MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) – Six years after starting as a pilot project, Central Baptist Theological Seminary’s center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is now fully accredited to award the master of divinity and diploma in theology degrees.
That means quality theological education is now accessible in middle Tennessee for those already involved in ministry without the need to uproot family and relocate out of state in order to pursue a degree, said Ircel Harrison, director of the center now named Central Baptist Theological Seminary Tennessee.
Ircel Harrison
|
“This is a new way to offer theological education in the 21st century,” Harrison said. “Students who are already involved in the ministries of the church do not have to pack up and leave home to get a seminary degree.”
Central Seminary, a 110-year-old institution with a main campus in Shawnee, Kan., began offering classes in Murfreesboro in 2005. About 30 students have taken classes at the site. Six have received master’s degrees through transfer of credits to the main campus.
With accreditation and full approval by the Association of Theological Schools, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the once-experimental center can now move forward in exploring opportunities for expansion.
Harrison said all courses taught at the Murfreesboro site are gender-inclusive, interracial and ecumenical. Students take a major portion of their courses online and complete residency requirements by attending weekend classes in space donated by the city’s First Baptist Church.
Harrison described it as a “one-seminary family” approach that expands the reach of both the seminary and the Murfreesboro center.
He said students learn in a setting with a strong Baptist orientation but with respect and appreciation for all Christian traditions. Students and instructors come from several denominational backgrounds, and professors from the main campus take turns commuting to teach at the center. The center also uses adjunct professors in the area who are completing their dissertations, some with extensive experience in ministry.
Harrison said the new designation allows the center to operate in a larger context, offering opportunities to those within driving distance of Murfreesboro. He said he anticipates new students not only from other parts of Tennessee, but from southern Kentucky and northern Alabama as well.
Courses being offered this fall include formation for Christian ministry, preaching and Christian ethics. Online classes include constructive theology and Hebrew Bible.
Students so far have included women and men, African-Americans and Anglos and both degree students and “lifelong learners” from at least six different denominations.
“Many of our students have responded to the call to Christian ministry after being involved in other careers,” said Harrison, the former coordinator of Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “Others are bivocational ministers or volunteers in their churches.”
During startup, the Atlanta-based Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has offered financial support for Tennessee students through a special grant. First Baptist Church of Murfreesboro has provided classroom space and additional support.
-30-
Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press.