Master of Divinity

This course builds on the Biblical Preaching course, offering deeper insight into and practice with the art and discipline of expository preaching. Students learn how to bring accurate interpretation of various biblical genres into their preaching with creativity and practical relevance to their specific contexts. Peer group interactive learning and individual mentoring help build the student's preaching confidence and skills. (1.5-lecture units-course; 1.5 hours per week)

This course equips current and emerging ministry leaders for the calling, demands, and functions of pastoral leadership of a local ministry in their context. Students learn how to wisely lead God’s people in ways that result in spiritually mature and healthy ministries. Students will be prepared to respond to common organizational, personnel, and community challenges, and to address contemporary issues that ministry leaders face in in mobilizing a church for disciple-making and Christian witness in the community. (1.5-lecture units-course; 1.5 hours per week)

This course introduces students to Christian teaching about God’s being (theology proper) and works (revelation, creation, humanity). Students gain a deeper understanding of historic Christian commitments in these areas and grow in their ability to assess and defend those commitments with biblical and theological reasoning, and with humility and charity. This course gives special attention to the spiritual and practical implications of God’s triunity, humanity’s creation in the image of God, and the Christian understanding of the spirit world. (1.5-lecture units-course; 1.5 hours per week)

This course equips students to understand the overarching story of the Old Testament. Students will learn to fit each book of the Old Testament into the structure of the overall story. They will also develop skill in interpreting genres in the Old Testament such as narratives, poetry, and prophets within a larger exegetical framework. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course is designed to prepare students for effective basic research and writing as Christian leaders graduating with MA and MDiv degrees, or equivalent certificates. This course is the foundation for effective research and writing. It introduces students to the use of library and internet resources, and the mechanics of good writing, reading comprehension, note-taking, and paper formatting to help them produce quality assignments and ministry-related presentations. (1.5-lecture units-course; 1.5 hours per week)

This course analyzes the story of the New Testament in the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation, continuing the story of the Old Testament. Students will learn additional skills for interpreting narratives as well as skills for interpreting epistles and parables. Attention is given to the literary, historical, and cultural context of the New Testament. The course will place a special focus on Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the ongoing mission of God through his church. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course equips students with biblical principles, contemporary scholarship, and practical skills related to achieving a common mission and vision through a team. Principles of healthy team dynamics spanning personal differences, gender, and culture are examined. Students explore their own strengths and giftings, interpersonal styles, and personal blind spots. They learn skills for understanding others, adapting to the team, resolving conflicts, and communicating effectively. Principles of team leadership, team planning, and team decision making are applied to work, ministry, and family contexts. (3-lecture units-course; 3 hours per week)

This course introduces students to Christian teaching about God the Spirit (pneumatology), the church (ecclesiology), Christian living (ethics), and the future (eschatology). As students gain familiarity with biblical teaching and historic Christian commitments in these areas, they will improve in their ability to recognize and respond to contemporary challenges. The course gives special attention to the development of contextually sensitive moral frameworks, the place of the church in God’s mission to the world, and the Christian hope in God’s renewal of all things. (1.5-lecture units-course; 1.5 hours per week)

This program assists students in confirming their calling through an individual or team (two or more students) project to be completed over four weeks in the summer of the first academic year. Students develop skills in self and team leadership, ministry, and interpersonal relationships. It is a platform to help students start or expand a ministry through high impact trainings (HIT), apply their learning in a selected sector-driven ministry, or a combination of both. The internship is student-led, though faculty and/or external ministry practitioners supervise and mentor students, evaluating their progress and addressing character and relationship issues as they arise. (1.5-lecture units-course; 1.5 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)