The Southern Baptist Convention is so big and its empire so far-reaching that it’s hard to get true perspective on its scope and trends. One of the few snapshots to give insight is the Book of Reports, published just prior…
For first time, M.A. enrollment equals M.Div. enrollment at U.S. seminaries
After more than a decade of significant instability, enrollment in America’s accredited theological schools has found some stability, although the degree programs being pursued continue to shift and more schools are shrinking than growing. These are the findings of a…
Hartford Seminary is now a university with an interreligious peacemaking focus
One of the nation’s oldest seminaries has changed its name and removed the word “seminary” in the process. Hartford Seminary, established in 1833 by a group of Congregational ministers to train ministerial leadership for churches, now is known as Hartford…
Cathedrals of learning: A lament for the liberal arts
We built grand cathedrals. The arches and vaults reached toward heaven. Cathedrals of theology, art, literature, history, music. Cathedrals for the growing of souls. But the barbarians came with their budget officers, reducing souls to earning power. They took machetes…
The role of seminaries in guiding ex-evangelicals like me through deconstruction
Over the past decade, evangelicals have had to come to terms with the fact that people are leaving the church in droves. According to a recent Gallup poll, just 47% of Americans are members of a church, falling from 70% in…
Southwestern Seminary changes name of its undergraduate college
A Southern Baptist seminary in Texas has changed the name of its undergraduate college for the second time since its founding in 2005. The new name, Texas Baptist College, carries a state feel to it, yet neither Southwestern Baptist Theological…
SBC seminary presidents are propagating fear to maintain control
This is the first in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. Earlier this month, all six presidents of the seminaries controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention announced a total…
Baptists in Virginia get two new theological education options
The rapidly changing landscape of theological education for moderate and progressive Baptists will take yet another new turn next fall with a focus on Virginia. Less than two years after the closure of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, two new…
Logsdon Seminary will be shuttered: 7 Questions for Hardin-Simmons University’s president and trustees
Yes, these are hard times for theological education. But the closing of a second seminary founded by moderate Baptists feels like an abandonment of Baptists’ historic commitment to the effective preparation of ministers for congregational ministry.