Report from Colombia Concerning the Recent Marrow of Theology Module

Posted by deangonzales on May 14, 2009
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Dear Brothers,

It is a true joy for addressing ourselves to all of you to share the work that God in His great faithfulness continues advancing in Colombia through the academic program “The Marrow of Theology.” To God alone be the Glory!

In the last week of April it was carried out as planned, the module of “Doctrine of Salvation II” under the charge of Pastor Jeffery Smith. Thanks be to God all the preparations and logistics prior to this event unfolded as usual. However, not allowing ourselves to worry any longer, even a little, the arrival in our country of the professor and his translator, because of international alarm that had been raised in these days, regarding the virus (Swine Flu)  that was detected in North America. But always our trust  was placed in God, who conducts all things according to His will and no one can hinder Him. In this way our brothers arrived without any problems and in complete normalcy in the country.

The students were waiting or hoping with particular expectation, because Pastor Jeffery had arrived in his first visit with great appreciation and respect for the relevance of his teachings, so that the exposure of the first part of the topic, our hearts were left with a special longing to continue to delight ourselves in the exquisite treasures of the doctrines of salvation. Accordingly, the conference dealt with in this module the various topics covered by the theme “Ordo Salutis”  which were of great comfort and edification to the students, who have testified,  that not only did they learn the concepts, but also refreshed their souls with the precious truths concerning the  effectual call, justification, repentance and faith among other doctrines that were widely and deeply presented or set forth by Pastor Smith. We thank God for this gift he has given to the church.

The sessions were always intense and exhausting, which demanded much od the professor but also of the translator brother Jose Garcia, who did an excellent job in this regard, providing a clear and fluid communication between the teacher and students was always solicitous to accomplish his task at every opportunity, which allowed the teacher and the students to interact easily,  it was very gratifying and uplifting to meet him and have him with us. Students also strengthened themselves to be always attentive, taking notes and carefully studying the materials at night and early morning, in order to respond satisfactorily to the exams each day. All this is something that over time has formed a dynamic discipline for the  students and also the teachers who have taught us in the past, they take with great facility.

Once again we reaffirm that the program continues impacting  to an increasing extent, the lives and ministries of the pastor students. We see the biblical truths solidifying in them, so that we can see  more conviction and clarity in relation to the distinctive doctrines of our faith.

We lift  up to God, many prayers and thanksgivings for the great blessing that each module brings. We also recognized and pray for all those who rejoice and steadily make their contributions to enable each module. Thank you for being willing to be tools in the hands of God to advance His purposes. May  the Lord prosper you, knowing that our work in the Lord is not in vain.

With the love that unites us in Christ, filled with gratitude,your servants in the cause of the Lord.

Pastors Guillermo Gómez & Jorge E. Castañeda

Distance Education & The Ministry

Posted by deangonzales on June 19, 2007
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Is distance education in every way inferior to a traditional “brick and mortar” education? Or are there some clear advantages that distance education can offer the ministerial student and the church? While we recognize that distance learning is not for everyone and acknowledge that there may be some advantages to a traditional residential form of education, we believe that there are also some clear advantages and benefits associated with distance learning.  So does Jerrold H. Lewis, Pastor of Lacombe Free Reformed Church.  He has written an excellent article which answers some of the common caveats against distance education and suggests several advantages to this format of learning as it applies to ministerial training. Pastor Lewis has granted me permission to post his article on our blog, and you may find it also on his personal blog at http://kerugma.solideogloria.com/. Read and enjoy. Dean Gonzales.

Introduction

Formal pedagogical forms is a fancy way of describing the science of teaching by way of lectures, written assignments, and examinations. Traditionally this has taken place in classrooms under the supervision of in-house professors under the auspice of a brick and mortar institution. The question that has arisen in the last 20 years is, “Can formal education be done properly at a distance, or is distance education a second rate substitute for a true education?”

As a minister who has spent several years in brick and mortar institutions and several years doing distance education, I would like to offer a few thoughts regarding the benefit of distance education.

First, let me begin by saying that distance education is not for everyone. Brick and mortar schools have their place and should be utilized when needed. Further, if you are not highly self motivated with a mature and realistic outlook on the criteria for completing a degree at home, it is better to stop before you begin, and head off to a good brink and mortar seminary. Distance Education should not be thought of as a shortcut to a degree. Any school worth its salt will require the same level of academic standards from its distance students as it will from its residents. This will eliminate many prospects right off the bat because most need the structure of the brick and mortar pedagogical method to complete their work.

There are several reasons that are presumed to be the best reasons for going to a brick and mortar school. I would like to take the top 3 and provide an alternate viewpoint from someone who has worked and has succeeded (in some measure) under both systems.

Fallacy #1: Brick and mortar schools are better because live lectures are better than recorded.

Live lectures are only as good as the lecturer. Not all brick and mortar schools have a John Murray, or a Joel Beeke to teach Systematic Theology. Countless schools have fair teachers, but the best are often far away in other parts of the world, or worse yet, deceased! A live lecture from a run of the mill teacher is no substitute for a taped lecture from Westminster’s late John Murray, Knox’s Robert L. Reymond, or Pittsburgh’s John Gerstner. To transcribe theological thought from the lectures of one of the Churches brightest lights is a far better way of learning than from any middling college professor. Besides, one can’t stop a live class, reflect on the professors’ words, rewind what the professor said and then run to your private library and cross reference the quotation just given. With distance education you can.

Fallacy #2: Brick and mortar schools offer personal interaction with the professor.

It has been my experience and the experience of many of my peers that this is simply not the case. With the high demands of the academic life in school, reading assignments, essays, labs, and examinations, coupled with the demands of a part time job (mine was full time!), and a family, personal interaction with a professor was a fairy-tale dream concocted by the marketing strategist of whatever school you are attending. Besides, most professors do not hang around after the class because of the great demand on their own schedule. In most schools the professor that just lectured needs to juggle his own very busy schedule to do justice to the demands on his life. This is why he never read your term paper on Barth’s Theological Method in your Church History class and why a fourth year teachering assistant did. When he does have a free moment you are clamoring with 45 other students who also want his attention. Most people who speak of personal interaction with the profs are speaking idealistically, not realistically.

Fallacy #3: Brick and mortar schools offer a peer to peer atmosphere where students can sharpen each other.

In my three years of brick and mortar education here is a typical day. Up at 5:00 am to complete the homework I could not complete the night before. Next I rush out the door with a piece of dry toast and a juice box, fly down the married dorm stairs and cross over the campus to my first class. At 8:45 am I stop at the cafeteria for a snack and run to the other side of the campus for my next class. At 10:30 am, I race home to read the assignment for my afternoon class and sleep for 15 min before my 12:45 class, after which I stop by the library to pick up some text book only to find out that all 70 text books have been signed out by other students. I then quickly put my name down for a back order and slip off to my last class. At 3:30 pm I rush home, change my clothes and run once again across campus grounds to the Restaurant where I will spend the next 8 hours waiting tables. Fortunately I am home by eleven so I can spend at least the nest 4 hours doing homework. This was a typical day. Weekends were spent working and catching up from the week before. Anyone who thinks that a student can spend time with his peers is probably very rich and very smart. How one can pay for a $50,000 education, get good grades and spend time with peers discussing the finer points of eschatology is beyond me. Besides, any spare time I might have should be spent with my family not my peers.

There are more fallacies to debunk such as the benefit of a massive library, and the prestige of graduating from a “top school”, but the ones I listed are the main ones. Now I would like to give you several reasons for student ministers to do their degree at home.

Advantage #1: You get true one-on-one training.

Under a proper distance education model the institution will require that the student have a mentor or tutor, preferably the student’s own Pastor or another local minister. Now the student gains the academic knowledge needed coupled with true beneficial interchange with an experienced pastor. In my situation my minister and mentor Rev. D. Beattie passed away during my training. But before he did I had the pleasure of learning at the feet of a masterful pastor/theologian who spent 25 years in one pulpit. I had hundreds of hours of one-on-one session where he poured out a quarter of a century of pastoral wisdom and knowledge. No seminary professor, no matter how efficient he is with his time, can compare to this model. Since his death I have found the next best thing in another local area minister.

Advantage #2: You never leave your local Church.

Most men who are pursuing the ministry leave for seminary and never return to their local body. So often the cream rises to the top and is whisked away never to be seen again. Instead of the local congregation benefiting form the gifting of the individual, they are left with a real void. Often, the same gifts that caused the church and student to look toward the ministry in the first place became a true benefit to the local body in zeal, evangelism, dedication, etc. Now, many of the very best prospects in the local church community are somewhere in Delaware!

Advantage #3: You get to experience in reality what the school teaches theoretically.

Isn’t it is strange that we think that to gain a true understanding of the Church we must leave it. Isn’t the Church the best place to learn about the Church? Spiritual maturity, godly humility, tending to the flock, experiential preaching, mature governance, and care of souls cannot be taught on a blackboard or overhead projector. I can learn what John Murray said on the Covenant of Works just as well in my study as any classroom. Putting to memory the Shorter Catechism, the WCF, the doctrine of John Calvin, and John Owen is the easy part. The hard part is self sacrifice, love for the brethren, spiritual discernment, etc. What I am saying is while at seminary one may learn how to identify the objective genitive Greek noun and be able to display how Warfield’s position on textual variants differs from Hort’s, one will never learn the intangible spiritual qualification of a minister in such an artificial environment. John Frame suggests that more often than not this artificial environment does not prepare the new graduated scholar for the spiritual duty of shepherding God’s flock. “Seminaries not only ‘frequently refuse to do the work of the church’; they also tend to undo it”, by making scholars not shepherds (Frame. “A Proposal for a New Seminary. Journal of Pastoral Practice.” p.10).

Advantage #4: You gain hands-on training.

John Frame said in the same essay,

In the early days of American Protestantism, the training of ministerial candidates was carried out by pastors of churches. A young man feeling a call of God to the ministry would associate himself with a church pastor, receive training from him, participate in the work of the parish, and perhaps even live in the minister’s home. I’m not sure why, but eventually this system was felt to be inadequate (Frame. “A Proposal for a New Seminary. Journal of Pastoral Practice.” p.10).

Frame goes on to remind the reader that seminaries are a convention of the church, created to fill in the gap created by churches that are not fulfilling their Biblical mandate of discipleship. He sites “old” Princeton Seminary board member Rev. Gardiner Spring who contends that in his day the parish-trained minister far surpassed the seminary trained scholar. That is quite a statement from both Frame and Spring – two seminarians (p.11).

The truth is the training of a minister is a ministry of the Church, not the seminary. How a Ph.D. who has spent little to no time labouring in the pulpit of a congregation, catechizing the young, visiting the sick, and comforting the widowed, deserves the honor of teaching the intricate details of tending to the Vineyard of Christ is hard to understand. Even though there are some outstanding professional teachers in some seminaries, it seems to me that the qualified teachers of the Word are the teachers of the Church. However in our day, pastoral experience has given way to “wall worshiping” men who are not seasoned pastors, but Ph.D.’s, D.Min’s and Th.D’s. Frame comments, “Over the years, however, it has become less and less possible for a man to be an outstanding pastor and an outstanding scholar; thus seminaries, forced to choose, have inevitably picked the latter” (p.11).

Distance Education plus an active Presbytery/Session/Consistory is the best model of training in my estimation. Are we the best scholars? Perhaps not. However, before I was ordained I preached on the Lord’s Day over 350 times (in my church and others), to members of Presbytery 7 times, conducted 96 catechism classes, conducted 134 Bible studies, stood at 3 death beds, did two funerals, and dozens of visitations. Had I gone away to complete my training I would have missed out on 3-4 years of hands-on training before ordination, and I would spend the first 5 years of my ministry gaining the experience I would have had as a student under the Distance Education model.

Advantage #5: You are under you Presbytery’s supervision.

Who better to know your greatest strengths and weaknesses than your presbytery? If the Lord has deemed fit for the Church to train its ministers then why not utilize technology and the presbytery’s experience together? When it is time to go to your first charge as a pastor the recommendation does not come from a seminary professor who only has a limited knowledge of your ability, but a session and presbytery who are intimately conversant with you as a student.

Advantage #6: You develop a strict and proper use of time.

Imagine 3 or 4 courses sitting on your desk ranging from Logic to Church History. There are no time tables, no class bells, no deadlines for papers or exams. How quickly would you get these courses done? Now the phone is ringing, your kids are calling, and you have a midweek meeting to prepare for before your Lord’s Day Sermon. Would you have the personal dedication to do the work that is required of you? The greatest personal benefit to distance education is not the information you assimilate, it is the discipline of self regulation and control. It is far easier to follow the conventions of a brick and mortar timetable created to regulate you time for you than it is to do it out of sheer self discipline. What the distance educated student may lose in the benefits of brick and mortar training he gains in self sacrifice and self discipline. I have learned something during my time as a distance student that could be taught nowhere else; I learned how to use my time wisely without outside pressure. This is, in my opinion, invaluable to one who would be a minister entrusted to study, pray, visit, and teach by his own timetable.

Conclusion

There are certain detractions to distance education. The dropout rate is greater, there is a sense of isolation, no competitive atmosphere, too much flexibility, etc, but as far as I am concerned this system works. When the local church and the student are equally concerned with the task of training ministers, we come closer to a biblical model of educating those who are seeking the ministry.

Jerrold H. Lewis

Works Cited

1.Frame, M. John. “A Proposal for a New Seminary”. Journal of Pastoral Practice.Volume 2. Number 1.Baker Books. Grand Rapids:1978.

2. Whytock, Jack. C. “Theological Education and Training and the Modern Rise of Distance Learning”. Haddington House Journal .Volume 5. Moncton: 2003.

Ministerial Training: Need, Problems & Solution

Posted by deangonzales on June 7, 2007
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The Pressing Need

When discussing gospel labor with his disciples, the Lord Jesus underscored a critical need: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Mat. 9:37). The solution Jesus recommends for this need is basic and vital: “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mat. 9:38).

But does the Lord want his people only to pray for laborers? Certainly, Christ’s own practice of teaching and mentoring his disciples suggests that he also took seriously the responsibility to prepare gospel laborers. This conclusion is confirmed by the writings of the Apostle Paul, who in his final epistle exhorted his young companion Timothy, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

In light of these considerations, we may expand upon the need Jesus underscores as follows: The church needs not only to pray earnestly that God would raise up qualified gospel laborers, but she also needs to provide the theological and ministerial training necessary to prepare such laborers. This is “the pressing need.”

Some Common Problems

Clearly, the church needs to be concerned about theological and ministerial training. But there are certain misconceptions that prevent the church from seeing this need or hindrances that keep her from meeting this need. Each church must consider its own peculiar limitations.

Local Church Responsibility

Although most local churches acknowledge a responsibility to evangelize, to plant other local churches, and to support the work of foreign missions, many churches have lost a vision for ministerial training. In many cases, churches have completely delegated the role of ministerial training to Bible colleges and seminaries that have no direct ties or accountability to the local church. Yet, according to Scripture, Christ has appointed “the church of the living God” to be “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). Accordingly, Sam Waldron is correct when he concludes, “It is the institution of the church … which is entrusted with the preservation and passing on of Christian truth to future generations” (The Midwest Center for Theological Studies: Prospectus, p. 3).

But in many cases, academic institutions and Bible colleges have taken over this task because the church has failed to assume her responsibility. As a result, candidates for the pastoral ministry are no longer being trained by pastors but by academic experts who in some cases may have little experience in the pastoral ministry. The president of a well-known evangelical seminary recently highlighted this point when he noted,

“The transformation of theology into an academic discipline more associated with the university than the church has been one of the most lamentable developments of the last several centuries. In the earliest eras of the church, and through the annals of Christian history, the central theologians of the church were its pastors…. From the patristic era, we associate the discipline and stewardship of theology with names such as Athanasius, Irenaeus, and Augustine. Similarly, the great theologians of the Reformation were, in the main, pastors such as John Calvin and Martin Luther” (Albert Mohler, “The Pastor as Theologian.”).

Certainly, these words underscore the local church’s need to recover her God-given responsibility to be involved in theological education and ministerial training.

Manpower, Gift, and Resource

Even if local churches acknowledge a degree of responsibility to provide and promote theological education for prospective laborers, there’s often the problem of insufficient manpower, gift, and resources. After all, how many local churches are blessed with a plurality of elders? And certainly theologically gifted men, like Augustine, Luther, and Calvin, are not found in every church. Furthermore, many churches are small in size and already stretched in financial resources. This may be one reason why many churches find it necessary, though not preferable, to delegate the responsibility of training gospel laborers to parachurch institutions.

Flexibility and Affordability

In most cases, traditional Bible college or seminary education requires the student to leave his home church and current employment and to relocate and look for new employment. This in turn, presents the student and the church with a number of challenges. For some men, giving up one’s current employment and relocating is simply not a viable option. This is especially true of men already laboring in the pastorate who desire further theological education. They cannot simply abandon their congregation in order to relocate to a traditional seminary. The church also loses a valuable ministry asset when it sends her gifted and godly men away to seminary for training. More importantly, the church, to some degree, loses the ability to provide careful onsite assessment of the man’s graces and gifts. The man’s own pastors no longer exercise a direct mentoring influence upon their potential trainee. Finally, it should be noted that a traditional seminary education can be very expensive. Average tuition rates can range from $150 to $400 per credit hour. This puts the total amount of tuition for a 90-credit program somewhere between $13,000 and $36,000. As a result, the student is left with a heavy financial burden. <!–[endif]–>

A Viable Solution

In the spring of 2005, Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Covenant Reformed Baptist Church of Easley, South Carolina, founded Reformed Baptist Seminary: A Church-based Ministerial Academy (also known as RBS). We believe RBS provides a viable solution to the pressing need and common problems associated with preparing gospel laborers for the following reasons. Reformed Baptist Seminary is:

1. Ecclesiastically Based

As a “church-based” institution, RBS operates under the joint-oversight of two local churches and seeks the input and counsel of a pastoral advisory board and other likeminded churches. Moreover, RBS requires that each student be a member in good standing of an evangelical church and that his pastors be supportive of his pursuit of theological training.

2. Pastorally Administered

The seminary’s faculty primarily consists of instructors who not only have biblical knowledge and teaching ability but are qualified pastors engaged in pastoral ministry. Furthermore, RBS requires one of the student’s pastors to provide general oversight of his training and to serve as his mentor and proctor.

3. Academically Credible

The seminary provides a structured program with accountability. There are course requirements, testing and assessment, grade transcripts, dean-mentor cooperation, and regular progress reports. The seminary also consults academically qualified and experienced pastor-teachers to establish and maintain good academic standards. Additionally, RBS offers generally recognized academic degrees, such as the Bachelor of Divinity or Master of Divinity, in order to enhance the credibility of the student’s training.

4. Administratively Flexible

The seminary provides both a distance learning format as well as live modular instruction. RBS also allows the student to set his own schedule, study at his own pace, and pay tuition a course at a time.

5. Reasonably Affordable

RBS does not require the expenses of “brick-and-mortar” academic facilities and a large seminary staff. As a result, the seminary can charge the student a nominal tuition fee of $50 per credit-hour, which is only a fraction of the cost that most seminaries require. Compare our tuition rates with the following tuition rates of many other conservative evangelical seminaries:

* Variation in cost depends upon the number of credit-hours taken per semester.

** Variation in cost represents difference for SBC and non-SBC students.

6. Mutually Participative

As noted above, the seminary overseers receive input from an advisory board of pastors. RBS also utilizes pastor-teachers from other local churches and encourages the participation of other churches that are capable of hosting live modules. In this way, RBS fosters a “teamwork” approach to ministerial training.

7. Increasingly International

The seminary’s distance learning and live modular format enable it to provide “overseas” training. RBS offers the “Marrow of Theology” program, which is a streamlined curriculum that can be offered in modular format over a period of three years. The seminary has already completed this program in the Dominican Republic and has agreed to offer the Marrow in Bogota, Colombia, beginning in 2007. RBS has received additional requests to help with ministerial training from other foreign countries.

8. Potentially Far-reaching

Reformed Baptist Seminary has the potential of providing training to a broad range of like-minded students and of positively influencing many men who are in the process of reformation. RBS has the potential of preserving Reformed Baptist theological instruction for future generations in digital audio and video format. Furthermore, the seminary has inaugurated the “RBS Biblical Scholarship Fund” to finance writing and publishing projects. In this way, RBS can provide sound theological education for churches and students all over the world.

9. Realistically Viable

We believe RBS is a model of ministerial education well-suited to a group of churches that are relatively small and limited in resources. The seminary already has a basic administrative structure in place and a growing student body. RBS is well-suited to take advantage of the growing resources of internet technology and has momentum.

These are some of the ways that Reformed Baptist Seminary provides a solution to the pressing need and common problems associated with ministerial training. However, RBS needs your help.

In his famous booklet entitled “An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens,” William Carey argued that merely praying for the conversion of the heathen is no substitute for the use of “means” for their conversion. Shortly after, Carey followed up his booklet with a sermon which communicated the same basic message under two striking exhortations:<!–[endif]–>

In a similar way, Jesus and his Apostles do not merely call the church to pray for God’s provision of gospel laborers. They also call the church to use all the biblical means at her disposal to recognize those laborers and to provide the training necessary to prepare such men. In light of this, we would like you to consider supporting RBS financially if you haven’t already begun to do so. If you are able and interested in supporting the seminary or in knowing more about our financial needs, please contact Robert Gonzales, the seminary dean.

Vision

When Sir Walter Mildmay founded Emmanuel College of Cambridge, England, he is said to have reported to the Queen of England, “I have set an acorn, which when it becomes an oak, God alone knows what will be the fruit thereof.” That school soon became a hotbed for Puritan theology and preaching. We too have planted an acorn, which we hope will someday become an oak.