologetics class instructs students in the history of the topic and the various approaches to the defense of the gospel, culminating in a face-to-face apologetic encounter with someone in the community.

Biblical Counseling

The Biblical Counseling program at RPTS is perhaps where practical training is most pronounced. If one thinks of a teaching hospital full of practitioners who are learning, this would be an apt picture of the counseling courses. Professor Keith Evans blends classroom theory with real experience through a series of classes that involve real people with real-life struggles. In addition to 90 hours of classroom theory, students have the option to take a further 90 hours of hands-on instruction.

Observation is the first opportunity, where students sit in on live counseling sessions. Role play has the student counseling the professor. Finally, supervised counseling matches students with real people under the direct supervision of Professor Evans. Students who take advantage of these opportunities are well prepared for the challenges of congregational ministry, becoming equipped to deal with substance abuse, pornography, infidelity, anxiety, depression, anger, and a host of other challenges sometimes found in the church today.

Languages

Greek and Hebrew classes include large amounts of practice and recitation, with professors focusing on the pastoral use of languages. Greek students study the book of 1 John and can translate the entire book by the end of the year in preparation for their first preaching class, which is also based on 1 John. This process aids students in learning how to appropriately use original languages in the preaching process.

Internships

Master of Divinity students must complete at least one internship in a church context during their time at RPTS. Working with pastors and church leadership, students get to briefly experience the flow of a pastor’s life, introducing them to both the predictable and unpredictable nature of pastoral ministry. George Gregory (MDiv 2012), pastor at College Hill (Beaver Falls, Pa.) RPC, had a very unusual internship in Iowa. As he was preparing for the internship, the pastor under whom George was to serve suddenly was called to his heavenly reward. Those in the Iowa congregation still wanted the Gregory family to come for the summer, so then-professor Dr. Dennis Prutow worked weekly with George on his sermons throughout the summer.

Church History, Biblical Studies, and Systematic Theology

A clear lesson from church history is that false teaching and error tends to cycle through the church as a new generation of theologians “discover” something theologically revolutionary. Dr. David Whitla leads students through a robust study of the Christian faith, equipping them to recognize error that can creep into the life of the congregation.

In biblical studies and systematic theology, there are many practical outworkings of the lamentable cycle of false teaching. I remember a class on the nature of the church where Dr. Richard Gamble soberly shared how, as pastors, one might admit into membership a person who is a wolf disguised in sheep’s clothing. That wolf could very well bring about great pain to the church and even a pastor’s family. Dr. C.J. Williams regularly shares with his students how the lessons of the Old Testament play out in the lives of the church today.

Practicums

There are several areas where students gain valuable experience outside of the classroom. One of those takes place at the Reformed Presbyterian Home on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Bill Weir, retired CFO of the RP Home, connects students with residents for visits, which often are a great encouragement for both student and resident. Mr. Weir helps the students understand the needs of seniors and how best to minister to senior saints. Students regularly report that they receive far more than they give during their visits. Several retired RP ministers at the RP Home also have the opportunity to mentor and work with seminarians during this time.

Dr. York offers another practicum in which a smaller group of students meet with him for mentorship and accountability as they work their way through seminary life. Recently this group, as an act of service, prepared breakfast for the RPTS community.

A local drug and alcohol rehab center provides opportunities for students to lead Bible studies and preaching at chapel services. The center’s staff, three of whom are RPTS alumni, bring vanloads of participants to the Andrew Dinner mentioned above.

A new class, the Dynamics of Teaching taught by Dr. Whitla, provides instruction on leading Bible studies and Sabbath school classes. Dr. Calvin Troup, president of Geneva College, teaches the Dynamics of Public Speaking course, which is often audited by pastors from around the RPCNA. Both classes are highly engaging, providing opportunity to put into practice what is being learned.

In Conclusion

What does the blending of academics with pastoral and practical mentoring produce? David Dively (MDiv 1979), in a conversation with one of RPTS’s current students, reflected that having pastors as teachers led him to be a pastor with a heart for the people in the pews. This, however, did not lead him to water down his teaching, nor did he modify the Word of God, especially the Lord’s provision of salvation for totally depraved sinners such as himself. These lessons have served Rev. Dively well in 43 years of ministry in the PCA.

Seminarians will rightly tell you that seminary can be an artificial world where students often have weeks to prepare what a pastor in pulpit ministry will have only days to accomplish. Shoulder-to-shoulder training helps bridge the gap between the academy and the world in which the rest of us reside. At RPTS, students “Study Under Pastors,” all to the glory of God.

Mark Sampson | Chief administrative officer and director of institutional advancement