My take on the "new" Baptist seminaries

&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rev. Joshua Villines:
David, how did we miss each other at McAfee? The only lawyer I remember (and he was only there for one semester I believe) was a Methodist.

Joshua<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;
I took Alan Culpepper's class on the Gospel of Mark at night after work (I was in my first year of as a prosecutor at the Athens-Clarke County Solicitor-General's Office). We had two papers to write a week, which I wrote during my lunch hour. B/c of McAfee's policy of "interdisciplinary education", we had other professors come teach some nights on other subjects, so I met most if not all of the faculty (I also had some of them teach and/or preach at different churches I've attended like the of FBC's Macon and Athens).
I loved the experience but I simply couldn't maintain my career and marriage (I was a newly-wed then) and still go to school. Also, I discovered that although I love preaching and bible study, I am called to preach to the jury in a courthouse. I feel that my service to the public as a prosecutor is "God's work", so this is what I've stuck with.
A long answer to your question but I think it also answers Jimmy's.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jimmy Edwards:


&lt;&lt;Did you ever complete your MDIV? I have considered McAfee for quite some time, but I feel their gender-neutral stance is a little too liberal for me. I even visited the campus several times and met most of the faculty--as well as students like Brandi Diamond and Devita Parnell.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>&gt;&gt;

Jimmy, see my answer to Joshua above.
Btw, I've heard good things about Beeson at Samford, and Birmingham is a wonderful place to live. My wife (and almost all my in-laws) is a Samford alum and we visit there sometimes-last weekend in fact.

 

Jimmy,
Beeson would probably be a good visit for you. I'd check them out. Beeson would be much better than the CBF seminaries. I'd still check out Southern in Louisville. Its reputation is 2nd to none for academic and spiritual excellence and the cost is extraordinarily affordable.

The CBF in Kentucky is moving forward with starting a new seminary but last I heard, there was a lot of infighting over where to have it, whom to hire, and so forth. As a former KY Bapt pastor, I know there is not as much in state support for a break-away seminary as was initially hoped. Former pastor of Third Baptist in Owensboro, Dr. Moody, is in on this project. I think they were looking at maybe somewhere in between Lexington and Louisville. Georgetown or Campbellsville might give them an option. But with the explosive growth of Southern and the presence of Asbury, LPTS, and LTS, placing an alternative seminary in Kentucky will be tricky. One person told me that they were afraid egos would cause the KyCBF to try to go toe-to-toe with Southern, at the expense of the future of the project and would harm the new CBF seminary venture. I'd place the new venture near the TN border somewhere, maybe at Cumberland College, and draw from the tri-state area. OOPS! Did I just give the CBF machine free advice

[ February 21, 2002: Message edited by: TomVols ]

 

Wow, Tom and I agree again! Will miracles ever cease?

 

Obviously, there's hope for one of us.

 

I spent time at Southern before, during, and after the resurgence in one capacity or another. To say it is becoming a Reformed seminary might be partially true, but thoroughly Southern Baptist. The seminary is seeking to return to the roots found in the Abstract of Principles and to mirror Southern Baptist doctrine and practice. SBTS has assembled a first rate cadre of scholars and professors and it is once again a respected seminary after going through the dark days of prior administrations.
If you want to stay closer to home but spend more money, Beeson is probably a good choice. But one of the deans of Reformed theology is the Dean at Beeson, Dr. Timothy George. A couple of my favorite people in the world teach there (Dr. Robert Smith and Charles Carter).

 

Tom, you and I certainly travel in very different baptist circles.

Joshua