What Do I Know About IWU’s New Seminary?
I have gotten enough emails recently asking what I
know about IWU’s new seminary that I should save some time by posting what I
know—so here goes. (Disclaimer:
I am not an official representative of the seminary—these answers are only my
perception, but I think they are right. To get official answers about the
seminary write to the seminary admission guy mentioned at the end of this.)
When
are the first classes?
This August. During the first two weeks of August
there are two 3-hour onsite intensives kicking off the program, some work ahead
of time and more after. But by the end of August you can have your first six
hours in the bank.
Is
this seminary onsite or online?
Both. Everyone comes every year the first two weeks
of August. After that two-week intensive, there are two tracks—one onsite and
the other online. The onsite track meets all day every Tuesday during the fall
and spring semesters. The other track is an online track you can do from home.
The fall semester runs to Christmas break, and the spring semester runs until
May.
How
is this seminary different?
This is a really innovative seminary—the core
courses focus on the actual work of a minister integrating Bible, Theology, and
Church History into that course rather than studying each topic separately
assuming the student will figure out the relevance to the work of ministry. For
instance, ministers must lead their people in worship—so the worship course is
not just a practical course in worship but also includes all the related
foundational study from Church History (the history of worship through the
ages) Bible (Biblical foundations of worship) Theology (of worship and the
character of God deserving/desiring worship etc.) This is true for all six
six-hour core courses for three years every Fall and spring—fully integrated
with a ministry focus in each course.
So,
what are those six 6-hour courses?
1. The Missional Church (evangelism, church multiplication, Missions,
service—Bible, Theology, history integrated)
2. Congregational Leadership (Church
management, organization, administration—Bible, Theology, history integrated)
3. Christian Proclamation (Preaching and pastoral teaching—Bible,
Theology, history integrated)
4. Christian Worship (Designing and leading worship—Bible,
Theology, history integrated)
5. Congregational Spiritual Formation
(Discipleship & Christian education—with Bible, Theology, history
integrated)
6. Congregational Relationships (Pastoral
care and body life—with Bible, Theology, history integrated)
Is
that it—just one six-hour course a semester?
No, running alongside these fall and spring courses
is a series of six one-hour personal
spiritual formation courses making a fall-spring load of seven hours each:
1. Change and Transformation (1 hr.)
2. Self-awareness and Appraisal (1)
3. Goal setting and Accountability. (1)
4. Mentoring and Spiritual Direction (1)
5. Personal and Corporate Disciplines. (1)
6. Recovery and Deliverance. (1)
Then,
what courses happen in the August intensives?
Starting in the kick-off year and continuing for the
following three summers these eight 3-hour intensives happen (an intensive
course is onsite with work done before and after the onsite all-day classes,
the first 2 weeks of August on campus for the two courses):
’09 Pastor Church & the World (3 hr.)
’09 Cultural Contexts of Ministry (3)
’10 Bible as Christian Scripture (3)
’10
Introduction to Christian Theology (3)
’11 Global Christian History (3)
’11 Elective (3)
’12 Integration Capstone (3)
’12 Elective (3)
What
makes up the rest to total the 75 hours for the M.Div degree?
Nine hours more of electives
at the end during year four, for a total of 15 hours of electives, including courses
in Biblical Languages, Bible, Theology, Church History or practical ministry
like Youth Ministry, Preaching, Leadership etc.
What
practicum or internship requirements are there?
Every student in IWU’s M.Div program is required to
be working in a local church—at least half time. The applied assignments of all
core courses are local church related—like gathering three members together to
work on an outreach plan, or meeting with two of your laity to do an assessment
of the outward-orientation of your church. The planners of this curriculum like
to say it is “like taking your church to seminary with you.” If a person is not
interested in the local church this degree is not for them—they should take an
the M.A. in ministry. The M.Div is for local church ministry.
Can
I get credit for any college courses?
Yes. Most seminaries now allow up to nine hours of
your college work to count for some seminary courses. If you graduated from IWU
you probably can count on getting credit for nine, maybe even 12—of the summer courses—meaning you can complete your
electives/concentration during the summer and actually finish in three years
flat plus a summer. That can happen for
graduates from other schools too with examination of the content of their
college courses.
Can
I start any time other than summer?
Yes, cohorts begin in August and January and May, in addition to August. The August one still has
openings (as of April 20) and the January cohorts are already forming.
What
if a cohort is filled by the time I apply?
Tough luck, you’ll just have to enroll in the next
cohort. (Well, maybe they’ll start additional cohorts but I wouldn’t count on
it the first year.)
When
are you building the seminary building?
The rough designing is done already—with hotel-type
rooms for living plus classrooms, fellowship, lounge and study areas. The date
is not set yet for groundbreaking—but you know IWU, we build buildings as often
as some schools mow their grass. Until a building is finished the school is
using other areas designated as seminary classrooms, and a suite of new offices
is already set aside for the faculty.
Who
will be teaching in this seminary?
I can’t tell yet—but you’ll love the faculty, trust
me. Russ Gunsalus is getting the thing rolling and I think Ken Schenck will be
the Seminary’s Dean. There will be someone announced to run the whole seminary
before too long and the seminary faculty already has Bob Whitesel full time.
More then 75 top notch people applied for the other two openings this
year. I expect they’ll add two top notch
faculty members each year as the program progresses until a full faculty is on
deck.
How
much time will this degree take each week?
That depends on how efficient and bright you are, of
course. In the curriculum planning meetings I’ve heard it said “for 15 hours a
week you should be able to get B’s.” As in all education if you want A’s you
have to work harder and longer.
How
many seminary students will there be?
In three years I suspect there will be about 250
seminary students, maybe more.
Will
this seminary be accredited?
President Smith insists on it. The Higher Learning Commission has already approved the Degree as accredited but we will immediately begin the process of gaining ATS (Association of Theological Schools)—we can begin the process as soon as 2010.
Can
I move back to IWU to take this degree?
You bet—the onsite track occurs all day every
Tuesday fall and spring. BUT you will have to find a church where you can work
a minimum of half time. This degree is about local church ministry.
How
much will it cost?
I’m not an official—but here is the pencil work I
used to explain the degree last week to some seniors:
· IWU seminary cost per hour=
$367 (IWU Undergrad costs about $600
Asbury Seminary costs about $425)
· BUT every minister
automatically receives a scholarship equal to 25% of tuition—that lowers the
cost even more.
This means the
cost for a ministerial student would probably look about like this [rounded
off]:
$1650 Two
August intensives (6 hours)
1950 Fall Semester (7 hours)
1950 Spring semester (7 hours)
…and so on for three years—well under half the cost
of the IWU undergraduate program.
Are
there any additional breaks for Wesleyan students?
Oh boy! If you are a Wesleyan minister you will
really be delighted. Wesleyans get three years of the Wesleyan Loan-Grant PLUS
a 50% scholarship toward
tuition. (The IWU Trustees have designated an amount equal to all of the USF it
gets from the Wesleyan denomination to seminary scholarships!) This generosity
of the
$750 Two
august intensives (6 hours)
850 Fall Semester (7 hours)
850 Spring semester (7 hours)
…and so on for three years… and to boot some
districts have additional aid beyond even this. IWU’s seminary is affordable
for any ministerial student but it is an unbelievable opportunity for
Wesleyans, thanks to the denomination and the IWU Trustees! There is no financial
reason why most Wesleyan ministers can’t get a seminary degree now.
How
would I apply?
Look at the grad info here and get an application by
writing to the seminary admissions guy Nathan.Lamb@indwes.edu.
But hurry up—the spots are filling up rapidly (you can see why).
ONE
FINAL DISCLAIMER: I am not an official of the seminary and am not providing
official data here—just how I understand things. I have served the last three
years on the Seminary Task Force that designed the seminary, and I now serve on
the Curriculum Design Team and am writing the Spiritual Formation curriculum,
but I am not an official of the seminary—to get official information write to
the name above.
So what do you think?
During the first few weeks, click here to comment or read comments
Keith Drury April 21,
2009