Seminaries for Evangelicals

Seminary is great.

A number of Taylor students have asked me about seminary. I think seminary is a wonderful thing. It is a chance to read great books and devote time to the intellectual side of faith. Meanwhile, if you are intentional, you can work on spiritual formation with a group of friends. You can also get involved in a local church and get ministry experience. There is no replacement for seminary if you are going to work with adults.

Start on it early if you want to.

Another thing I always tell students is that they can start right away from wherever they are. For example, I took Church History 1 and 2 from Gordon Conwell through their extension program. They sent you a bunch of tapes or CD’s and you have to listen to them. Then you have to have someone unrelated to you proctor your exam. Then you have to send in your paper. It is great!

Most credits will transfer from school to school. Check on this but I think this is almost always true.

How to pick a seminary:

1. When you are nearby traveling for other reasons, check out the seminary, visit a chapel, talk to an admissions person, meet with a prof, and see what you think of it.

2. Pay attention to the books you like (and don’t like). Where did the authors go to school? Where do they teach?

3. You will likely have some interests. Are you looking for apologetics? Are you looking for mentoring? Are you looking for innovative church ministry? Do you want a seminary that hates the megachurch or loves it? Do you want a seminary that likes the emerging church conversation or hates it? Do you want a seminary with a wider statement of faith or a narrower one? Many schools have some kind of specialty.

4. Check out the websites.

5. Realize that where you go to seminary will often influence where you end up living. You will tend to settle down nearby.

6. A seminary will certainly form you so this is a big decision.

7. Go to Regent College’s summer school. They have awesome 1-2 week classes in May, June and July with professors from many seminaries.

8. Seminaries accept most everyone.  I'm not saying not to take the admissions process seriously.  Write good essays, turn in your recommendations, send your transcripts, follow the directions, etc.  But, it bothers me when people say, "I got in so that must be the right place!"  Hmm . . . no.  Most everyone with a college degree and a C average without a criminal record gets accepted at most every seminary.  Hmm . . . again, you should check on whether this is true.  Princeton and Duke are more picky.  All I am saying is that getting is not necessarily God saying "Go here."  Talk to your friends and family, visit, read, etc.   

My List of Seminaries

Below I have listed a number of seminaries where Taylor grads have attended. I have tried to list them from most liberal to most conservative. There are some schools that I don’t exactly know where they lie so I have guessed.

Certainly there are many, many more seminaries. There are many more that are smaller and more denominationally oriented. There are many that are more liberal. There are bible colleges. There are many in other countries!

After naming the seminary and providing the link, I have listed some of the more famous faculty members. Now, this “fame” is just my opinion and is most often determined by authors I have happened to have read. I just thought it would get you started on your search. I have also listed some friends of mine and where they went to school. If you email me, I can probably give you their contact info.

The List

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary - Pittsburgh, PA. Craig Barnes, Edith Humphrey. Friends: Scott & Fairlight Collins-Jones who now pastor in Philadelphia.

Princeton Theological Seminary - Princeton, NJ. Darrell Guder, Ellen Charry, Kenda Creasy Dean. Friend: Brendan Benz – fellow 1998 Taylor grad. Aaron Messner – pastor in Philadelphia.

Duke Divinity School - Durham, NC. Ellen Davis, Amy Laura Hall, Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Hays, Richard Lischer. Friend: Ryan Moore – 1999 Wheaton grad.

Palmer Theological Seminary - Wynnewood, PA. Craig Keener, Ron Sider.

Fuller Theological Seminary - Pasadena, CA. Ray Anderson, Colin Brown, Eddie Gibbs, Archibald Hart, Don Hagner, Richard Mouw, Joel Green. Friend: Jacob Gaines – 1998 Taylor grad.

Mars Hill Graduate School - Bothell, WA. Dan Allender, Nancy Murphy. Friends: Jon Stanley, Atta Dawahare, Ken Peer, Jason Jost, Jon DenHartong, Chris Keller – all Taylor grads.

Regent College – Vancouver, BC, Canada. J.I. Packer, Gordon Fee, Bruce Waltke, James Houston, and John Stackhouse. Friends: A million because I went there. Amy Rowell, Matt Ghormley, Ben Suriano, Cynthia Bennett, Jon Yeager, Brad Brummeler – all Taylor grads.

Bethel Seminary – St. Paul, MN. Associated with the Baptist General Conference.

Asbury Theological Seminary – Wilmore, KY.  Ben Witherington III. Friend: Sally Evans – 1997 Taylor grad.

Denver Seminary – Littleton, CO. Craig Blomberg, Douglas R. Groothuis. Friends: Brooks Penner – 1999 Taylor grad.

Calvin Theological Seminary – Grand Rapids, MI. Cornelius Plantinga, John Witvliet. Friend: Mark Dykstra – 1998 Taylor grad.

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary – Hamilton, MA Robert Coleman, Scott Gibson, Scott Hafemann, Walter Kaiser, Haddon Robinson, David Wells. And Charlotte, NC. Friends: Brad Bitner and John Noble 1998 Taylor grads. Eric Kniffin – 1998 Wheaton grad.

Wheaton College Graduate School – Wheaton, IL. Greg Beale, Doug Moo, John Walton. Friends: Jeff Loaney and Beverly Matos.

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School – Deerfield, IL. D.A. Carson, Grant Osborne, Kevin Vanhoozer. Friends: JR Kerr and Jim Matter – 1998 Taylor grads.

Truett Theological Seminary - Baylor University, Waco, TX. David Garland, Roger Olsen.

Multnomah Biblical Seminary - Portland, OR.

Talbot School of Theology – La Mirada, CA. William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, Michael Wilkins, Norman Wright. Friends: Hank Voss – 1998 Taylor grad and Brent Croxton – 1998 Wengatz hall director.

Westminster Seminary California - Escondido, CA. Michael Horton, Robert Godfrey, Steve Baugh, David VanDrunen.

Westminster Theological Seminary – Glenside, PA. Presbyterian and Reformed. Peter Enns.

Reformed Theological Seminary – Jackson, MS. Orlando, FL. Charlotte, NC. Atlanta, GA. Washington, DC. Boca Raton, FL.

Covenant Theological Seminary – St. Louis, MO. PCA seminary. Bryan Chapell. Friends: Andrew Stern and Jeff Loaney.

Dallas Theological Seminary – Dallas, TX. Darrell Bock, Howard Hendricks. Friend: Jon Easterhaus – 1998 Taylor grad.

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – Louisville, KY. Thomas R. Schreiner, Albert Mohler. Friend: Joseph Bonura - 1999 Taylor grad.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary – Fort Worth, TX. Paige Patterson, Craig Blaising.

The Master's Seminary – Sun Valley, CA. John MacArthur.

Update:
See the post by John Stackhouse (a professor at Regent College): Seminary: Who Needs It?  from March 8, 2007.

Comments

[R. Scott Clark]

Hi Andy,Thanks for this useful list.Here's another for your students to consider:Westminster Seminary Californiahttp://www.wscal.edu/clarkAmong our faculty are Mike Horton (ST), host of the White Horse Inn and editor of Modern Reformation magazine; Bob Godfrey (History), and Steve Baugh (NT), David VanDrunen (ST/Ethics).Cheers,rscR. Scott Clark, D.PhilAssociate Professor of Historical and Systematic TheologyWestminster Seminary Californiarsclark@wscal.eduhttp://www.wscal.edu/clark"For Christ, His Gospel, and His Church."

[R. Scott Clark]

One follow up:The sem site is:http://www.wscal.edu

[Andy]

Thanks, Professor Clark for reminding us about Westminster Seminary California. I have added it. It is indeed independent of Westminster in Pennsylvania. Michael Horton is one of the most well-known younger Reformed thinkers and writers.

[Edith M. Humphrey]

Thanks for this list of seminaries that will be helpful to "younger" scholars who want to remain faithful. To your list of PTS professors should be added Robert Gagnon, Scott Sunquist and Andrew Purves, all "salty" professors with a love for the Lord.Best,Edith M. Humphrey

[Andy Rowell]

Thanks Edith for commenting. Edith herself is an excellent New Testament scholar from Pittsburgh Seminary. See her website at http://www.edithhumphrey.net/

[Tim Schultz]

A very helpful list! Along with attending a denominational seminary, I graduated with a M.Div. from the more liberal Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. As a moderate Evangelical and Anabaptist, I enjoyed being in an atmosphere where there could be some exchange.

[Nick]

Depending on when this post was done, it is not important, but... Joel Green is now a NT prof at Fuller Seminary, the best seminary on the face of the planet. (I'm biased if you can't tell) :)

[Jeremiah]

Thanks for posting this useful list! I was wondering where Portland's Western Seminary would fall on you ranking from liberal to conservative?

Thanks again.

[Maria]

Andy -- a helpful post, even years after it was first written. Sad to say, I think it's time to remove Ray Anderson from the list of Fuller faculty. He passed away this week. Similarly, Don Hagner is now retired, although I think he continues to teach occasionally -- and I suspect an exceptional student might be able to persuade him to mentor him/her for Ph.D. work. That's an unsubstantiated guess on my part, though :)