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seminary ?

B

broken4u

New Member
Greetings,
I have a question I hope someone on this board can help me with. I am looking to go to seminary money is not an issue and I am willing to relocate. I currently live in North Carolina, if I could find a good seminary in state that would be good. Some of the requirement for the seminary is that it has to be teaching sound doctrine and not be hosting false views such as Open Theism and they have to teach Exclusivism only. Denomination is not as important I would prefer a Baptist seminary though and also small class size is a must. Accreditation does need to be accredited but ATS is not a must.

My reason for seeking a degree is that I would like to teach at a Bible college and possibly Pastor a Church. Which Degree do you think I would most benefit from and what Seminary would be ideal? I am finishing up a BS in Religion from Liberty on line but, I will be attending as a resident for which every Seminary I can best match up to. Thank you in advance for any help.
 
StefanM

StefanM

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
broken4u said:
Greetings,
I have a question I hope someone on this board can help me with. I am looking to go to seminary money is not an issue and I am willing to relocate. I currently live in North Carolina, if I could find a good seminary in state that would be good. Some of the requirement for the seminary is that it has to be teaching sound doctrine and not be hosting false views such as Open Theism and they have to teach Exclusivism only. Denomination is not as important I would prefer a Baptist seminary though and also small class size is a must. Accreditation does need to be accredited but ATS is not a must.

My reason for seeking a degree is that I would like to teach at a Bible college and possibly Pastor a Church. Which Degree do you think I would most benefit from and what Seminary would be ideal? I am finishing up a BS in Religion from Liberty on line but, I will be attending as a resident for which every Seminary I can best match up to. Thank you in advance for any help.
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Easy answer here: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (www.sebts.edu).

It's affiliated with the SBC and is conservative. It also offers degrees up through PhDs, so you can get the training necessary for teaching in a Bible college (although the job market is rather sparse for this area!).

Your best bet for a degree is an MDiv. It's the pastoral degree, and it is often a prerequisite for PhD level studies.
 
Greektim

Greektim

Well-Known Member
StefanM said:
Easy answer here: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (www.sebts.edu).

It's affiliated with the SBC and is conservative. It also offers degrees up through PhDs, so you can get the training necessary for teaching in a Bible college (although the job market is rather sparse for this area!).

Your best bet for a degree is an MDiv. It's the pastoral degree, and it is often a prerequisite for PhD level studies.
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I second that... being a current sebts student at the moment myself. Southeastern is awesome. They have the faculty, facilities, and programs that are top notch. They are accredited w/ SACS & ATS. Their MDiv program is the most popular there (as usual). That's what I would recomend coming out of a BS degree. It will give you the languages and theology along with a lot of other good stuff that you didn't get with the online BS.
 
G

glfredrick

New Member
I'll third, Southeastern. Danny Akin, President, is an awesome guy with solid credentials and great theology.

A great second would be Southern, but that is a tad farther away and considerably larger as far as campus and student population.

I'd suggest visiting both campuses and praying. God will show you which. He's good at that... :thumbsup:

If you end up visiting Southern, give me a shout. I'll meet you for coffee.
 
B

broken4u

New Member
Thank you all for the information, it seem as though Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has a good program, and it’s in State. What are your thoughts on The Master Seminary and John MacArthur? This is one of the Schools I have thought about applying to.
Blessings
 
G

glfredrick

New Member
Greektim

Greektim

Well-Known Member
glfredrick said:
I'll third, Southeastern. Danny Akin, President, is an awesome guy with solid credentials and great theology.

A great second would be Southern, but that is a tad farther away and considerably larger as far as campus and student population.

I'd suggest visiting both campuses and praying. God will show you which. He's good at that... :thumbsup:

If you end up visiting Southern, give me a shout. I'll meet you for coffee.
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Not to detract too much from the OP, but what is the size difference between SEBTS & SBTS? The campus of SEBTS is pretty big. It is after all the former home of what is now called Wake Forrest University. And the incoming students this semester alone were right at 2,000. Is SBTS really "considerably larger"? I'm just curious.
 
G

glfredrick

New Member
Southern is in the 3000-3500 range, with an accredited undergrad college as part of campus. It is also the flagship seminary of the SBC.

Definitely no slam against SEBTS. A great school with a great president, Dr. Akin. I highly recommend SEBTS!
 
C

Crucified in Christ

New Member
glfredrick said:
Southern is in the 3000-3500 range, with an accredited undergrad college as part of campus. It is also the flagship seminary of the SBC.

Definitely no slam against SEBTS. A great school with a great president, Dr. Akin. I highly recommend SEBTS!
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They are both top-notch seminaries...a future pastor would be well served attending either one.

By the way, SEBTS also has an accredited undergrad college.
 
Greektim

Greektim

Well-Known Member
glfredrick said:
Southern is in the 3000-3500 range, with an accredited undergrad college as part of campus. It is also the flagship seminary of the SBC.

Definitely no slam against SEBTS. A great school with a great president, Dr. Akin. I highly recommend SEBTS!
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That's what I was thinking... so they are very similar in size and degree options (undergrad through postgrad).
 
Greektim

Greektim

Well-Known Member
broken4u said:
Thank you all for the information, it seem as though Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has a good program, and it’s in State. What are your thoughts on The Master Seminary and John MacArthur? This is one of the Schools I have thought about applying to.
Blessings
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If you do decide on SEBTS (I.e. if you follow the will of God ;) ) then let me know. I'd love to meet and show you around. There is an awesome coffee shop near campus.
 
B

broken4u

New Member
I called and talked to the school a few days ago and scheduled a visitation for the 28-29 of January. If nothing changes maybe we can meet up and you can share your thoughts about SEBTS.

Blessings
 
H

Humblesmith

Member
You should also consider Southern Evangelical Seminary, located in Charlotte. And I would suggest looking at their ThM degree, which is a bit more rigorous than the MDiv, and would give you an advantage if you want to teach in a school of higher learning.

Plus, not only will SES not teach open theism, its one of the few schools that will teach you both conservative theology and also teach why theologies like open theism are incorrect, giving you the tools to refute it.
www.ses.edu
 
H

Havensdad

New Member
Humblesmith said:
You should also consider Southern Evangelical Seminary, located in Charlotte. And I would suggest looking at their ThM degree, which is a bit more rigorous than the MDiv, and would give you an advantage if you want to teach in a school of higher learning.

Plus, not only will SES not teach open theism, its one of the few schools that will teach you both conservative theology and also teach why theologies like open theism are incorrect, giving you the tools to refute it.
www.ses.edu
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I am not a big fan of TRACS accreditation. Especially when the school charges 313 dollars per credit hour! I am sorry, but there are a whole plethora of top notch ATS seminaries that charge less than that.
 
G

glfredrick

New Member
Humblesmith said:
You should also consider Southern Evangelical Seminary, located in Charlotte. And I would suggest looking at their ThM degree, which is a bit more rigorous than the MDiv, and would give you an advantage if you want to teach in a school of higher learning.

Plus, not only will SES not teach open theism, its one of the few schools that will teach you both conservative theology and also teach why theologies like open theism are incorrect, giving you the tools to refute it.
www.ses.edu
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You will find that Southern Seminary leads this charge. Bruce Ware, professor of NT Interpretation, may be the loudest voice in opposition to open theology, and as President of the ETS, has taken this on this issue headlong.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1581342292/?tag=baptis04-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1581344813/?tag=baptis04-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0801022320/?tag=baptis04-20
 
H

Humblesmith

Member
Did a quick cost comparision:
SEBTS: $229 (if southern baptist) or $459 (all others)
Luther Rice: $209 - $249
Dallas Theological Seminary: $395 - $425
Master's Seminary: $290 - $330
Liberty: $410 - $425
Southern Evangelical: $313

So if cost is the main issue, SB seminary or Luther Rice is way to go. Otherwise the costs are somewhat comparable.

Another factor to consider is that many SB churches tend to gravitate toward pastors from SB schools.

As for accreditation, it's been beat to death on this board many times before.
 
H

Havensdad

New Member
Humblesmith said:
Did a quick cost comparision:
SEBTS: $229 (if southern baptist) or $459 (all others)
Luther Rice: $209 - $249
Dallas Theological Seminary: $395 - $425
Master's Seminary: $290 - $330
Liberty: $410 - $425
Southern Evangelical: $313

So if cost is the main issue, SB seminary or Luther Rice is way to go. Otherwise the costs are somewhat comparable.
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Not so, my friend!

First, Liberty has a tuition cap of 1700 dollars for resident, 2000 for online/distance. That means the MOST you can pay for a semester in tuition, regardless of the number of classes, is 2000 bucks. Now, if you take a reasonable course load, 9 hours per semester would be just 222 dollars for online (188 residential), or for 12 hours 166 online (141 residential). If you take the maximum course load, 15 hours, that is 133 online, or 113 residential. WAY lower, and it is regionally accredited.

As for the others, Dallas Theological has a huge amount of help available, and they say right on their website (at least, they did last time I looked) that the tuition ends up being half of what is listed. Master's seminary is the same.

New Orleans Baptist, who is ATS and Regionally accredited, is 175 for online (non SB and SB alike) and 150 for residential SBC, 255 for non-SBC.

So SES is a bit overpriced, and I believe would be a poor option in this case.
 
Greektim

Greektim

Well-Known Member
Humblesmith said:
Did a quick cost comparision:
SEBTS: $229 (if southern baptist) or $459 (all others)
Luther Rice: $209 - $249
Dallas Theological Seminary: $395 - $425
Master's Seminary: $290 - $330
Liberty: $410 - $425
Southern Evangelical: $313

So if cost is the main issue, SB seminary or Luther Rice is way to go. Otherwise the costs are somewhat comparable.

Another factor to consider is that many SB churches tend to gravitate toward pastors from SB schools.

As for accreditation, it's been beat to death on this board many times before.
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I'm not sure where you got the numbers for SEBTS, but their website has:

$182 per credit hour (sbc student) for the MDiv. Therefore, SEBTS has a much lower rate as well. I don't see how you can lose :D
 
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