10 Things I Hate About Being a Ministry Major

Having been known as a student pursuing ministry for over a year now, I have had time to form my own opinions about what I am going through in college, which tends to differ quite a bit from what most of my cohorts are familiar with. Whenever I am asked about school and how I'm surviving it, I instinctively respond with the positives of my program. However, I want to shed light on what most may never hear from someone studying ministry. Here, I present to whoever is reading this, 10 things I hate about studying ministry.

1. I hate how every class I have involves writing papers. Don't get me wrong, I love to write. However, when a topic comes up where I have little to no clue as to how I might comprise a 15 pager on it, life becomes very unsettling. These are the situations where I almost wish I had algebraic equations to solve, again. Emphasis on the almost.

2. I hate how my theology never seems consistent anymore. I thought I knew what it meant to be a Christian when I walked into college. Little did I know, stances on pre-tribulation and post-tribulation would haunt me, and my mind would become mushy over the idea of evolutionary creationism. However, Jesus loves me this I know . . . at the very least.

3. I hate how I am sinking tons of money into something that will make very little money. I feel like I have officially earned myself a place in the mental ward. This is not logical to anyone outside of ministry, nor is it very logical to me, someone who is pursuing it. "Honey, why would you do this to yourself?" Uh . . . Jesus? He's the answer right?

4. I (sometimes) hate how all of my classes seem to melt together. This is extremely frustrating when I do not understand a particular area or topic very well. Seriously, the definitions for philosophy, epistemology, eschatology, and other big people words have probably been given to me 20 times in the last year, and I forget them every single time without fail. However, when I do get what's going on, I can see how God's Word and grand design comes together perfectly, and there is something truly beautiful about that that I cannot fully explain.

5. I hate how I hear a sermon and automatically think about how I would present that topic, or if I could. It is typical for me to hear what topic we will be discussing and run through the various Bible stories that could potentially relate to it. Obviously, this can be an issue when my focus is more on my own teaching methods than worshiping God, which is what I know He would much rather me be doing. It is a form of distraction that, unfortunately, can easily seep in through the little cracks of my biblical studies.

6. I hate how I have learned more about Scripture than most people will in their entire lives, but I am still looked down upon, because I am young. This has something I have become accustomed to as I grew up. I simply came to accept that I am too young for many opportunities and positions. I still tend to think this way, and it seems as though many who are older than I do as well. Yet, I cannot help but feel that it is time for me to step up beyond basic "adulting" especially since I am engaging in active ministry. This is something I am looking to overcome, but it is no easy task, as I am sure many before me have come to realize.

7. I hate how I have to fight the urge to correct people every time I see Philippians 4:13 (or any verse) taken out of context. Okay, friends, can we all slow down for just a moment to look at this a tiny bit more? The apostle Paul was enduring all things through Christ who strengthened him. He had learned to live in contentment despite having plenty or very little in his possession, and he was able to persevere through extreme conditions by the grace of God. This had absolutely nothing to do with Paul morphing into Superman as he sprinted onto the football field. Please, read the rest of the passage.

8. I hate how reading my textbooks makes me feel like I have fulfilled my devotions for the day. I am in constant training for learning how to pray, how to read the Bible, how to teach the Bible, and how all of it relates to my personal life. The fact that this is my homework leaves me feeling as if I have spent hours with God already, when in reality, I have not been talking to Him much if at all. It becomes even harder when my homework consists of actually reading Scripture for classes such as Old or New Testament History. If I do not pay close attention to this, it can be very detrimental to not only my spiritual life but also my relationships with others, as I came to realize throughout the course of my freshman year.

9. I hate how, "This does not apply to my life," is no longer something I am allowed say. Everything that I am retaining in class points back to Jesus Christ in one way or another. I am pretty sure that if I tried to pass off any lesson as "irrelevant" now, He would probably remind me of how He died on the cross for all of my sins and then ask me if that, too, is irrelevant. I do not think that would bode well.

10. I hate most of all how, despite all of my griping and complaining, I love what I am doing more than words can express. I have always complained about school work. The problem now is that I am very passionate about everything that I am learning, even the stuff that seems like I may never return to it, so that leaves me hardly any room for my typical whining. Honestly, though, this is one of the best problems one could have. At the end of the day, learning more about Jesus is the best decision I have ever made, and I would never take any of it back. He is the reason that I have been rescued time and again, and I owe my life to Him, even in efforts pertaining to my studies.

I hope that even after reading this, you understand that the positives I normally discuss in person are not lies or reiterations of what others would tell you. I sincerely enjoy what I am doing. I know that God has called me into deeper relationship with Him, and this is where I am beginning to do the deepest digging for planting my spiritual roots, eventually producing fruit to create more disciples. I am very frustrated with the things I have previously discussed, but they will never come close to outweighing the joy I find in growing closer to my Father.

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