Practical Glory & Pastoral Residency

Practical Glory & Pastoral Residency

Let's be honest - ministry preparation without a residency is like trying to learn driving from a book. Theoretically sound, practically useless.

A good pastoral residency lets you make your mistakes somewhere they won't follow you for the next decade. You'll deliver sermons that miss the mark entirely. You'll say completely the wrong thing to someone in hospital. You'll suggest a "brilliant" new church program that makes the treasurer physically wince.

And all of this is absolutely necessary.

Because in ministry, the gap between knowing and doing is roughly the size of the Grand Canyon. Your theological education gives you the map, but a residency hands you the keys and says, "Go on then, let's see what you can do."

The most valuable learning comes when you've made a proper mess of things and your mentor helps you sort it out. Those conversations - often beginning with "Well, that was interesting..." - shape not just your skills but your character.

To seminary graduates wondering what's next: find somewhere that will let you fail safely today, so your future congregation benefits from someone who knows how to recover when things go wrong. Because they will. Spectacularly.

After all, ministry isn't about perfection - it's about perseverance.