According to Chris McPeek, youth minister at Columbia Baptist in Falls Church and student at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, his school is unique.
“What I find really different is the international flavor of the students and faculty. Students won't get just a white North American perspective.”
McPeek is not alone in his assessment. In fact, students, faculty and administrators alike see the intentional multi-ethnic and multicultural emphasis of this nine-year-old institution as a key contribution it is making to Baptist church life. Its first faculty member was Daniel Carro from Argentina.
Kathy Allen and Kurk Schleiter are students at Leland.
The seminary began in 1997 when Randel Everett (then pastor of Columbia Baptist) and four others met at a Baptist World Alliance gathering and decided the time had come to act on a vision the church and others had long had for the area of northern Virginia. According to Everett, who served as Leland's primary founder and first president until his recent resignation to devote full-time to his pastorate at First Baptist Church in Newport News, “One of our first steps was to ask pastors, ‘What did you get out of seminary and what did you not get out of seminary?' and ‘Where are you getting your staff members?' ”
What they learned is that one of the chief needs was for a seminary to be accessible. The founders determined, then, from the beginning that Leland would offer classes when students could attend at places they could attend and offer courses they needed for their work in churches. Most classes are offered on weekends and evenings.
According to academic dean Jeffrey Willetts, Leland has two extension sites where masters degrees in theology and divinity are offered, in northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. In addition, five (soon to be six) partnership sites are provided where students who are seeking proficiency in church ministry rather than an academic degree may earn a diploma in theology. From the beginning, diploma classes have been offered in English and Spanish.
Most faculty members are also pastors who have earned doctor of philosophy or doctor of ministry degrees. Michael Catlett, a Ph.D. pastor of McLean Baptist Church in McLean and adjunct professor at Leland, acknowledges, “Every seminary believes itself to be connected to the church,” but he cites the number of faculty members who are serving as local church staff members as evidence of Leland's claim. “When a student asks me about how to do a funeral, I say ‘Come to McLean Baptist for our next funeral and see how I do it.' With the family's permission, that student can go with me and see grief and comfort firsthand.”
Continuing his thought, he maintains, “Our focus is to train people for the local church.” According to seminary administrators, Catlett has never accepted payment for his teaching at Leland.
Jim Baucom, pastor of Columbia Baptist, sees other indications of uniqueness. “The student base in northern Virginia isn't typical. These women and men have come out of demanding private sector and government positions and are accustomed to handling large budgets and complex organizations.”
The 18th-century Virginia Baptist minister for which the John Leland Center is named.
Catlett agrees, adding, “Students are not like they were 35 years ago. Very few come to Leland planning to attend seminary immediately after college.”
This awareness, and Leland's response to it, led the Association of Theological Schools in the U.S. and Canada to grant Leland full accreditation in record time.
Speaking of the accrediting process, Everett informs, “We also required more theology than most seminaries because we knew that living in a pluralistic society our graduates would have to know what they believed and why. We identified three criteria from the beginning: biblical/theological scholarship; professional development, which includes teaching, preaching and leadership; and spiritual formations. We established covenant groups and spiritual formation classes in which students study the writings of the early church fathers and the Confessions of Augustine.”
Leland offers a ministry rotation based on the medical school model in which students are required to spend time in ministry with an approved mentor in four key areas. These are mission/evangelism, chaplaincy, advocacy, and local church ministry.
After the rotation, students “do a supervised ministry in the area in which they sense their gifts and calling,” remarks Evertt. The school also is a member of the Washington, D.C., theological consortium which provides impressive library and classroom and resources.
Baucom, who serves on the search committee of Leland's board of trustees which will recommend a new president, comments that Leland “has everything but money.” Catlett agrees that money is needed, but points out, “We decided to invest in people more so than in buildings. We don't own anything except office furniture and equipment and a library.”
Regarding the kind of president needed for Leland's future, Baucom is optimistic. “The search for a president is interesting because we are having to be creative. One option is to think in terms of retired corporate executives or possibly a very capable retired pastor who understands the unique needs and opportunities at Leland.”
When asked if the subject of a merger with the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond had come up in any conversations, the uniqueness of Leland's ministry is cited as a non-negotiable part of its vision and on-going service to Virginia Baptist churches.
Citing statistics from the last two years, Willetts verifies that more than 40 graduates in 2005 and 2006 are now serving as pastors and staff members of Virginia Baptist churches.
“It may be more than that, but many of our graduates are serving in African-American churches and I am not sure whether they are BGAV churches or not.” Over 40 diploma students and 80 masters-level students are currently enrolled.
For Willetts, “The most rewarding thing is to hear from people like John Brewster who says, ‘If it weren't for Leland, I wouldn't be able to prepare for the ministry God called me to.' ”
For additional information, visit www.johnlelandcenter.edu.