Biblio-Blogger of the Week – Mark Warnock

Many of you may not immediately recognize Mark’s name, but I’m willing to bet many of you are familiar with his great site:  www.seminarysurvivalguide.com.  Be sure to pay Mark’s site a visit and add it to your feed reader.  Mark offers a lot of practical advice for current and aspiring seminarians.  Mark, thanks again for your willingness to be the latest Biblio-Blogger of the week!

What is the name & URL of your blog?  Why’d you choose that?

I was prodded to start Seminary Survival Guide.com because of the really terrible attrition rate both in seminary and in ministry. Only ten percent of those who begin a ministry career stay in it until retirement, and about half of the students who start seminary fail to finish. Some of this is a natural weeding-out process, but many times I’ve seen the dropout come because of unwise living.

My church has several seminary students studying now. I love those guys very much, and I want them to succeed.

Seminary’s important; it gives you necessary skills, and prepares you to think well, but it can’t fully prepare you for on-the-ground reality in the church. If seminary is boot camp, then church is the front line. Seminary Survival Guide is there to share practical wisdom from the trenches of ministry, in hopes that wisdom will protect and encourage you.

The gospel of Christ is the hope of the world. The church is the steward and bearer of the gospel. Pastors who lead the church are therefore the most critically important leaders in the world today. Seminary Survival Guide is my small contribution toward helping these leaders to start well.

So far, the feedback I’ve gotten has been very encouraging.

How’d you get into blogging?

Randy Elrod is an uberblogger, and the convener of the re:create conference, which I attend each year. He’s called “The Blogfather” because of all the people he’s gotten to start blogging. So while I never had a conversation with him about it, it was his enthusiasm and influence that got me first into my personal blog, and then to do Seminary Survival Guide. The power of blogging still amazes me. I’ve had visitors to my blogs from all over the world.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A professor. I love teaching, can’t get enough of it. Philosophy, apologetics, history, humanities, theology, literature….. In 2002, I had an opportunity to start a Ph.D. in philosophy at Marquette, but it was clear to me that it wasn’t God’s time for it, so I set that aside for a while. I keep wondering if the Lord will allow me to come back to that, but I know I’m where I’m supposed to be right now.

Do you have a family?

I am single, and really enjoy it. My parents, sister and brother-in-law live in Florida, and I try to see them whenever I can. I have brilliant, beautiful twin nieces who are twelve and a very smart three year old nephew.

Is Biblical & Theological studies a hobby or a career aspiration?

I’d have to say neither. It’s a career, yes, but also a life. Vocationally, I’m a worship pastor, but I’ve gotten to do a lot of teaching and preaching here, too. I’m particularly passionate about seeing the Bible lived and not just studied. I lead a men’s Bible study group on Monday nights, and I’ve watched those guys really be transformed by their obedience to Christ. (Four of us went on mission to China this past spring.) Also, theological issues come up from time to time. Right now we have a couple of guys in our church who are seriously questioning the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, so I get to meet with them and talk through the whole counsel of scripture on the subject. It’s all part of the life leading the church.

Who’s your favorite author?  Recommended books?

Hard question. Here’s a short list:

• William Shakespeare. Othello is my favorite.
• C. S. Lewis. It’s a tie between Surprised by Joy and The Abolition of Man.
• I was a Tolkien fan before it was cool. I’ve read The Lord of the Rings over twenty times, and still find it very instructive on human nature, and character-driven leadership.
• I’m a huge fan of Winston Churchill, and love reading things by and about him.

For ministry: Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders is a must-read.

You didn’t ask about my favorite films, but unquestionably, the best movie of all time is Braveheart.

What’s your favorite theological subject / topic?

I’d have to say soteriology, especially justification, adoption, and sanctification. I’ve become very interested in how fully embracing our new identity in Christ becomes a powerful force for sanctification. You can hear a sermon I preached on it here.

On the other end, I am utterly uninterested in eschatology.

What’s your favorite Bible translation?

I use NIV most of the time, much to the dismay of the growing hordes of ESV snobs I keep running into. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s a decent standard translation. We preach from it at my church, mainly because of its accessibility (8^th grade reading level). For study I like NASB and ESV.

What’s in your CD and/or MP3 player right now?

Mostly worship music. I run to a high-tempo mix of Hillsongs, Passion and Lincoln Brewster. I also listen to Ravi Zacharias’s radio show via podcast.

Where did you go to school?  (undergraduate, graduate, etc.)

I got a Bachelor of Music Education at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida (Go Noles), and earned a M.Div. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I also studied philosophy (non-degree) at University of Illinois-Chicago for a year.

What is something interesting that most of your readers don’t know about you?

All my friends know I’m a pianist, but SSG readers might not. I have recorded two albums, both with singer friends of mine. I recorded a Christmas album with my friend LeAnna Grooms, who tragically died of cancer two years later at the age of 32. In 2002, I gave a benefit concert for a local homeless shelter with my friend Chris Terry, who has just an awesome voice. We recorded it, and it made for a pretty nice CD.

What are some research / writing projects you’re interested in pursuing?

My main writing focus right now is to work on Seminary Survival Guide. There are still entire topic areas I haven’t gotten around to addressing. I have a lot to say about emotional health for leaders and churches. I don’t get to write as much as I need or want to, because life in a healthy church keeps you pretty busy. I have four very major projects I have to lead here before the end of the year. I have to practice what I preach, which means sometimes the writing gets put on hold.