Is there redemption for ACI ???

Re: Re: Show me the funny....Please.

Herein lies much of the problem. I think that some schools which boast ACI accreditation are sincere in their efforts, but have a limited understanding of accreditation/given norms for academic degrees.

 

Not an easy way out Bill, sorry

Mr. Huffman,

I could not tell from your list of credentials, nor, from your response if you are currently an ordained minister working in the field serving the Lord. If you are, it is indeed commendable work, and I will include you in my prayers for those with whom we labor.

I did not post my question to be dragged into a 'my dog's better than your dog' debate and compare ABS hours with your very respectable ones. I appreciate the fact that you did work very hard earning your degrees, and for that you should be commended. Whether your degree was 90 hours and mine 30, is of no merit as we each earned what we felt we needed for our respective cause. I indeed worked many long nights finishing projects, listening to lectures, etc. as I said in my earlier post. For the number of hours you worked, it is obvious that you have worked very hard.

I did not go to Andersonville to engage in deception or misrepresentation, and I deeply resent that being a part of your reply. I attended the school because it provided a means whereby I could still study God's word without having to leave my home, family, job, and minsistry responsibilities. I did have concerns, long after getting into the program, about the ACI accreditation factor, but, I finished what I had started because I felt like I was learning a great deal.

I currently minister to residents of an elderly care center, and frankly they could care less if I had a degree or not. They are just glad that I show up every Sunday at 2 p.m. like I have for the past 2 1/2 years and preach the word for them, and pray with them.

If this reply has sounded abrasive or offensive, I wish to apologize to you and to the other folks monitoring the board, I simply wanted to clear the air that I did not attend ABS to be deceptive or dishonest, I studied there to make myself a better and more fitting servant for my Master. Whether I use the degrees or not, whether they hang in my study or not, the impact of many of my classes, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, can never be taken away.

N Him
Rex Hickey

 

Re: Not an easy way out Bill, sorry

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Hello Rex

I think your reply is intended for me not Bill H, if not, I apologize. Now,

Rex, whether or not your claim of a ThD is intended to deceive, it is deceptive and wrong in my opinion! Patently your Thd is far and away not what represents a doctorate in Theology in the context of USA recognized accrediting bodies. If you feel that nevertheless, Jesus would want you to take that short, easy way and claim those degrees , then your perception of Him Who is the truth is quite different than mine. It is not a matter of whose dog is better, it is a matter of is yours a dog! you could have STILL studied at home with accredited schools. Look at Bakers list,eg! Look at walston's guide! Search for seminaries on the web,,tons and tons and tons offer accredited DL!. You chose not to but rather to take the route you did. As for your work with the elderly that is commendable, but as you point out, it hardly requires a ThD. As for as being abrasive towards me, no problem! Please believe that any abrasiveness on my part is more toward that school than you. They fleece the flock! They lie! They deny the Scriptural requisite that Christian leaders be entirely honest and respectible!

 

Re: Not an easy way out Bill, sorry

Rex,

The desire to further your knowledge of God's word is to be commended. You enrolled at Andersonville based on your pastor's recommendation and a desire for further training, and it appears that you were initially uninformed on issues of accreditation. From reading your two posts I would not think you were intentionally trying to deceive.

 

Re: Not an easy way out Bill, sorry

Sir, I thought that I was careful to specify that I was not referring to the educational value of your degrees. I was referring to the issue of a school claiming accreditation from ACI.

 

Okay, one more time

Okay, one more time, I am going to state for the record, I did check out as many seminaries as possible, I did check out accreditation issues, I DID NOT...seek and EASY way out as it seems to so readily roll from the keyboards of some of our posters.

I sought what I thought was the affordable, upright way to pursue further knowledge for my ministry. It was not until I was just a few hours short of finishing the school's ThD that I discovered some of the rumblings about ACI.

For those of you who want to hurl stones, quit. My name is not Stephen.

I worked in the program I chose, perhaps I made a mistake, and for your lack of information, I have researched major seminaries and I am praying for God's guidance to lead me to one I can afford and work within the schedule He has given me.

You wouldn't want to loan a fellow about $10 grand for a degree would ya? *grin*

N Him
Rex

 

Re: Okay, one more time

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Rex

OK, You made an academic mistake, I have too.

No, I will not loan you $10, 000. But I will stop my confrontation. I know how hard it can be to find $ for ed, I had to do it too. Remember, like you I teach school and so don't get paid a lot. But why do you suppose you require that much to get an accredited DL MA in religious studies? My ThD w-Unizul is onlyabout $2000. But I will loan you a short list of schools. When you get ready to do it right this time, here are some accredited (in various forms) of distant ed MA in theology schools to look into so you can study right there at home:

American Christian Seminary(TRACS)

SW Assemblies of God Univ(RA)

Global Univ (DETC)

Southern Evangelical Seminary (TRACS)

Piedmont Baptist (TRACS?)

Reformed Theological Seminary (RA)

Potchefstoom (GAAP)
(these 2 prob req BA in THEOL)
UNIZUL (GAAP)

Johnson Bible College (RA)

Southern Christian Univ (RA?)

Liberty Univ(RA,TRACS)

There are others too. My stone hurling is over, but your challenge remains.

 

cool

Thanks for the list of schools.

Johnson Bible College is about a 40 minute to hour drive from my home, and, if I remember correctly, their cost was well over $5,000 for their Master's program.

I am going to try to locate the school you are presently attending, and will be back to check with you if I can't find an address for it.

2K ain't bad to pursue a Thd. By the way, Andersonville now has some advanced ThD programs with concentrations in research on Theology, Eschatology, etc. and require about 2 1/2 years to complete.

Thanks again for the school list, and, the healing from bruises inflicted by stones has already begun.

N Him
Rex

 

Re: cool

Rex,

Bill gave you a good list of schools and options. If I am reading your original post correctly, you do not have a Masters degree. So, Luther Rice Seminary is an example of a good place to start as their Masters programs cost 116.00 per credit hour. I believe Liberty University's MDiv and Master of Arts in Religion is about the same price. ACCS is around 140 per credit hour.

University of Zululand (UNIZUL) has a Mth degree by thesis less than 2000. I do not know the prerequisites.

If you do not have a Masters then my suggestion is that you should go ahead and complete that first and then do your DMin or Thd.

You invest a little time and some money and come away with very credible credentials that will speak well of your dedication to study (2 Tim 2:15).

Best of luck.

North

 

Re: cool

 

...and a partridge in a pear tree

ABS, ACI, ITS, and a partridge in a pear tree.......

Sorry for the silly song, couldn't resist.

A quick question, Andersonville Seminary recently announced that it has formed a 'partnership' with the Institute of Theological Studies, a respected theological think tank which provides courses to many seminaries across the country. <A check of the ITS website does not yet list Andersonville as a school using their programs, but, ABS catalogs show courses from ITS being offered at the school with some entire degree programs coming from ITS courses.>

The bulk of those seminaries listed on the ITS website do have RA and courses from ITS can be interchanged with many of the accredited programs according to the school sites that I double checked.

Does the affiliation with ITS help Andersonville's reputation in any way, or is their claim on about the same level as their sterling accreditation agencies?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Rex Hickey

 

Re: ...and a partridge in a pear tree

 

Re: Re: ...and a partridge in a pear tree

 

Re: Re: Re: ...and a partridge in a pear tree

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Boy are you onery! (sp?) It was you, wasn't it, who * over there* asked, ...."uh, ...what about Liverpool?" Just had to fan my fire didn't you? have you checked your grip on that slippery cliff side lately?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: ...and a partridge in a pear tree

It was I.

Since I was a small boy I have had what my grandmother called a streak of foolishness, this compelling desire to tease. Forgive me but I love to tease you, Bill. I honestly believe I have been elected to do so, so actually it isn't my fault--grace is irresistable you know.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: ...and a partridge in a pear tree

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Granny should have given you an irresistle rear paddling!

BTW, how do look like Lioy coming to the rescue? watching?

 

a featherless partridge

Actually, I had the same thought about the ITS 'partnership' with Andersonville when I checked the ITS website after Andersonville's new catalog came out announcing it.

You are completely correct in that I have read several DL articles in which mills used video tapes of well known evangelists and counted them as adjunct faculty. Surely, God will hold them accountable for such trickery.

Being blinded by my desire to initially defend Andersonville no matter what, it never crossed my mind that they could have indeed simply purchased the tapes to claim affiliation. I guess hindsight is a wonderful way to clear up blind loyalty.

By the way, one very good professor I studied with through ABS was unhappy with the ITS claim as he has some doctrinal disagreements with some of the ITS professors. He taught me a great deal and you can view some of his teachings at his website at http://www.fotbc.org

I am still looking for an affordable and workable DL program to 'fix' the degrees that I earned at Andersonville.
I still feel that I learned a great deal, but, there is more that I need to learn, and I have no problem with going back to square one if indeed the Andersonville degress place my Lord in any bad light due to a decision that I may have made. He gave His all for me, so certainly, I can give all I can for Him.

N Him
Rev. Rex Hickey

 

Re: a featherless partridge

Rex,

What sort of accredited degrees do you have? In other words level and area of study. We may be able to make some solid suggestions to you.

By the way, Russell Morris has posted here that at one point he had an unaccredited undergraduate degree (with mostly credits from accredited schools). He went on to get an accredited Masters and accredited doctorate. Later he was bothered by having the unaccredited (millish) degree on his resume so he went to the trouble of doing an accredited Bachelors and then actually mailed the unaccredited degree back to the school.

What I am saying is that you do not need to let a choice made out of ignorance (I use that term in a kind manner) determine your future. There are many relatively affordable ways to fix this and no shortage of opinions on how to do that.

In Christ,

North

 

Here's the scoop on degrees

I have a BA in Elementary Education from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN which I finished in 1981. I have been teaching in public schools here in TN since then.

I have about 3/4 of an MA in Curriculum at the University of Tennessee, but, I am sad to note that many those hours are not usable except as elective hours because I have not been on campus since 1987. I was in the process of finishing the program when I got married also my dad had open heart surgery which kept me out of one final summer session. A house payment here, and two kids there, and I was never able to get back on track in the Master's program .

Now with the budget problems here in our state, the benefit as compared to the cost of finishing it would almost be minimal. I'd most likely pay off the loan on the MA about the same time that I could retire.


The way our teaching certification works is that a teacher earning an accredited, and appropriate degree (that is, in some field directly related to our profession) no longer has to renew their license in the state. Those of us who still only have our BA or BS must document several hours of in house or inservice training or additional semester hours in order to renew every 10 years. (In either case, we must also pass periodic evaluations by our local board and principal) I just recently renwed mine, so I am good to go until about a year before I can retire. The state is a little more understanding on advanced degrees such as a ThD, but, it must be from a school with accreditation recognized by the state, but, the holder only receives the pay scale for a Master's degree and not a doctorate where an EdD or PhD in content area would earn the teacher pay for holding the doctorate.

Knowing that I had my license taken care of until I could retire is what motivated me to spend my educational time pursuing a religious degree.

The other two degrees I have are from Andersonville Baptist, now Theological Seminary, and as the thread shows are 'accredited', but, by ACI so in essence are not accredited. I make this point clear to anyone who asks about the degrees.

Each of the programs required 30 semester hours, so perhaps I can find a way to have those accepted somewhere to at least get a foot hold on a ThM or MDiv.

N Him
Rex

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: ...and a partridge in a pear tree

What I like even better is your personal invitation from Dr. Frey to complete the degree program you began. What are you going to do?