The Unforgettable "Graduating Preaching"
The addition of this year’s “Graduating Preaching” brought an unforgettable experience to the graduating class. This group of students had an unprecedented opportunity never dreamed of by the former students, the opportunity of standing before the pulpit on stage to preach a sermon before all the teachers, students and staff of the Seminary in the morning chapel hour.
As our graduates are ministers-to-be and apprentices getting ready to take up their ministries, the Seminary finds it necessary to give them a preaching opportunity and an exercise to give them encouragement and inspiration and let them not forget the exhortations of their alma mater: the ministry of preaching is extremely important for a minister.
After more than a year’s discussion and incubation, the Seminary began arranging for the graduating classes of the Master of Divinity Program and the Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Studies Program to preach on stage beginning in the second semester this academic year. At the present stage, the graduating students can participate in graduating preaching on a voluntary basis. After this interim period of two to three years, all full time graduating students will be required to jump over the big hurdle by participating in the graduating preaching. In face of this new opportunity and challenge, many graduating students felt some hesitation but gradually more and more students decided to join. We can say the campus was filled with an atmosphere of anxiety and anticipation.
Although this preaching exercise will not be formally graded, and our students have already had preaching opportunities in two courses, “Introduction to Preaching” and “Preaching Practicum,” it is still natural for them to feel cautious and even tremble with fear to preach a sermon message before the pulpit during the morning chapel hour. To give them some impetus, there will be two teachers available to each student as their “gate-keepers” to closely monitor his or her sermon message to ensure that it is hermeneutically and theological correct. After preaching, a teacher will go on stage, leading the congregation to pray fervently for the student preacher, entrusting him or her altogether to the Lord.
Seeing each of our graduating students standing alone before the pulpit, the congregation’s response was one of excitement and thanksgiving. Each student preacher tried their best to preach the word of God, and the entire seminary community offered them full support. Every time after the graduating preaching came to a close, all those present would approach the speaker with one accord to cheer this minister-to-be on and to express their gratitude for the sermon message. This spontaneous response of hearty hand-shaking and warm hugging from everyone present continued from the first graduating preaching service to the last one. The photo collection from the series of graduating preaching captured the moments of joy when senior students surmounted all obstacles, energized by the expectation of soon graduating from seminary.
Over 60% of our graduating students joined the graduating preaching this year while the figure is estimated to rise to over 80% next year. From this, we can see how our students recognize the importance of the preaching ministry and also how their self-confidence continues to increase. We thank God for the wonderful beginning of this year’s graduating preaching, never forgetting that it is the result of God’s abundant grace. The Seminary must continue to work with God each day to nurture and build each of our students and graduates so that they can be faithful to God’s call. With God’s help, they can do their best to shoulder the ministry of preaching to feed their flock and draw new sheep inside the sheepfold.
