iTunes U has a growing number of free online courses that would make excellent supplementary material for pastors wanting to further their education or for those preparing for pastoral ministry. Here’s some of what’s available currently:
Chuck Edwards looks at the huge decline in the spirituality of college-age students and offers some suggestions to reverse the trend.
When it comes to the spiritual life of college students, the statistics are not very encouraging. According to a recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, after three years in college, the number of students who frequently attend religious services drops by 23 percent. The study also confirms that 36 percent rated their spirituality lower after three years in college.
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What can we do as parents, educators, and church leaders to keep our young people from dropping out of church or converting to the “no longer born again” category?
First, we must understand that the battle is for the hearts and minds of students. For too long many churches have been content to focus on the emotions, shying away from a serious discipleship of the mind. . . .
Second, our teaching should revolve around the fact that Christianity is a robust faith, and when it comes to life’s most pressing issues, we have answers that are superior to all other philosophies. . . .
And third, we must teach students that Christianity is a comprehensive world and life view. This means explaining the reality of God’s truth in every area: from philosophy and science, ethics and economics, to psychology, sociology, law and, yes, even politics. . . .
Mark Dever gives five factors (conveniently alliterated) to consider in choosing a seminary.
Confession of Faith. The first and most important factor for you to consider when choosing a seminary is what doctrine is taught there. . . .
Quality of Education. Another consideration in choosing a seminary is the quality of the education offered. While there is no precise way to measure such quality, factors which indicate it are the school’s faculty, the required curriculum and the library facilities. . . .
Cost. Let’s say you’ve found a seminary that you agree with theologically, and that seems to offer a good quality of education. Then, a third matter you should consider is cost. How expensive is the education there? What are the living costs like in that community? Are there good scholarships or jobs to be had? It would be unwise for you to commit yourself to considerable indebtedness. . . .
Church. Having lined up a seminary that you agree with theologically, that you think provides a good quality of education and that is affordable, you must also consider if there is a good church nearby that could be a place of ministry and spiritual encouragement and direction while you are in the seminary. . . .
Connections for Life. Finally, it is a legitimate question to consider what connections for the rest of life you might make by attending this seminary or that theological college. Most ministers who go to seminary for training meet there professors and fellow students who continue to be an informal network long after your formal educational work is done. Such questions of network and denomination are questions worth weighing carefully. . . .
They have stirred up some strong objections. In his first post, he argued against the sufficiency of distance seminary education:
The whole business of online/distance seminary education is troubling. . . . Since, by intent and its very nature, online seminary education skirts the usual educational process, the usual faculty interview and appointment process, and of course, the regulatory process, it’s hard to see how the growing trend of online “education” will help us curb the tendency toward wackiness in the conservative . . . world.
It’s also hard to see how an educational institution that relies entirely upon online libraries and tutors will produce a genuinely intelligent ministry. There are a lot of great books online (e.g., via Google books) but most online books are in the public domain which means that they weren’t [sic] published before 1923. Would you trust your health to a doctor or your legal well being to a lawyer who had only read medical or legal texts published before 1923? If you don’t mind not having access to polio treatments (1952), I guess that’s a choice but as a matter of public health it would be best if everyone didn’t see that physician.
He goes on to clarify:
The new technologies cannot and should not replace face-to-face seminary education. What they can do, however, is to extend our ability to help pastors continue their education. Having laid the foundation of life-long learning in the classroom, we can help pastors keep up with theological, intellectual and academic trends email discussion lists, web pages, interactive seminars via the Internet or satellite uplink.
I tend to agree that there are many advantages to face-to-face seminary training, but there are also some disadvantages. (See this post that lists both the pros and cons.) Even if it is ideal for every minister to be trained in a seminary, it may not be possible. Distance learning is a great option for those who could not otherwise go to seminary. It may be true that distance learning functions best as continuing education, but I remain unconvinced that the local church cannot adequately provide the necessary foundation for the minister’s training.
BiblicalTraining.org provides free audio lectures from prominent evangelical leaders. Bruce Ware’s Systematic Theology II was just added. A pastor wishing to continue his education or someone who desires to train for ministry needs to take advantage of these great, free resources. A person could nearly get a full undergraduate or seminary education online for free! Here’s a list of the speakers and some of the classes (undergraduate and seminary level) currently available.
Terry Pruit shares some helpful thoughts about the training of future pastors.
Most of the time people are directed to go to seminary and then they go through the steps of an internship. This is reverse of what is advisable in my humble opinion.
I stumbled across two articles on seminary education in the last couple of days. Both make good points and have helpful perspectives.
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iTunes U
