Changes at BBS Reflect Growing Ministry Trends

So basically you are 100% confident that you did not need or would not have benefited from things you have never experienced. :)

HSAT, I totally agree that for some people, relocating for seminary is an impossibility. And I might even agree with you, Tyler, that for some the cost of residential education vs. online outweighs the benefits.

I’ve done a module class. I didn’t spend much time directly interacting with students, and don’t miss it. I mentioned I have a degree from a secular brick and mortar institution, where I went to class every day. I don’t miss the interaction.

All told, all the traditional advocates have is the “interaction” argument. For some people, that’ll be worth it. For many others … not so much.

Thanks for that clarification Tyler. Please see my edited response in my post above.

I think it’s a personal decision everybody needs to make, depending on who they are, what their situation is, and how they learn. I don’t think I’m normal, and my own experiences have been unique. I can’t speak for helpful other people have found virtual and online education. It’s been a blessing for me.

Being able to earn my M.Div. on-line with a couple modules on campus was definitely a blessing for me. I did try to relocate to either Scranton or Louisville (I was accepted at SBTS also), but ultimately couldn’t find employment that would allow me to attend classes in person and support my family at either location. Thus, I chose to pursue an on-line degree with BBS.

I enjoyed the interaction I had with my profs. A couple of them stopped by and visited with my wife and I on their way to other places (we live within 5 miles of I-70). I was also able to meet with several profs when I visited campus. I still remember going to lunch with Dr. Decker at Wendys and talking about his fight with cancer, verbal aspect, and Wayne Grudem. Good times.

I would have preferred to be on campus, but that wasn’t a realistic option for my family and me.

I don’t know whether in-person or online instruction is best, but I am fairly certain that even if the former is better, the latter, online education, is where education is shifting to. Just think of our children who are young enough to have never known a world without the internet and wi-fi. What will be are their expectations going to be when they hit college, graduate school (for some, seminary)?

For starters, I really wish I could argue with John Lee’s comment from 10:36am today, and I’m sure he wishes the same. Sad, sad, sad.

A couple of things I can say in favor of on-site seminary is that sharpening one’s thinking with peers who are theologically trained can be one thing better done in a “high concentration” of the theologically minded, and that the experience of a good library is wonderful. But with more and more great theological works being available on Bible software programs and via Google books and such, you need to love vellum and old bookbinding to get anything close to the same thrill these days.

And it’s a good thing. Praise God I can find these things without going to Alexandria or Heidelberg. Thank you, Gutenberg, and thank you, Watson.

Choices are good:

• Some prefer “brick and mortar” banking … others prefer online banking
• Some shopping at the mall … others over the Internet
• For some live education works … others virtual

My view: brick and mortar only seminaries will continue to decline in enrollment. BBC is meeting the needs of their market

i just want TylerR to let us know what the kickback is for constantly promoting Maranatha. 3%? 5%? A flat finders’ fee of $200 per person?

:D

Go Maranatha. Register now.

[JBL]

It seems to me that many in fundamentalism do not want the local church to be the locus of discussion, interaction and exchange of ideas.

…

I also believe that this is the reason FBFI issues resolutions every year. The social and doctrinal positions that the resolutions take are positioned as being unilaterally biblical, and differing views are no longer discussed.

To correct your point, the FBFI used to issue resolutions. Now we issue position statements. We think the term more accurately communicates what we are trying to say, and that is: this is what we as a group of local church pastors believe to be true concerning a particular issue.

Your characterization implies other motives, but I don’t think it is correct.

Do you benefit from online relationships in places like this, or Facebook, or through email? I do. It doesn’t always replace everything you can get from face-to-face, but even face-to-face is often enhanced by phone calls, texting, email, social media, etc.

I have an online degree from BBS, and am working on another. I have also taken live modules at the seminary level. I will say that at least in the BBS model, I interacted just as much or more with my online professors and classmates over multiple weeks in BBS’s online format than I did in a compressed, week-long face-to-face format. I do miss some of what you get through lectures in person, but there were things I gained from online that you can’t get in 5 multi-hour sessions.

I have just started a DMin through BBS. It is a hybrid program, some required face-to-face classes, and some online or directed study options. I have secured permission to take some directed study credits under Central Seminary profs. To me, this is the best of all worlds.
With the new formats, things are lost, but others are gained. Don’t lament the past so much that you abandon all influence you could have into the future. Complaining about change ultimately isn’t going to stop anything.

I want to echo something Greg Linscott just mentioned. I was thinking about not writing this, because it could sound sappy, but I really treasure the interaction and discussions we have on SharperIron. If it makes you feel any better, Greg Long, most of the discussions I would have had with classmates on campus took place in these forums. :)

I completed an online Seminary degree at Virginia Beach Theological Seminary. I would have preferred to take the classes live and in person. In fact, I put some exploratory effort into moving to either Detroit or Virginia Beach but in the end that never panned out. I was glad for the distance learning opportunity since live wasn’t an option.