), and will probably be away for a bit more. I wanted to share with you a major project I and a few others are working on.The Emmaus Biblical Training Center
Basically, I'm starting an online Bible school. We're going to be offering certificates, not degrees, simply because the sad truth is that formal degrees take waaaaaaaay too much time and require waaaaaaaay too much money to complete. And while the return on investment is (or can be) fabulous in terms of personal knowledge and spiritual growth, the financial ROI is pitiful. Further, as someone who has been through Bible college and seminary (twice) as well as Clinical Pastoral Education and have been certified with the Association of Professional Chaplains, what I can honestly say is that the vast majority of theological education is pretty useless when it comes to every day ministry.
Please note that I am NOT downing formal theological education. There will always be a place for BAs and MAs in biblical studies and related fields, MDivs, and PhDs in theology. But that place is getting smaller by the year. The student pool is getting smaller. Churches are closing there doors. The ones that remain open are either very, very large (megachurches) or tend to be very small (less than 100 people) and so cannot afford to pay a full time pastor. As such, paying for formal education makes less sense than it used to.
So enter EBTC. For those who don't have the time or money but still want a great taste of formal theological training, I think this is a great option. Classes are cheap (~$50 rather than $300-600 at a seminary) with a lot of the same material. No papers, but plenty of serious quizzes to make sure you are getting the material. They're also shorter than a typical college class--five sessions which should take you about a week to complete each--with no formal start and end date. Enroll when you want; work when you want; finish when you want. Right now there are two instructors/course designers. Me (you already know my credentials) and Dr Tony Guthrie (MDiv, ThM, PhD). We are soon adding a spate of other highly qualified instructors, all of whom have at least masters degrees and some have done doctoral work. I expect to have about eight instructors by March, each with two or three courses of their own. And that means I expect to have about 30 courses up and running by then.
Right now, the formal launch will be January 1. We will have one certificate in basic biblical studies up, which will be a five course program (Intro to Biblical Interpretation, NT Survey, OT Survey, Survey of Basic Theology, and Intro to the Spiritual Life). We are also hoping by the end of January to have two other certificates up and running--one in apologetics and one in teaching/preaching.
So yeah, LOTS going on. I'll be updating you all over the next several weeks. Needless say, we're really excited. So keep those of us working on this project in your prayers. We're generating a lot of interest and I'm spending a lot of my (very limited) free time working on this stuff.
See y'all around!
EDIT: SEE LIST OF AVAILABLE COURSES HERE
