A charge to graduates: A message to one as a modern pastoral epistle to all
Author's Note: Though this pastoral letter was recently written for one individual who is graduating with a Doctor of Ministry degree from Erskine Theological Seminary, this deeply personal message has universal application. Here, then, is a modern pastoral epistle on the significant opportunities and spiritual challenges for all graduates from the heart of a Christian shepherd.
My Dear Friend,
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord (2 Timothy 1:2 ESV). The purpose of my little epistle is to congratulate you and to encourage you in Christ on the occasion of receiving your doctoral degree.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Your life reveals one whose ambitions and impulses are under the control of the Holy Spirit. Such a life is a beacon of light, albeit the reflected brilliance of a Greater Being who is the “light of the world.” So, I begin by thanking you, not for what you have done, or will do, but because of who you are in Jesus, our Lord.
Congratulations again on your remarkable achievement. And just how extraordinary is this happy event? We must consider that while earned doctorates (professional or academic) are more frequent in the clergy, and higher education sectors, only 4.5% of Americans receive a doctoral degree (U.S. Census Bureau report, 2019).[1] Women make up considerably less than 4%. The achievement places those select few doctoral recipients in a rarified height, indeed. Now, think of the obstacles that you overcame by God’s help to come to this place.
You are the pride of your Seminary. However, I think you are much more. I believe that your achievement justifies calling you the “an American success story” – and this I say without the slightest hint of hyperbole.
Earning a doctorate is a presenting event that has, of necessity, many unseen virtues beneath and beyond the degree: diligence, perseverance, and everyday old hard work. For these gifts and graces, we give thanks. Of course, as in everything, there is the entropy of sin in a fallen world. For some who are careless in their dependence upon Christ, proleptic and unseemly powers that are at work in the world will seize upon the weakened spiritual immunity, infecting the virtues that led to the degree. These foul earthly forces which can eat away at virtues, leaving only morsels of memory. But if they are allowed to remain, the infestation will produce a nest of potential virtue killers. From this dynamic of decay will grow mutations: self-centeredness, austerity, aloofness, ingratitude, and that most hideous and vile bacteria, pride. At length, the disease creates a brittle, doctrinaire disciple that no longer resembles the Lord of love who called them, and who is, almost universally, avoided for their contemptuous opinion of all but themselves.
May I exercise my pastoral credentials for this auspicious occasion? Indeed, if I were permitted to speak a word of ministerial encouragement, a word that might enrich the virtues, and strengthen your spiritual resiliency, I would I say to you,
“My beloved friend, you will be wise and faithful to use your newly-earned credentials as a ‘license to learn,’ and a ‘certificate to serve God and Man.’ As a license to learn, you have honed research and writing skills that can be used to tackle the great questions that are forever concerning to the Body of Christ: ethical questions about, e.g., the extent and limits of technology in the service of the Great Commission; the possibility of relating the many variables about how Faith matures; organizational pathologies that plague the practice of ministry, and inhibit world evangelization; and spiritual cancers of the human soul. Therefore, 'Do theology' in the service of the Church, from the most humble act of theological reflection to mammoth scholarly projects that will require the span of life’s years to investigate. As a certificate in service to God and Man, I speak of the object of your study and teaching. Let your doctoral degree be the towel that you use to wash the feet of others whose journey has left them weak.
In short, the words of our blessed Lord must be inscribed on the standard that is forever unfurled before us: 'For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more (Luke 12:48 K.J.V.).'
Please know that our well-placed pride is not greater than our earnest and fervent prayers. In the hardest days, remember how God brought you thus far. In days of success – and I ask God to grant you many – remember that all good things come from Him and be grateful. For ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change’ (James 1:17 ESV).”
I am deeply honored to be your colleague in the Gospel of God’s grace, and I pray that many souls will be saved, many lives transformed, and a multitude of souls safe in the arms of Jesus when He comes again, as a result of your life’s response to His unsearchable grace ( 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). Commending you to Christ and the Word of His grace, I am
Yours Faithfully,
M.A.M.
[1]US Census Bureau (2019). Number of People With Master’s and Doctoral Degrees Doubles Since 2000. The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 5, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/02/number-of-people-with-masters-and-phd-degrees-double-since-2000.html
Michael A. Milton, PhD (University of Wales) is a Presbyterian minister (PCA, ARP), an educator, author of more than thirty books, with numerous popular and peer-reviewed journal articles, and a Chaplain (Colonel) US Army retired. Dr. Milton holds advanced degrees from Wales (PhD), Knox Seminary (MDiv), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MPA). He earned a post-doctoral certification in higher education teaching from Harvard University. Dr. Milton serves as Provost and a professor at Erskine Theological Seminary. He is also the president of the D. James Kennedy Institute of Reformed Leadership. He and his wife, Mae, reside in North Carolina.
