The Virginia seminary, one of 15 theological institutions that receives funding from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, announced Nov. 13 it will close June 30, 2019, “due to financial pressures.”
Can the Church and the minister afford each other?
Our times call for fresh thinking on the economics of ministry, which is a constellation of issues. Educational debt, ministry compensation, rising health care costs, diminished congregations and a culture of credit all conspire to make the question “can the church and the ministry afford each other” more challenging.
Providing ‘a hand up’ to ministers struggling with credit card, student loan debt
Mental health, congregational politics and the decline of the American church get much of the blame for minister burnout. But consultant Bo Prosser says all of those factors take a back seat to the financial struggles of pastoral leaders.
The ‘groaning’ and ‘growing’ of theological education in America
When Daniel Aleshire, whose organization accredits most U.S. seminaries, retires next year, he’ll have witnessed a quarter century of what may have been the most dramatic changes in clergy education in the country’s history. Informed ministry is superior to ignorant…
Andover Newton enters partnership with Yale
Baptist-affiliated Andover Newton Theological School and Yale Divinity School have signed a letter of intent to enter a two-phase plan toward formal affiliation beginning this fall, administrators at the two schools announced May 2. If the first phase is successful,…
College, seminary seek to bridge racial opportunity gap
Simmons College of Kentucky and the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky announced plans Feb. 16 to make it easier for African-American college graduates to earn graduate degrees. A historically black college and a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-aligned seminary have announced a collaboration…
The 40-year-old seminarian
Steve Carell starred as The 40-Year-Old Virgin. If someone made a movie of my life this year, they could call it The 40-Year-Old Seminarian. After 23 years in public ministry, 17 of them as pastor, and 10 as the lead…
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….