Although seminary is a challenging experience in and of itself, something more formidable (at least in terms of stress) awaits most students.  The dreaded ordination exam.

This is the time when a candidate stands up in front of the presbytery (perhaps with 50 -75 elders in attendance) and is publicly examined, probed, prodded, and picked at for several hours on a variety of topics ranging from church history to sacraments to eschatology to the famed Book of Church Order.

And from candidate’s perspective, it is easy to feel like you are looking into the eyes of a hungry cat.  And you are the mouse.

So, needless to say, I have often been asked about whether I have any pieces of advice for students entering into this process.  Although this is by no means exhaustive, here are a few thoughts that I hope are helpful: [Read more…]