It isn’t easy being in Christian education these days. The case of Dr. Larycia Hawkins and Wheaton College is showing us why. You’ve read it in multiple places and from various sources: Things aren’t what they once were.
Seminaries, spiritual formation and personal story
By Ron Crawford I am indebted to the thoughtful response of Scott Hudgins to my response to Brett Younger’s original article about seminary education. I will not review these two fine offerings but will extend the conversation. A key point…
There is nothing wrong with seminaries that a disruptive strategy couldn’t fix
By George Bullard In recent times we have witnessed a dialogue around the role and function of seminaries. This dialogue has been generated primarily by people involved in seminaries, divinity schools and other forms of higher education. Thus, their perspective….
How seminaries form ministers: a much-needed conversation
By Scott Hudgins A recent column by Brett Younger, an associate professor at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, raises important questions about the changes in theological education, especially the emergence of exclusively online programs that are often described as…
New pastors, small churches
Update March 2015: The program described in this story has been renamed Small Church Residency Program. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), like many denominations, has two challenges: thousands of small churches in need of pastors and hundreds of new seminary graduates…
When I knew everything
May 8, 1970 was the day when I knew everything. On that day, I received a master of divinity degree after three years of study at an accredited theological seminary. I had received good grades (well, I did get a…
Is your denomination slowly committing suicide?
For decades we have known that persons who smoke multiple packs of cigarettes per day are slowly committing suicide. Many of these people did not want to commit suicide. Some claim they did not know they were committing suicide. At…
Bivocational ministry is a thing of great beauty
Jack was the bivocational pastor of the church I attended in Pennsylvania when that church licensed me to ministry as a step towards my ordination. Dale was the bivocational national leader for bivocational ministries among Baptists. Glenn was the bivocational…
What if a generation of women in ministry planted new congregations?
It is hard to believe it has been more than 35 years since I was ready to leave seminary in Louisville, KY for what I thought would be my first full-time church pastorate. Although I had grown up in Baltimore…