What I would look for in a Seminary!
- It is decisively gospel-centered, where the exaltation of the person, work, and words of Jesus Christ holds priority over everything and is the sieve through which everything else is tested.[1]
- If in a church setting, it is one where the above principle is modeled.
- If in a church setting, it is one which is missional and shows a commitment to urban church planting and world-wide church planting, especially in the allocation of its resources.
- It practices a gospel-centered collegiality and sharing of resources with other evangelical seminaries, especially those in the same locality.
- It has professors who are discerning and generous enough to glean from and teach from the best of evangelical theologies which contribute to being gospel-centered.[2]
- It has professors who are gospel-centered enough to respect a diversity of evangelical views in the classroom.
- It has professors who are practitioners with a heart for urban church planting and for church planting world-wide and who spend part of their tenure working in urban churches and all of their tenure in pastoral work.
- It requires first year students to do at least a one-year internship in an urban gospel-centered church[3] that is either a church plant or a church planting church.
- It has a student body that reflects a theological, ethnic, and economic diversity.
- It has urban church planting and world missions as part of its core curriculum.[4]
- It has a curriculum that never loses sight of the big story of the Bible of what God accomplishes for humankind and the cosmos through the person, work, and words of Jesus Christ.
- It garners the support of gospel-centered churches regardless of their denominational affiliation or differences in second-tier theological commitments or their differences on second-tier moral issues. [5]
[1] This gospel-centeredness would be reflected in its hermeneutic, its theology and exegesis, its practical theology, its fellowship, etc.
[2] Teaching their own distinctives and systems, yet with a generosity to other evangelical systems.
[3] Regardless of denominational affiliation
[4] Regardless of where one ends up in ministry, cities are the cultural centers in the world and World Missions is a non-negotiable; therefore, everyone in ministry should be well-informed of both.
[5] First-tier theological commitments are those Scriptural beliefs which are essential to the gospel, i.e. the essence of what it means to be a Christian in all times and in all places. First-tier moral issues are those unequivocal Scriptural precepts that are held in consensus by Christians in all times and in all places.
I love it JD. Great truths, it seems you read alot of keller’s material, or he reads a lot of yours – I would love to see you again.