And the letter makes several suggestions for the denomination as a whole, for seminaries, and for committees on preparation for ministry. There is no doubt that there are grounds for the Mid-Americans' concern. A few years ago we had a surplus of pastors. There were many more people looking for pastorates than there were churches seeking pastors. That ratio has now been reversed.
Quality is more difficult to evaluate.
The letter places a lot of emphasis on the high rate of failure on the ordination examinations. Probably the suggestions of the letter would do no harm, especially the one which proposes that the church as a whole bear the major financial burden of a seminary education. It is interesting to recall that this was part of the original plan for Princeton Theological Seminary, back in 1812. They do not address the fact that we no longer have a very clear idea of what ministers are for. Our confusion is apparent in such things as the fine-tuning of the name of the office.