The writer of Hebrews charges, “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus.”

Connecting seminary training with a focused life of ministry can be challenging. Part of ministry involves working with divine ideals, and the other part requires connecting with people and systems. How do you keep your stamina to be able to minister with deep devotion and perseverance when the path gets steep? I found I gain perspective through running.

After graduation from seminary, I assumed a solo pastorate, and its responsibilities included serving as youth director. Youth ministry was particularly refreshing to me after the sometimes-dusty research of academia.

During a youth outing, Peter, a high school senior, challenged me to get in better shape, and offered to help. The next Monday morning he was at my doorstep, ready for me to run with him. That day, I couldn’t run around the block.

The new semester has begun, and, no doubt you had to come up with a large chunk of change to foot the seminary bill. For many seminarians, that meant going into debt a little bit further. You may feel conflicted about the credit balances increasing and the interest accruing and whether this is God’s will. Recently, Howard Dayton, cofounder and CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, the world’s largest financial ministry, as well as author of Free and Clear, spoke with Ministry Mentor about the spiritual implications of debt and how to deal with it--before, during, and after seminary.

Is going into debt to pay for seminary wrong?
Howard Dayton: Scripture discourages debt, but it doesn’t say it’s sinful. Proverbs 22:7 captures God’s heart when it comes to debt: “The borrower is servant to the lender.” God does not want us to be servant to the lender.

Most graduates from seminary have approximately $39,000 in school debt. That’s a huge burden to carry, and that often restricts the options seminarians can take after seminary. A lot of mission organizations won’t take someone if they have debt.

How can seminarians keep from becoming hamstrung by debt?
First, it’s very important that seminarians are honest and preserve good credit. One thing seminarians often don’t realize is that by failing to make payments on their bills on time each and every month, they damage their credit scores. And more and more, churches and organizations are looking at credit scores before they hire.

Second, seminarians should do whatever they can do to minimize their debt. This can be done by using a budget and spending their money carefully. Increasing their income, either through extra work or acquiring grants and scholarships, also can help decrease debt. The web site scholarshipcoach.com highlights scholarships and grants that are available.

Third, and perhaps hardest to do, is let your local church know about your need. Because attending seminary is preparation for ministry, seminarians should let their financial needs be known to their church family and friends who may be able to help.

When they finally leave seminary, what kind of plan do they need to have in place to pay down that debt?
The best thing they can do is to learn God’s way of handling money (through a program like those offered by Crown Financial Ministries) so that both they and their spouse are on the same page financially. And again, it’s a matter of doing everything possible to avoid overspending so they can eradicate as much of the debt as quickly as possible.

Then I would explore ways to increase their income a little. Maybe they or their spouse can get a part-time job. If they have children, it could be something that they do from the house. Basically, they need to reduce spending, increase income, and create as much surplus as possible to apply towards debt eradication.

What would you say to a seminarian who isn’t concerned about their debt because of the mentality “God called me to ministry; he’ll provide.”
I’ve heard it said, “God does provide, but he much prefers to do so ahead of time.” That is my view. Larry Burkett started Crown, and I came on with the merger. We’ve never had any debt--God has always provided. I believe he’ll do the same for seminarians if they really pray and ask the Lord for his direction and to open doors--but also don’t neglect to do the things I mentioned before. Sometimes it’s smart to go to school one year and work one year, anything to keep the debt as manageable as possible.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t stopped to smell the roses lately. I am a 50-year-old husband and father of five. I work 40 hours a week as the director of ministries at a local church in Vero Beach, Florida, and this past semester I took 14 credit hours at Asbury Theological Seminary. I must confess: I’m too busy.

I manage by compartmentalizing my time; I allocate certain blocks of time to specific tasks and do not deviate unless a true emergency arises. I thought I had it all under control--I thought I owned my schedule--but found out on November 25, 2006, with an IV pumping in my arm, that my schedule owned me. Eight days in bed, run-down and struck with the stomach virus from Sheol, I had a lot of time to think.

Then the epiphany: this guy who loves his family, loves his friends, loves those in his congregation and just generally loves people, had all but isolated himself from them because he was focused on getting his tasks done and getting them done quickly. I was present--but not belonging.

Short of a few lunches with a good friend, I also wasn’t involved with my seminary community. I had isolated myself from colleagues at work, and, most strikingly, I had become distant from my family and long time friends back in NJ. I was compartmentalizing and scheduling everything to the point where I was isolated and alone.

I learned the hard way that over-scheduling and pushing yourself beyond what is realistically possible leads not only to a breakdown of relationships but also to the collapse of your spirit. Thankfully, it was only the stomach flu that got my attention.