Seminary

“I had gone to seminary to prepare for ministry, and I was not prepared for ministry. I was prepared academically to begin a life of teaching, which is, of course, invaluable. But in terms of the vocation of ministry beyond teaching?” - James Emery White

“Despite recent trends, formal theological training still plays an important role in the evangelical church.” - CToday

Bauder: The process of discipling a future leader into Christian ministry … is always done better by the local church. Seminaries need churches even more than churches need seminaries

Christian Century: Until 1565, the local church was also the seminary.

“Fallacies of a Master’s Level Education: Almost every seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). If a seminary is ATS accredited, it must meet the ATS criteria. This is problematic in itself (ATS is ecumenical and liberal in its core).

Dan Wallace: For those who will be ministering to real people in the most personal way, how is it possible for the virtual classroom, taught by a virtual teacher to virtual students, to be as good as flesh-and-blood instruction?

The decision to close Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (BTSR) was gut-wrenching. It was also necessary.

Minneapolis Star Tribune (re local seminaries): Fewer entering seminary

“I am concerned that seminary focuses too little on discipleship and replaces it with scholarship. I am not against scholarship, but scholarship is a feeble substitute for biblical discipleship. A model of preparation for ministry based upon Jesus’ practice should seem a reasonable goal for educators with a high view of scripture.” Can We Make Seminary More Effective?