Something I’ve Been Working On
March 1, 2007
I’ve decided to share one of the reasons that I haven’t been posting as much lately, even though it’s not really ready yet.
Creating an online seminary called Wittenberg Reformed Theological Seminary. You can click the link to see our preliminary website.
There is still much that needs to be done, but by God’s grace this will become a great training ground for Reformed ministers.
18 Responses to “Something I’ve Been Working On”
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March 2, 2007 at 5:10 pm
It looks promising Larry. I didn’t see anything relating to cost. I hope God richly blesses your efforts.
March 2, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Thank you David.
We just had our first Board meeting and not everything is updated on the website yet.
We are going to start off pretty cheap…$50/credit hour. Eventually we will work our way up to $100/credit hour (still pretty good price).
Our doctrinal stance is slightly different from what the website states currently. The school will adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Three Forms of Unity. However, we will allow adjunct faculty to subscribe to different standards (like the London Baptist Confession).
Currently our efforts are mostly focused on creating the M.Div. program.
I appreciate all prayers regarding this.
March 2, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Just a few more questions as you have time;
Is it every course going to be offered online?
Is a B.A. a prerequsite?
Is it affliated with a denomination?
I was wondering if you have a M.Div., if so from where?
March 2, 2007 at 8:14 pm
All of the courses will be via correspondence, and perhaps online. We may also use DVD lectures.
As we are planning on making the program between 90-100 credit hours i don’t think the students will be required to have a bachelor degree first. However, this would have to be discussed by the entire Board before an actual decision is made. Right now we are so concerned with the curriculum and incorporation that some of these things are being tabled for future discussion.
We are not affiliated with any denomination. Our focus is to be solidly Reformed without being denominational. We may try to get official approval of our curriculum from the PCA or OPC. We feel that most other Reformed denominations would respect such approval.
I do not have an M.Div. Three out of the Five voting Board members have an M.Div. and are currently pastors.
My education is from Mount Carmel Institute of Biblical Studies (MCIBS)… D.B.S., Th.D., along with an honorary D.D. MCIBS is not a Reformed school, but since i have taken head of their theology department i have been able to introduce a more Reformed curriculum within that department.
March 2, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Impressive undertaking, Larry. The site is off to a good start. A couple of extraneous questions/comments.
1. Red font on dark blue or black background is hard on the eyes.
2. I would think that a B.A or B.S., even though non-related, would be a prerequisite to a M.A. or M.Div.
3. Won’t an endorsement from PCA or OPC (or whoever) imply that they would have some input into degree requirements?
4. There are organizations that provide a level of accreditation for Distance Education Schools. Wouldn’t that be something to look into?
Blessings in your endeavor.
March 2, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Gomarus,
As far as the prerequisite for entering the M.Div. program, that hasn’t been discussed at the Board level yet. My thinking is that either they can enter the program without a Bachelor but perhaps add some more classes to it, or that they can enter the program but not finish with an M.Div. but rather a B.A. We will have to wait until the rest of the Board discusses this as they are much more experienced with M.Div. programs than I am.
I don’t think that if our curriculum is approved for PCA ordination that would imply we are a PCA school. The more denominations that approve of our curriculum the better, and with a multiplicity of denominations approving our students as ministers it will become more obvious that we are not denominational.
As far as accreditation, the page is worded the way it is so as not to lead anybody astray. We will most likely work toward ARTS accreditation, but i have reservations about putting that on the accreditation page until we are closer to the point of getting such accreditation. My fear is that if it falls through we would be seen as leading people astray with the “promise” of ARTS accreditation. So i want to stay away from having any statements like…”in the future we will seek accreditation from ARTS”…simply because if it doesn’t work out it could hurt our integrity.
Thank you for commenting, and please check back on the school site from time to time to see how we are doing… and keep us in your prayers.
March 3, 2007 at 4:50 pm
[...] Theologian Larry has decided to unveil the new online seminary, on which he has been working. [...]
March 3, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Great site. Hope it goes well for you.
March 3, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Thank you Daniel.
March 4, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I don’t mean to throw a wet blanket over all the hard work that this ambitous project requires, but why do we need another Reformed seminary like the one you are proposing?
March 4, 2007 at 6:06 pm
A few reasons…It is entirely online, seeks to train ministers, and is a very good price.
To compare… Reformed Theological Seminary has an online option, but they don’t offer the M.Div. through it from what i understand. Plus, they are over $300/credit hour.
March 5, 2007 at 12:23 pm
At the risk of be coming ‘persona non gratia’ on this blog, allow me to play the devil’s advocate. I can see the value of such a program for laymen and perhaps for pastors doing some additional research studies and the like, but an entire on-line seminary education has serious draw backs.The class room experience cannot be duplicated on-line. The give and take with the professor and fellow students, which is so valuable, is missing. The seminary community is another item that, as I look back on my own seminary days at three different institutions, contributed greatly to my training.I doubt if anyone would feel really comfortable to discover that their doctor ( especially a surgeon!) earned their medical degree entirely on-line ( not to mention the obvious fact that the American Medical Association would never accredit such a school, and for good reason). As I suggested there is a place for the kind of study you are proposing, but personally, it should not replace the tradition model nor should it be granting degrees, especailly the M.A.and M.Div.
March 5, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Granted, the classroom experience can’t be duplicated. But our goal is not to duplicate the classroom experience, it is to produce ministers. One of the things we will be doing is utilizing discussion boards, chat rooms, and video conferencing for interaction between students and professors. Another thing we are planning to do is establish mentors with students from their own area. So i don’t think that your point of no “give and take” is applicable here.
Perhaps you could be specific as to what one of our graduates would be missing that a brick and mortar graduate would not??
I would not feel comfortable if my M.D. earned his doctorate online, but i have no problem with folks outside of the medical field doing so…such as teachers. And, of course, we are not speaking of the medical field.
I feel that online schooling in theological fields has worked. RTS has a thriving online program as do many other seminaries.
If there are going to be things that must be done “hands-on” then we can utilize the student’s church and his mentor.
I respect your point of view and would recommend that your church stay away from giving pastors jobs who have graduated from online seminaries if you feel so strongly about it. But our goal is to move forward and get official approval from some denominations (like the PCA) to approve our curriculum and our students as minister material.
March 6, 2007 at 7:40 pm
As one who feels strongly about ministers not being “transplants” into churches and communities, I believe men should be equipped academically yet be and established member in the community or church they seek to minister to. It takes years to establish relationships in which real pastoring and ministering can take place. Yet, the average pastor usually sticks around 3-5 years and leave before the real work begins.
My point is, just because a man has a piece of paper from a seminary doesn’t make him qualified to undershepard God’s flock. Often times, the biblical qualifications for eldership are set aside or overlooked as long as a man meets certain academic goals. I think what Larry is trying to do is equip godly men, who are recognized as biblically qualifed leaders, with the resources necessary to effectively minister where they are.
March 6, 2007 at 7:43 pm
David,
That is certainly one of the things we are going for.
March 6, 2007 at 8:07 pm
I don’t mean to imply I’m speaking for you, but I applaud your efforts to break out of the mold of a seminary system which seems to have, in many ways, failed to produce a great number of strong godly men. I’m not saying some aren’t produced, by I am suggesting only a fraction of the men in seminary today actually belong there.
March 6, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Thank you David, i really appreciate that. Our goal is truly to serve Christ and His Kingdom.
There is also an interesting conversation over on puritanboard in response to an anti-online seminary article by Dr. Clark…
http://www.puritanboard.com/showthread.php?t=19695
March 6, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Yes, that’s a decent discussion. I agree with the one guy who says how not to train a pastor. It seem more and more folks are realizing the limitations traditional seminaries present.