I'm a seminarian.

I'm a seminarian.

I'm currently working on a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Bethel Seminary. This program will provide me with the necessary training to pursue licensure in the state of Minnesota as a marriage and family therapist. There is a handful of programs in the area that would prepare me in this way, but the Bethel program is different. It's housed in a seminary, so in addition to taking necessary marriage and family therapy classes, I've completed a core set of courses that includes church history, hermeneutics, new testament, old testament, theology, and spiritual and personal formation. Everyone, regardless of the degree program, takes these core classes. This program is truly exceptional.

Lately I've felt the need to remind myself how significant it is that I, as a woman, am in seminary. Because my long-term vocational goal will not likely have me working in a church or otherwise explicitly Christian organization, some people seem to think it's "okay" for me to be in seminary. To many complementarians who don't endorse women in ministry leadership roles, because I'm not working toward pastoral ministry, it's permissible for me to receive graduate level training in biblical and theological foundations. On the other hand, some egalitarians haven't validated by presence in seminary for the very same reason. Because I'm not pursuing a position in a pulpit, I'm not seen as helping to encourage efforts toward gender equality in the church and home. Some of those conversations have gone like this:

Me: I'm in seminary.
Other: Oh, that's great! We need more women in seminary. Are you working toward an M.Div.?
Me: No, I'm in the marriage and family therapy program.
Other: Oh.... (hear and see disappointment)

I've actually received comments about how I'm probably not as familiar or interested in biblical and theological exposition because I'm a marriage and family therapy student. I know that some of my male peers have been told similar things. And yes, admittedly, there are some marriage and family therapy students (both men and women) who would say this is absolutely true of them. But why must my being a marriage and family therapy student somehow classify me as a second-class seminarian? I happen to love studying the biblical text and theological concepts. I did in my undergraduate training, and now I'm doing it in seminary.

I love this place. I'm grateful for the opportunity to study here. But I'm frustrated that by both camps my experience has been invalidated. I'm a woman. And I'm in seminary. I think that's pretty significant, no matter where my vocational trajectory will take me.