Luther Rice Seminary

In a search, I saw some discussion about this school, but wanted to ask for new opinions or hear from those who didn't see the prior threads.
Tuition is reasonable. 215.00 per credit hour. www.lru.edu

Thinking about an online MA---thank you in advance for any insights into this school.

 

LRU is TRACS-accredited, which is legitimate, but the degree will have the usual limited utility of all NA degrees. If it's purely for personal interest, LRU might be a good fit.

IIRC, Steve Levicoff liked LRU even before they were accredited, which was high praise indeed.

 

Thanks---it would be purely for personal interest/growth/enrichment---

 

In that case, they're definitely worth a serious look.

 

Thank you, and I'm going to look at the feature "similar threads" below these posts. That is one of the many good things about this site, having those similar thread titles listed.
A great site, but I am still really a novice when it comes to distance learning.

 

From everything I've seen online, LRU seems like a fine school, the only caveat being it's NA not RA accredited. If you are a fan of Charles Stanley, he did his masters and doctorate degrees at LRU (before it was accredited, I think).

 

Big fan of Charles Stanley, and I just noticed, earlier, that he graduated from that school. That is a huge recommendation, for me

 

I have a couple of friends who graduated from LRS; the school seems to have a rather positive reputation but is a little too much on the fun-dam-mental side for me. But, being of the Presbyterian flavor a school that is predominantly Baptist would seem that way.

 

I noticed that and felt the same way.....I think other schools might be a better fit for me, the more I research this.

 

LRU should have utility in Baptist circles, the school is pretty well known (my father and grandfather were Baptist ministers) so the degree has more utility than just personal interest. I like LRU and have been interested in their leadership program, but I need another degree (masters) like an extra hole in the head right now.

 

I hear you---the thing that strikes me the most about all of this research is that, probably like many of you, I get really torn between two or three schools and just cannot make a choice, and keep visiting the various websites on and on until I feel like I could do an MA thesis on that subject alone.......

 

Of course, it depends on what "kind" of Baptist circles.

Liberal to Moderate Baptists? Useless in those circles. Probably a negative.

Southern Baptist conservatives? Could be beneficial, but you could find some resistance from individuals that prefer the official denominational seminaries (Golden Gate, Southwestern, Midwestern, Southern, New Orleans, and Southeastern).

Fundamentalist/Independent Baptists? It depends. Some ultra-fundamentalists would shun the school as not being fundamentalist enough, but among the rest, it would probably be well received.

Free will Baptists? I'm not as familiar with them, so I'm not sure how it would be received. LRU would have a different position on whether or not one's salvation could be lost.

 

Wait a second... a nationally accredited ministry degree from LRU is not ONLY good for personal interest. If you are sensing a call to the ministry and want to earn this degree as a apart of discerning that and / or seeking a pastoral or other ministry position then LRU is great, in most cases.

This isn't like taking a few classes from Jo Bob's academy of backyard BBQ... LRU is well respected in Baptist and other Free Church circles for pastoral training; especially if you have the gifts which are consistent with that training (solid communication, care, and counseling skills).

It also depends if you are already in ministry. The above poster is right that LRU will mean different things to different church groups, but so will a Ph.D. from Yale Divinity School! Or Duke for that matter! The same is true of all institutions. If you have meaningful experience plus the degree then your experience and affiliation matters more. If you only have the degree then obviously you are considered largely based upon your degree.

Charles Stanley, you know the guy who has been preaching on television and radio since both came out... has a Th.D. from LRU...

 

Yes, Charles Stanley is one of my favorites, and I listen to his In Touch (intouch.org) radio program most weekdays.
I found out last week that he is a graduate of LRS.

In my case, I feel no call to the ministry, as of yet, just a desire to pursue the Word more and more, in detail, have completed a couple of DL certificate programs, never thought I would be interested in delving into it so deeply as to want to enroll in a MA program, but that changed, and now I do want to....

Looking hard at Luther Rice Seminary, Golden State School of Theology, and Bethany Divinity College and Seminary (Dothan, Alabama)-----now, I know that the latter school is the subject of much disapproval here and elsewhere, but I've also heard a few positive things about it.

In my precise situation, not caring at all about whether it is accredited, and even less whether it is NA or RA, all this being strictly for personal growth, knowledge, enrichment----I am not viewing these perhaps "less quality" schools the same way that someone would who is intent on establishing solid credentials with which to go into the ministry.

And, to clarify----my post that you cited above was in response to someone's question about why I was seeking an MA, for ministry or for personal enrichment, etc----so my response was strictly limited to the general statement that my studies would be for personal enrichment, whether it was LRS or any other school---there was no intimation that LRS would be a good school only if one wanted personal growth out of attending that school. Of course it is accredited, highly respected, and would be a good choice for anyone wanting to go into ministry

 

Of those three, Luther Rice, and it's not even close.

 

That's what I've been hearing.

And just by the way, I have heard so much about Liberty University, I see a lot of folks here have attended or are students there now. That is a really good school.

What is (perhaps) lesser known is their Liberty Home Bible Institute, I mentioned it elsewhere, tuition $950.00 for the entire program. Liberty Home Bible Institute|LHBI|Biblical Studies Diploma|Biblical Studies Diploma At Home

 

No one said otherwise....my point was that if the OP wants a program for purely personal interest, then LRU (as well as the unaccredited schools mentioned by the OP) may be an attractive choice compared to the much more expensive RA programs out there.

 

Got-cha' :wink1:

I have a nationally accredited doctorate... my knee jerk reaction to defend :AR15firing: a NA degree got the better of me...

 

Gotta love the graphics or emoticons or whatever they're called. LOL

 

It would seem that if you simply want the degree for personal interest that Nations might be a really good fit. Understand though, that Nations embodies the philosophy of the Church of Christ. This may, or may not, be a negative - simply stating the facts.