Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Where Have All The (Canadian) Pastoral Training Schools Gone?


So, where have they gone? I'm not condemning the Bible Colleges for broadening their purpose and then reinventing themselves as liberal arts training institutes. But the sad reality is, the school that specializes in training pastors seems to have gone the way of the Dodo bird, especially in Canada. Such a school that is also committed to the complementarian position is even more rare. That is why my recent conversation with the academic dean of Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario (D.A. Carson's alma mater, by the way), was so encouraging. Their identity as a school is encapsulated by the following (taken from their web site):

1. Our Mandate
We are committed to the integration of faith and learning for the purpose of preparing our students to serve the church locally and globally, fulfilling the Great Commission. To that end, our programs provide for curricula focused on spiritual formation, a biblical foundation, theological integration, ministry and leadership preparation, critical evaluation, and effective communication.

2. Our Denominational Affiliation
Heritage College and Seminary is an agency of The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches (Central Region), whose churches we serve along with other like-minded evangelical churches, organizations, and denominations.

3. Our Epistemology
We are committed to the absolute, propositional truth of God that exists and can be known objectively. We are committed to the pursuit of sound doctrine, not simply through the transfer of knowledge from professor to student, but also through Christian life experience and spiritual growth which occur in the context of community.

4. Our Hermeneutic
We are committed to the plenary, verbal inspiration of the Bible as God’s inerrant, infallible Word as the basis for all we do and teach, our interpretation and understanding of which is rooted in discovering the original author’s intended meaning, taking into account the grammatical structure of the text, the historical and cultural meaning of the words at the time they were written, and their literary genre and context, all with a view to ascertaining the theological truth of the passage.

5. Our Ecclesiology
We are committed to the headship of the church under Jesus Christ and the mandate of the church to make disciples, equipping them for ministry and growing them spiritually. We are committed to developing men and women to their full potential to serve Christ in the various ministries of the church. We affirm that the distinctive leadership role assigned to elders (which includes any pastor serving as an elder)is reserved for biblically qualified men on the basis of creation, the fall, and redemption.

6. Our Cultural Relevance
We are committed to being a community of faith that is relevant to our culture but not so affected by it that it compromises our Christian behaviour, beliefs, or message. In our culture we are committed to the accurate, relevant proclamation of the one true Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the practical expression of Christian love, justice, and mercy.


Read more on the school's web site.

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