Master of Divinity

This course equips existing and emerging leaders to lead and sustain organizational change through a team towards a mission and vision. Students learn how to successfully implement new ideas or programs in ways that support organizational values and goals. The course enables students to ground their strategic leadership and development of leaders in biblical principles, spiritual dependence, and appropriate cultural or contextual factors. Students will be exposed to and evaluate several models of change and contemporary tools for planning with their context in view. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course increases students’ capacity for building healthy and effective organizations by providing insights into how individuals and groups behave within organizations and the factors that influence such behavior. It surveys theories of personality, motivation, group dynamics, and leadership style as applied in various cultures. The course explores vital topics such as the sources and uses of power, especially in Asian hierarchical settings like the traditional family-owned business, the military, the corporate marketplace, and formal ministries. Students learn to use practical assessment tools, conceptual frameworks, and development strategies to build leaders and steward their organizations to health and effectiveness. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course helps Christian leaders develop exegetically sound messages from Scripture that sensitively and effectively bridge the gap between the original meaning of the text and the current realities of a contemporary audience. The goal is Christ-centered messages that bring about personal and corporate transformation. Students learn how to assess their own hearts in the preaching process as well as the hearts and minds of their audience. Students will learn to address the heart issues of their audience and prepare their own hearts during sermon preparation. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

Students will learn the exegetical process, developing expertise in exegeting a text with a primary focus on writing an exegetical outline and isolating exegetical ideas that enable them to address their home context. Students will also learn to use Greek to relate to theological issues and concepts. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of Old Testament Biblical Hebrew and introduce them to the tools and methods necessary for accurate exegesis of Old Testament texts. Students will start to develop the skills necessary to: do exegesis in select narrative texts; distill their messages; and communicate these in relevant ways in order to effect change in themselves and their audience. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course exposes students to the progression of Christian thought during critical periods in the life of the church. By deepening students’ understanding of seminal theological issues as they have been shaped by individual theologians, creeds, confessions, and councils, it equips future leaders to engage the present world in light of the riches of the Christian tradition. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course guides students through a deep exploration of their personal spiritual formation and leadership development for the sake of lifelong leadership impact and faithfulness. Students gain insight into how God develops leaders, leadership character, and spiritual authority over a lifetime, while gaining awareness of significant threats to their character and credibility. Students learn how to ground their character, development, and leadership influence in spiritual dependence and confidence in God’s presence and sovereignty. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

The Iron-Sharpening Group (ISG) is an intentional community designed for students to participate in and experience spiritual transformation. Spiritual formation involves God reaching deeply into the spirit of each individual to accomplish His divine work. “The more we become like Christ in the way we live in relationship with people individually and corporately, the more those people will see the light of the glory of Christ in us and will be thereby transformed.” (Averbeck, 2008) The Apostle Paul summarizes well the process of spiritual transformation, “Rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up into Him who is the head, into Christ. From whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)