Masters of Ministry

I earned my Bachelors degree from Bethany Bible College, out of Dothan,Al. I realize that many on this board do not hold this school in high esteem, but I was able to take alot from my classes there and do find it
hard to believe that it is considered a degree mill. I have a friend that earned earned his doctorate through Bethany. It was recommended to him by one of his professors at Luther Rice (even though LR does not
accept Bethany's credits).
I earned my A.A. degree form Brevard ommunity College. I do not anticipate any problems with that degree.
I am seeking to obtain a Masters in Ministry (1-2 yr degree) or Masters of Divinity (3 yr degree). Unfortunately, some schools will not accept my Bethany Degree. I am looking for suggestions of conservative schools to which I might apply that may consider accepting a grad student with a Bethany degree, or without a degree.
Gordon-Cromwell is an example of one school that would accept me, but they are too liberal for me.

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Bill <><

 

Bill:

Some regionally accredited seminaries will admit a student to a master's program with an unaccredited bachelor's degree. Quite often the process is that one is admitted on academic probation, and after a year (if the GPA is acceptable) academic probation is lifted. By you having an associates which is RA, this may also be in your favor.

If Gordon-Conwell will accept you, this would be a great opportunity since you live within driving distance of the Charlotte campus. While not as conservative as Bob Jones, they are not as liberal as say Princeton. Reformed Theological Seminary also has a Charlotte campus. Hood Theological Seminary (Salisbury) offers the MA and M.Div., and Liberty University offers the same.

I would encourage you to choose a program which is regionally accredited. If your career plans are to serve in a pastorate which does not require a degree, then an unaccredited degree may suffice. However, anything beyond that may cause you difficulty and embarrassment.

Best wishes in your pursuit.

Russell

 

I have replied to this post comprehensively, with suggestions, on alt.education.distance. Granted, I could have posted the reply here, but I wanted to write with a little more at-tee-tude than I would normally use on this forum.

 

Worse comes to worst, I think you might have a chance at getting accepted in the University of London's Bachelor of Divinity program (http://www.lon.ac.uk/external), which is very inexpensive and can be done in about a year through examinations taken at Sylvan Learning Centers nationwide. From there, you should be able to go on to the M.Div.

Another option might be to finish a regionally accredited bachelor's through Charter Oak State College (http://www.cosc.edu), Excelsior College (http://www.excelsior.edu), or Thomas Edison State College (http://www.tesc.edu).

Good luck.


Peace,

Tom

 

Tom,

If Gordon-Conwell is too "conservative", do you really think London, Thomas Edison, etc. would be closed-minded enough to meet his isolated and self-affirming needs?

 

And that you did.


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Bill <><

 

Hi,
You might try Johnson Bible College's M.A. program in New Testament and Preaching. It is RA and fairly inexpensive. They also have a policy where they will admit a person with an unaccredited degree on a probationary basis. www.jbc.edu

I finished my M.A. there in 1997 and only spent four days on campus in Knoxville.

Barry

 

*shrug* I reserve anybody's right to pursue a ministry program s/he's comfortable with; for example, I live very close to a Reformed Theological Seminary campus (regionally and ATS accredited), but would never go there because hyper-Calvinism gives me hives.
But if a hyper-Calvinist came up to me and said that Wesley Biblical didn't meet her/his needs, I'd refer her/him to RTS in a heartbeat. Anyway, I'd probably be too liberal for RTS *or* Wesley Biblical when it comes to the M.Div.; I'd be more comfortable in a place like Andover-Newton. And if I can reserve the right to reject a seminary for being too conservative, I think another soul has just as much of a right to reject a seminary for being too liberal.

Likewise, I'd see nothing wrong with a guy wanting to earn his rabbinical ordination at an Orthodox or Conservative, as opposed to Reform, seminary. I mean, the thing with a ministry credential is that it's supposed to be basically compatible with your core beliefs -- otherwise, the whole process can be very distracting.


Peace,

Tom

 

Actually, I believe I wrote that Gordon-Conwell is too "liberal" for me.
Thomas Edison does not claim to be a Bible College, so I would not hold them to as high a standard as I would a Seminary.
I don't believe that it is isolated and self-serving to look for a school that respects my values. It is alot better than selecting a school and arguing with the professors.
You say closed-minded like it's a bad thing.

 

I concur with Bill's response to this question, as well as Tom's opinions regarding, for lack of a better term, ideology.

A conservative can, indeed, earn a degree at secular schools such as Thomas Edison without compromising their doctrinal integrity. Moreover, it is even possible to earn a graduate degree at schools such as Antioch, Vermont College, or Union on teh same basis, since it is the student that brings their adjunct faculty aboard. When I was at Union, I knew learners that had very conservative adjuncts; in fact, on my own doctoral committee, one adjunct was a radical Quaker, and the other was a Fundie that was so conservative he would fit right in at Bob Jones University. Indeed, the only exception I have seen to this principle is Goddard College, an excelent school but one where faculty tend to shove their liberal ideology down everyone's throat.

For what it's worth, I have found that conservatives are far more tolerant than liberals when it comes to persons who hold a different ideology.

Take that from someone who is gay and lberal (moi), but who spent six years teaching at two Fundie schools. The Fundies were far more tolerant of my liberal position on some issues than the liberals were tolerant of my conservative position on otehr issues.

Thus, I fully support Bill's goal of finding a school at which he is both doctrinally and ideologically comfortable. Moreover, as a conservative with a Baptistic position who has already graduated with a bachelor's degree (albeit from Bethany), I assume that he has the maturity to function in an environment with a different doctrinal perspective (such as Johnson Bible College) or even a liberal presuppositional base (such as one of the secular schools).

 

Have you looked at Liberty University?

 

If you are referring to Jerry Falwell's School, I looked at it briefly. The expense was high if I recall correctly.
I'll look again.
It may have been that it did not appear that they would accept my Bachelors.

 

Their seminary tuition (not the Graduate School) is $115.00 per semester hour--very reasonable compared to other schools--and federal loans are available.

 

Graduate is $180 per hour.

 

I think Michael was saying that seminary costs less than standard graduate tuition, which would make sense (though I haven't priced any of their programs lately myself).


Peace,

Tom

 

Johnson Bible College is $150 per hour and the M.A. is only 30 hours.

Barry

 

I just received this email from Liberty's External Degree Program:

Advance notice regarding tuition change for fall, 2001:

There will be a small increase in tuition starting August 2001.
Undergraduate tuition - $130 per credit hour
Graduate tuition - $215 per credit hour
Seminary - $130 per credit hour
Military - $180 per credit hour for MAP students
(This is an increase of $15 per credit hour in each program except for the (MAP) Military Accelerated Program).




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Have a Great Day!

Eddie Hodge

 

I differentiate between education and indoctrination. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive although schools which require that you believe / discovered certain truths before you arrive obviously lean more towards the latter than the former.

 

Sorry, for the con/lib freudian slip.

So you you hold any place in esteem which claims that it is a Bible college... that is rational.

Of course it is isolated and selve serving. It is meant to reaffirm your values and make you feel good. It is the antithesis of the honest pursuit of truth and critical thought (i.e. an education).

Duh, yeh close minded is a bad thing. If you are close minded you either are happy being ignorant or you are happy being proud. For if you wanted to pursue truth or have the humility to accept that you may be wrong in some way... your mind would be open.

What is wrong with arguing with professors... I have done a lot of it in my time, I learned a lot. I guess that is the difference between wanting to learn and wanting to be indoctrinated.

"It seems certain to me that we can never resist God enough, if we do it from a pure regard for the truth. Christ loves those who prefer the truth, because before he is Christ he is the truth. If we turn away from him, however, to follow truth, we will not go far before walking into his arms again."

If you "beliefs" are true they don't need to be protected.

 

So is that the purpose of studying theology Steve... to be comfortable?

Also, we are not comparing someone with non-materialistic presuppositions considering attending a a school with materialistic presuppositions... in this case you are just choosing you presuppositions... we are talking about Gordon Conwell, not exactly a bastion of liberal theology!

Thus, I fully support Bill's goal of finding a school at which he is both doctrinally and ideologically comfortable. Moreover, as a conservative with a Baptistic position who has already graduated with a bachelor's degree (albeit from Bethany), I assume that he has the maturity to function in an environment with a different doctrinal perspective (such as Johnson Bible College) or even a liberal presuppositional base (such as one of the secular schools).[/B][/QUOTE]