It’s a privilege to be the newest contributor to the Parchment and Pen blog. I’m new to Reclaiming the Mind Ministries as Creative Director and Instructor, but I’m not new to the concept of online seminary. For five years I worked as the Senior Internet Designer for Dallas Theological Seminary (http://www.dts.edu). Computer Programming genius (not an overstatement) John Dyer and I developed most of the online education environment at DTS.
Designing and implementing an online education environment was a blast. We used bleeding-edge technology at the time and developed a system which accommodated multi-language support. What does this mean? Many students were from countries other than the U.S. and took classes in languages other than English. A large number of students were in countries where they could be imprisoned for proclaiming the name of Christ.
Can you picture the scene? A student is living in a country hostile to the gospel, yet they’re earning a Th.M. from Dallas Seminary by secretly taking classes from Howard Hendricks and many other world-class professors in their own language! It was a joy to go to work each day to help develop this platform; knowing lives were being changed and church leaders were being trained.
If the only possible way for you to receive a seminary degree comes from taking all your classes online, then I say go for it. Dallas Seminary and several other prominent seminaries have developed robust accredited online education environments. It’s better to go through seminary online than not-at-all.
Michael recently wrote a lot about the pros and cons of online seminary from a student’s perspective (link). I wanted to take a different focus. Looking at this issue from the eyes of the educational institution. Here’s my bold claim: A seminary can not afford to trade in their “brick and mortar” seminary for online education. Yes, financially it makes better sense in the short-term. I believe, however, if a seminary continues to grow in their online offerings it will eventually ruin the school. Here are two reasons:
1. Character – The goal of a seminary is not to fill someone’s head with a bunch of facts so they’ll beat everyone at Bible trivia. Seminaries must be very serious about graduating people who have grown in both knowledge, maturity, integrity and character. Someone whom they can point to and say, “This person has our seal of approval, they are worth following.” If a seminary is not equally concerned with orthodoxy and orthopraxy, they will become a degree-mill full of Pharisees.
Every graduate of a seminary takes with them the ability to either enhance or ruin the ongoing reputation of the school. Am I saying every person who takes an online class is a creep? Not at all. What I’m saying, though, is it is much harder to gauge the character of an individual online. I know of several people during my time at Dallas Seminary who were kicked out of the school due to character issues which became obvious when students were eyeball-to-eyeball with other students and staff. I am confident these issues wouldn’t have been discovered if these people were solely online students.
One night in 2002 while sleeping in my seminary dorm room I was awaken in the middle of the night by the guy in the room next to me. He was swearing so profusely it would make a drunken jerk in a wife beater blush. After more than 20 minutes of profane monologuing, a friend of mine and I knocked on this guy’s door. He was writing an exegetical on a portion of the life of Christ and was having footnoting problems with Microsoft Word. I couldn’t believe it. This guy was a leader in our spiritual formation department. The Dean of Students met with him several times helping him walk through this character issue. None of this would have been brought to the light, to his detriment, if he was an online student.
A seminary must also be interested in the character of graduates for legal reasons. I’m aware of a situation where a family sued a seminary because of the actions of a graduate. Why? While the student, in the 1980’s, was on campus there was at least one incident where his character came into question. The seminary believed they handled the situation properly and the student went on to earn a degree. A church saw this man’s resume and noticed he had a degree from the prestigious school, they hired him as their pastor. The man, tragically, more than a decade later molested a child. The family sued the seminary due to the false “seal of approval” they gave the pastor. The case settled out of court and cost the school a considerable amount of money.
I fear if seminaries continue to move their education online it will fill their coffers in the short-term with cheap tuition but will eventually ruin their reputation on the issue of character alone. More and more graduates will slip through the cracks because their lives are only seen from afar and only as much as the student reveals online. Let us not forget, postmodern generations must see “Character” and “Authenticity” in anyone stepping into a position of church leadership. Seminaries need to be more vigilant than ever to help their students foster character in order to reach the next generations for Christ. A seminary degree earned completely online is a step in the wrong direction.
2. <?php while { ($Seminary_Training == $Binary_Vacuum) $Seminary – – } ; ?> -or- Seminaries need Brick and Mortar.
A seminary is naive to think the best thing about their school is the curriculum. Don’t get me wrong, the curriculum is a vital character in the story of a seminary. I loved the curriculum of Dallas Seminary. The main star, however, are the people. The students, staff and professors create a holistic training environment inside and outside of class. The brick and mortar buildings are where we live life eyeball-to-eyeball for a precious season of our lives. All our stories intersect and we are never the same.
I’ll never forget my wife and I having Dwight Pentecost over to our home, cooking him a steak from my home state of Iowa, and he says, “Wow, this is the best steak I’ve ever had.” A great compliment from a man in his 90’s. Then we go on to spend the evening talking about God as he bounces my little daughter on his knee.
I’ll never forget John Hannah losing his eye-sight in one eye during the semester but still pulling my wife and I aside and encouraging us about the goodness of God. I’ll never forget watching my best friend help John Walvoord stand up by giving him a huge bear hug…a memory that still makes me laugh out loud. I could go on and on about great, meaningful times inside and outside of class with professors. I could also talk about the godly staff who serve faithfully at a seminary and encourage us along the way. I could also talk about the many times where friends, outside of class, helped to give flesh to the concepts I was learning for the first time.
Yes, we can spend millions utilizing all the technology currently available to try to replicate similar outcomes through online education. I believe it will never replicate the significance of being face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball inside and outside the classroom with godly mentors and friends as you study truly great things. There is certainly a time and a place for online education in the life of a seminary education, but it must be a minor character showing up only occasionally to supplement what is already happening within the brick and mortar training ground.
Seminary degrees earned 100% online will only water down the significance the seminary will have in the life of the graduate. The institution will only suffer as students and staff have less and less influence in each others lives, therefore less and less value will be given to the seminary. The seminary will slowly die flying the flag of progress.
28 replies to "An Insider’s Critique of Seminary Online"
Thanks for posting this Tim. I’m so excited for what you’re doing at Reclaiming the Mind – they are lucky to have you!
I’d also love to make sure that DTS’s policies on online education are clear. Here is my summary of how DTS handles online classes:
For degrees intended for full-time ministry – including the flagship 120 hour ThM program and five 60-90 hour MA programs – DTS allow students to take a maximum of 30 hours online, while the remaining coursework must be completed at a granting campus or extension (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Austin, Knoxville, San Antonio, or Tampa). In addition, all professional degrees require membership in a Spiritual Formation program designed to facilitate accountability and personal spiritual growth outside the classroom. DTS does have one program that is offered fully online – the Certificate of Graduate Studies – but it is a 30 hour program for “Christian laypersons who desire a short program of seminary studies to equip them for effective ministry in the local church or elsewhere.” DTS also makes certain exceptions for students in closed countries.
Also, as a matter of personal opinion (not official DTS policy or position!), I really like Fuller’s approach where they group students into cohorts who go through an entire online program together. As I understand it, all the classes are online, but they all travel to Fuller together once or twice per year for some face-to-face time. This seems like a powerful way to foster close relationships over time.
-JD
PS. My favorite verse on the subject has become 2 John 1:12 “Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.”
To me, he’s saying, “I would rather not use the technology of my day (writing) to communicate, because we were designed for face-to-face human interaction. But in this case when we absolutely cannot be together, I will use technology as a temporary solution knowing that we plan to spend face-to-face time together very soon.” For more verse on the subject see: http://donteatthefruit.com/2009/01/technology-and-“face-to-face”-in-the-new-testament/
These are some very good reasons for promoting the traditional method of seminary education. I am a Bible college graduate and currently enrolled in an online program obtaining my MA in Theological studies from a well known school. One of the entrace requirements was a character reference from my current pastor. A major way in minimizing possible character issues is for the school to be in close contact with the student’s pastor and other references. Though this will not totally eliminate the characterically-challenged student from enrolling, it will go a long way in establishing solid communication between an educational institution and the local church. Being 50 and tied down with the usual bills and responsibilities in life, I am appreciative of the online option for seminary. Fortunately, my Bible College was local in Portland, Maine and the positives for an on-site education can not be overstated. I did enjoy the pros and cons of the articles. Love this site.
Tim, let me applaud and echo your thoughts here. As wonderful and comprehensive that technology has afforded the on-line experience, there is absolutely no substitute for the onsite experience. One of the greatest joys that I have experienced is the relationships formed with both faculty and students, alike. I LOVE going to my theology profs offices and just picking their brains. I also like that you emphasized character. From chapel attendence, to spiritual formation groups, to lunch with fellow classmates or profs, these are truly vehicles that foster character.
I am now taking my 4th on-line class. They are great and the interaction has been fruitful. But it is no substitute for the real deal.
Having walked through your time at DTS with you, I give a hearty amen to your blog. Nothing could be truer than the lessens we learned together while you were “in” the classroom. But I must say I was a pretty proud wife with the content you developed for the on-line classes!
For the most part I agree with you. Definitely there are parts about the classroom and campus experience of seminary that cannot be replaced and are vital.
With that said, here is a different angle. Think about the person who is getting great experience working for a church or organization full time. He or she wants to attend seminary but the full time work makes that difficult. Rather than drive an hour or two to the seminary of their choice close to where they live. They are still getting their character built with their job and they are still being forced to implement the head knowledge gained into a real life situation. Maybe online seminary for them is the perfect fit.
Tyler,
The largest concern I have with the pastor getting his seminary degree online while continuing to be a full-time Pastor is not related to character but the danger that he will end up doing both poorly. As a full-time pastor myself for the past 2 years I realized it takes a special gift from God to be bale to accomplish anything significant outside of shepherding the flock God had given me and loving my family.
Yes, there are some situations where a pastor can lead a church well, obtain a good seminary education online and faithfully love his family at the same time. I believe this is an exception and not the rule for anyone who sees this setup as most convenient.
-Tim
While seminary is for academic education as well as character development, I’m troubled at the thought that the seminary should be held that much responsible for its graduate’s conduct.
This goes to the basic argument of the roles of church vs. para-church, but I would think that the primary responsibility should be with the church who supports the student, and thus with the student’s overseers.
I’m generally in favor of the brick-and-mortar approach, but one of major pros on the online-education side is that mentoring at a student’s local church can continue, while moving away to go to a seminary severs that tie to a great degree.
“($Seminary_Training == $Binary_Vacuum) $Seminary – -”
Lol! How about this:
string Seminary_Training = “Valuable”;
string Binary_Vacuum = “Less Valuable”;
int Seminary = 72; //My RTS credit hours when I graduate this spring
if (Seminary_Training.Equals(Binary_Vacuum))
{
Seminary- -;
}
– OR –
Tim = Tony = Geekus Programmati //:-)
I shouldn’t have read this article right after finishing a data migration code module–is programming humor even remotely funny to non-programmers?
Fair point Tim.
I’m not the lead pastor but I do work at a church full time and am taking one class a semester (sometimes 2). So seminary is a long drawn out process for me. I have to be very conscience of what my boundaries are for work and school in order for my life not to get out of control busy.
As I thought about this some more, there is another element to the bricks and mortar that is not really present, or at least to the same degree, in the on-line experience. And that is sacrifice.
For the most part, the folks that I go to school with have sacrificed a lot to be there. Yes, they could have stayed where they were, in their jobs, with their extended families, in places of relative comfort. But the value of educational experience has prompted many to say, these other things don’t matter as much as receiving good training in order to impact the lives of people with the gospel.
I recall when I first started getting serious about seminary, I was looking to fit seminary into my existing life. But when I recognized that the ThM program was really what I needed to pursue and was encouraged to go to DTS, the first thing I thought was “how the heck am I going to do that, working part-time as a single mom? It meant giving up my career, which was a pretty good one, btw and living off far less money than I had become accustomed to. It also meant dependence upon God to provide. And provided he has!
My story is just one of many. There are many who have sacrificed something to be there, they have uprooted their families, left their home countries, lowered their disposal income, sold or rented their homes. I am not saying that everyone has to do that. Nor am I exalting the sacrifice as some type of piety trophy. But I have to wonder how important is it to get good and thorough training in order to lead others in ministry?
Tim
The only problem with your argument is that onsite seminary cannot insure the outcome of its graduates. Your example from the 1980s is a case in point. And scripture tells of Aaron and Judas: just to mention a couple of people who were being groomed for the top level of ministry.
And if you look back to the first seminaries, you’ll find they were all about making sure that they would carry the banner of the church of that day. Thankfully, they failed to achieve that part of their mission or we would be still bowing towards Rome.
Elnwood,
Unfortunately so many people go to seminary without a real strong church connection. Yes, pastoral recommendations are a central part of the application process for most seminaries, but a seminary cannot depend on a strong ongoing connection between a church and the student. Our 21st century focus on the individual over the community plays into this issue.
-Tim
Mike,
Many past issues of character deficits have led seminaries to take this issue more seriously. One of the reasons Dallas Seminary started a mandatory program called spiritual formation was to take a more proactive role in the character/spiritual development of the graduate in light of situations like the one I mentioned.
I wasn’t saying in my post that if you go to a brick and mortar seminary you’ll have integrity and godly character. I was saying that if a seminary abandons the brick and mortar for a 100% online degree, they will graduate more people who will hurt the name of their school…and more importantly the name of our Lord.
-Tim
Tony,
That’s great! Michael thought the title was a bug in our blogging platform…I told him anyone with a programming background will hopefully get it and laugh.
I think your code has a bug:
Tim = Tony = Geekus Programmati
should probably say:
Tim += Tony = Geekus Programmati
sorry, couldn’t resist.
Hey bro, congratulations on your upcoming graduation from RTS!!
-Tim
Tim,
Your post didn’t deal with another scenario: the commuter campus. RTS Washington is primarily a commuter campus. Most of us work full-time and take classes as we can. It’s sort of the same thing; no real feel for the spiritual well-being of the students because we’re always scattering after class. However, being able to have lunch with the professor and other students has been some of the most valuable parts of my seminary experience.
It’s a growing phenomenon; all colleges face the reality that more people are going back to school and simply cannot afford to leave their current positions (like me!). I’ll grant you that being able to take a 3-4 year time-out is the best way to do it, but it’s just not always possible.
Also, I stand by Tim = Tony = Geekus Programmati. For C#, it’s correct syntax; you’re dealing in the dark side with that PHP stuff! “I can feel the conflict within you–let go of your PHP!” (Only a *true* geek would get that one!)
By His Grace,
-Tony
Great post Tim! Having taken a number of online courses (but doing primarily onsite traditiona classes) I would completely agree with your conclusions. Thanks for sharing this with us as many schools are indeed trying simply to increase enrollment, etc., but failing to recognize that though we will indeed reach more students we will also loose something in the process. Which doesn’t mean we don’t do it…it just means we should count the cost and make sure we are willing to pay it.
Hi everyone, I live in Dominican Republic where we have a lot of seminars, but must of them belong to a particular denomination: Baptist, Pentecostal and don’t have dorms inside them. We only have one Evangelical University (www.unev.edu.do) in the whole country which imparts Bachelors and Masters degrees in Theology [non-roman-catholic theology], from a 10 million people country, the evangelicals only represent the 1.0% [but don’t feel sorry for us, because IF we agree in a presidential candidate we can elect the president we want!, but we still need more union between denominations/churches]
What I see from your posts is that you talk from your experience with seminars where you live inside them for 2 or 4 years of your Master or Bachelor degree. But what about those seminars where you go, take your class and then leave? Where is the teacher follow up? Where is the accountably of your fellow students about your character and spiritual improvement?
Tim, another question, can you blame the universities for the all the corrupt politicians or any other professionals in the streets that holds degrees from well know schools? My opinion is that the seminar should give some ethics and values to their students, but is up to the people to follow them. Is not the same with church? If a member of a church behaves inappropriately in the society, is the church to blame, IF the church had impart some Christians values and sound doctrine?
Finally, I agree with you, that your actual scenario is better [the on-site] than online, because of the interaction with other people, but what about forums, blogs, chat rooms?
Hoping to hear your comments [from all of you],
Having worked in Student Services and seen many of these “character issues” on display among seminary students during the disciplinary/restoration process, there is no substitute for rubbing elbows with your fellow Christians in the context of ministry training and working out your character in a community setting. Online education is a supplement to traditional education, but in an ideal situation it should not be a replacement.
Great post, Timmy. Well said. Love ya bro. Hope you’re enjoying your new gig.
=MV=
I’m in Bible College and after being a year on campus and then going online due to circumstances, I fully agree that traditional classes are much better than online. My experience is a bit different because the school I am enrolled in is a small school and I still have relationships with most of the campus and have actually been to visit and even take a J-term class.
Something my school does is a required internship with a church. I think this is necessary to apply what is learned.
For those who receive their master’s degree via distance learning (or online), there is one very helpful component to consider. That is having a requirement that each student must have a certain amount of residency weeks in which one course is completed over the one week.
I’m sure DTS does something like this, or maybe with a comment above, they only let you do part of your masters degree through distance learning. But I completed my MATS through Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. We had to complete at least 3 residency weeks, which consisted of 6 weeks preparation reading beforehand, the 1 week of class lectures and interaction, and 6 weeks of post-work on a specific project/paper. These residency weeks were a great opportunity to spend time with professors, spend time with other students in the distance learning programme, and utilise the resources on campus.
Actually, I absolutely loved spending time on campus. It made me really heavily consider once whether I should move to St. Louis (from Memphis at the time) and study on campus. But I knew God had me connected into where I needed to be. But the 3 residency weeks were brilliant. And there was opportunity for more each January and July.
And even with distance learning courses, we had people coming from Central America, one blind guy, and other such cases. So I think seminaries/universities should consider this as a very healthy component for those who must train online. Of course, it still doesn’t fully supplement if one studied on campus. But it was one of those bonus things.
Another quick thing: we had ‘mentors’ who would contact us every 4-6 weeks to talk about how the course is going, answer any questions, etc. Sometimes it felt unneeded or superficial. But, done right, it could be a great thing.
Tim,
I totally agree with your assessment here, and would, with you, highlight one particular aspect of the Seminary experience, at least at Dallas Seminary format that was so crucial in my experience, that being the mandated Spiritual Formation process. To be able to come together with others of like mind, and face to face work through issues in ministry and importantly life itself, pays rich dividends. There is no way in my opinion that a completely online experience can be fashioned to capture this “iron sharpening iron” experience. While online education is important and opens the possibility of educational development to so many, It does in my opinion, need to be supplemented with some sort of an “in house” experience. How that happens I do not know, but thats why God has gifted you and so many others like you, to work better “sharpen” the experience.
Blessings to you and the family.
Probably the earliest example of distance learning, more than 40 years ago, was the secular UK Open University. It combined distance lectures – which were transmitted on BBC TV overnight – with postal interaction with tutors (in more recent years by email), and real face-to-face residential summer schools.
So this model did provide, to a limited extent, face-to-face assessment of the sort that is being raised here.
Blessings
Tony
Good discussion. Personally, having led and taught in a variety of settings including two seminaries and now serving as a graduate school dean, I am not convinced that a residential experience is necessarily the preferable method of theological and pastor development. I believe there are three types of students our seminaries must seek to serve and their needs differ.
1) Those who can and should physically attend and who have the resources and ability to do so. For these students, face-to-face seminary classroom experiences make sense. They have the ability to relocate, the time, the financial potential, and the free mobility to do so.
2) Those who can be physically present in a limited way. These students are less able to be engaged in face-to-face classroom experiences because they are already engaged in a ministry setting, or sensed God’s call later in life, or do not have the option of relocating. For these students, hybrid, cohort models are wonderful options. I have led these kinds of programs and have seen all of the benefits of the full residential program. In fact, I believe students are actually more engaged in their education and the application of that education. Based on 30 years of experience in Christian higher education, this is now my own preferred educational model if it’s spiritual formation, character development, and ministry effectiveness that are the primary measure of results.
3) Those who cannot be physically present. Frankly, the vast majority of Christians on this planet will never be in a position to avail themselves to a seminary education. Online opportunities provide those who are not able to become resident seminarians access to Christian higher education. Is online ever the best option? Well, yes, clearly so, if it is if it is the only option which it is for many.
Just as an aside. I still believe the best place for spiritual formation and character development is in connection with the local church, not the seminary.
Great insights!
Let me bring up the saying, “Don’t ever tear down a fence until you first learn why it was built there in the first place.” My article and the one by Michael on this subject were responding to some thinking out there that online education is the natural progression of seminary training. A school which transitions from 100% on-site toward 100% online is only going to grow and prosper. We’re trying to add some reflection into this subject and say, “Just because we can, let’s pause and talk about if this is something we should do.”
Let me look at this differently. Imagine being on the operating table and just as the anesthesia is kicking in you hear the surgeons talking about how they got their degree completely online. Would you be confident, or pass out with your eyes bugging out? Additionally, what if you hear the airline pilot mention just before take-off that his training was 100% online…would you be confident or scared? I’m seeing an ideological fork in the road on this issue. Yes, this is an additional point not mentioned in my article, but I would say seminary training should be as critical as medical school or flight school. Since we’re dealing with eternal issues, you can make a strong case seminary training is more important than medical school.
Let me ask a counter question, Tim. Imagine you knew that your surgeon finished 1st in his class at a brick and mortar med school, but you heard him talking to the nurse about how this was his first surgery outside med school. Would you be confident, or pass out with your eyes bugging out? Additionally, what if your airline pilot got his training at a brick and mortar flight school but this was his first real flight with passengers aside from training…would you be confident or scared?
Likewise, what about someone who is in their 40’s and who is already the pastor of a small church? Or what about someone who is already a deacon and SS teacher in a large church? Or who is on staff at a large church and has been in positions of leadership and service for years? What about someone who has first hand experience dealing personally with tough issues such as people in their flock getting divorced? Or dealing with a church member who struggles with homosexuality? Or confronting disputes between members who are ready to sue each other over a major financial disagreement? Or having experience personally ministering to widows or orphans or in hospital ministry? Or having had experience in dealing with people wanting benevolence assistance from the church?
Wouldn’t people who had those kind of experiences benefit from seminary education as well, even if most of the degree was online? Especially if the online degree they were pursuing was regionally and ATS accredited and required a certain amount of residence via week long block classes, extension education, or whatever? Sure they aren’t going to have the same experience as a 22-year-old who goes straight from college to a brick and mortar seminary experience. But likewise the 22-year-old doesn’t have the depth of experience to apply a lot of what they will learn in seminary to real life ministry either. Seems to me that even an online degree could greatly supplement existing ministry experience.
I don’t think the comparison to med school or flight training is really a good one. Not that pastoral ministry isn’t as critical—it’s even more important. But the comparison really stops there. Along with the necessary knowledge, surgeons and pilots are learning to perform tasks that are largely physical and involve specific methods, procedures, and a certain level of dexterity. This does not compare well with pastoral ministry. Even considering the practical aspects of ministry, seminaries have gotten better at addressing practical training, but many (most?) feel this is still not really a strength. Many seminary grads don’t really learn practical ministry skills until they go to work with a church (unless they work in ministry while they go to school). A better comparison might be attorneys; ironically, many attorneys receive their education through distance education.
Another big problem that I see with this comparison is that surgeons and pilots are both learning to do things that are completely foreign to the average person. But pastors are learning to do things more deeply, more intensively, more completely—but things that they probably were already doing to some extent (biblical interpretation, teaching, leading, spiritual formation, etc.). These are things that we expect and hope that all Christians will be doing in some ways. But we don’t expect people to be lay surgeons, and we don’t urge all citizens to learn to fly.
These comparisons seem compelling, but I don’t think they are really valid.
This site has given me a lot tothink about. I was in Seminary 4 years ago, but had to withdraw do to martial concerns. But what I learned
from that experience is that when one get the call as some may say, it does not always mean that it will manifest at that time.
I feel as though G_D calls us at least for me to see if I would accept the call and not that it is meant to manifest at that time. It has been 4 years and I am now ready to return but only because I am being
nudge. I can not sleep at night, I am not satisfy with my job, it consumes my thoughts and it’s all that I desire to do.
I have no idea of how I will be use. I totally trust G_D. It is a journey.
And for me at this time an online Seminary would work best. Do I have concerns? yes. But I also trust G_D will lead to where I am suppose to go and regardless of how many credential one has behind there name, it is the Holy Spirit’s endorsement and approval that one must seek. This journey is not about one’s self.
This site has been helpful in provideing me with a lot of tools to assess the many, many, programs that are out there.
Blessings!