Our goals for our students
Our mission is to equip leaders who equip members for works of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). Within that mission, we might also describe some of the goals that we have for our work:
Our goals draw on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus told the people who would lead his church: Make disciples, baptize them and teach them. This command is fleshed out in the rest of the New Testament, such as with Paul’s admonition: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).
We aim to help the church understand what Jesus taught and to obey what he commanded. The church is not just a feel-good community of friends – the teachings of Jesus give us a solid foundation for relationships to the triune God, to believers, and to those who do not believe. They also help people have an accurate understanding of their own role in these relationships. Our goals touch on our relationships in three areas:
First, we want education to improve our relationship with God. In some sectors of the religious world, the academic environment promotes skepticism and encourages students to disagree with the texts and orthodoxy. We want instead to promote faith and worship, to encourage students to submit to the authority of the biblical text and the church’s ancient creeds. The more we learn about God, the more reasons we have to love and praise him.
Second, we want education to promote healthy relationships between believers, and to promote our collective worship and work in and through the church. In some sectors of the religious world, the church is viewed as an option, sometimes as an embarrassment rather than an environment Christ uses to develop his people. We want to help the church carry out Jesus’ commands more faithfully and more accurately by helping leaders understand the Bible and the theology of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will yet do.
Third, we want education to help our relationships with people who do not believe in or trust in Christ as their Savior. Some religious groups present an adversarial relationship between believers and “the world”; others have allowed modern culture to set the agenda and methodology of the church. Some deny that the church has anything to say to the culture; others deny that we have any responsibility toward our culture. As prophet, priest and king, Jesus set a holistic example, where true religion includes words and actions. If we neglect beliefs and focus on actions, we promote pretense; if we focus on beliefs without actions, we promote Gnosticism. We teach that beliefs should make a difference in what we do; faith leads to works. We have a message for non-Christians, and part of that message is the way we live. God loved the world by sending his Son to do something for it, and part of what he did is to teach and to command more teaching.
Last, we have a more personal goal: We want leaders to understand who they are in Christ, in the church, and in the world. In all three, we are servants or slaves of Christ. It is to him that we must answer. We want to help leaders grow in the way that they live out the grace of our Lord and Savior, and this comes in part through growth in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18).
As teachers in this seminary, we believe that Christ has gifted us and called us to this role in the church. We teach not only in obedience to Christ’s command, but also because we find joy in doing what he wants us to do. We are excited by the things we have learned and we enjoy sharing them
with others. We serve in our niche to help you serve in yours.
Michael Morrison, PhD
President