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Straight
Talk About Earning A Degree for Christian Ministry by Dennis D.
Frey, Th.D., President of Master's International School of Divinity. An
internationally respected leader in the Evangelical movement
referred to what he considered an affliction within the Christian
community as "the degree disease." By
this he was not suggesting that earning a degree is a bad thing. He was himself a highly educated scholar. What he was
putting the spotlight on was that for too many, the reasons to do so have become
corrupted by something other than a proper desire to learn in order to be better
equipped to minister in the name of
Christ.
For over
twenty years, I have served at various leadership levels in
Christian higher education. Prior to that I served for more
than seventeen years in pastoral ministry. As in the case of the
leader noted above, my opinions and insights have been shaped in the
real world of the church. What I will share with
you is candid and unapologetic straight talk about earning a degree
for Christian Ministry. If you are even remotely contemplating
earning a degree in any field, but most especially Christian
ministry, you owe it to yourself to keep reading.
What
Is the Root Cause of the Degree Disease, and some examples?
The root cause of the degree disease is the desire to have a degree
rather than an education...to be well thought of by reason of
credentials rather than calling, acquired knowledge, and moral
fitness for service. Here are some actual examples from the files
at Master's.
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The
Big Cheater. This person was an assistant pastor who
wanted a master's degree so that he could qualify for a different
(better?) form of ministry. He qualified with us by
providing the required documentation showing that he had completed a
bachelor's degree at an approved university. Following his
enrollment our academic department discovered through its
verification process that his transcripts were bogus, and that he
had actually purchased them less than a month before enrolling
with Master's. He was immediately dropped from the program.
Subsequently, his deception was exposed to his congregation,
and the big cheater was forced to admit his sin. In some
states his sin is merely an unethical act, but in others it would
have actually been a crime.
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The
Lazy Leader. This individual was a church leader who
wanted a bachelor's degree so that he would be on a level playing
field with those who served under his authority. He
considered Master's for a time, but eventually found a so-called
Bible College that would allow him to complete his bachelor's
degree by taking five easy high school type courses for which he
received six credits each. The fact that he had never before
completed a single college course did not stand in his way.
The Bible College he located granted him a full three years of
"life-experience credit" without any actual
documentation. This person was able to get his
coveted bachelor's degree in less than three months. He will
probably never understand why those who serve under his leadership
consider him a lazy leader, and why his degree is a worthless
scrap of vanity.
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The
Reverend Doctor. The senior pastor of a church wanted a
doctoral degree for reasons of his own. His hard earned
Master of Divinity degree from a respected seminary qualified him for our
Doctor of Ministry degree program. However, he informed our
admissions counselor that he felt the D.Min. was not as
prestigious as the Ph.D., and since we did not offer the Ph.D., he
had decided to enroll in a seminary that would allow him to get
his Ph.D. in six months to a year. Our admissions counselor
being familiar with the so-called seminary tried unsuccessfully to
dissuade him. The seminary he selected allowed him to earn a
Ph.D. by reading ten books, giving a brief report on each book,
and writing a paper of about thirty to fifty pages. No
matter that many doctoral level programs require about that much
work for a single course! This man may be a senior pastor
with a Ph.D. hanging on the wall of his study, but it's
questionable whether he is a "reverend" doctor.
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The
Low Cost Looser. One of our most hardworking graduates
shared with us how he came to enroll at Master's. Several
years before, he had desired to earn a master's degree in pastoral
counseling. He considered Master's, but the cost of the
tuition was more than he was willing to pay. Instead, he
enrolled in a so-called Christian university with tuition about
one quarter that of ours. When we got his first course, he
was disappointed at the quality of the instruction and the small
amount of work required. However, because he had paid in
full, he decided to complete all of the courses, which he did, and
shortly thereafter, received his master's degree in pastoral counseling.
Nevertheless, he was
ashamed of the small amount of actual work required, so
he decided to drive to the state where the "university" was
located. He felt if he could meet the president and the
staff, he might feel differently. Upon his arrival he could
not locate a university at the address to where he had been
sending his lessons. After questioning someone working at a
nearby church he was told how to find the school, but warned that
he might be disappointed. He did, and he was! The
"university" was a metal tool shed with a paddle lock on the door
(it was located at the address to which he had been sending his
lessons, and even had the name of the school painted on the door).
After going back to the church where he had gotten his
information, he was told that the "president" of the school
resided in a nearby assisted living community. He did not
try to visit the office of the president. What he did do was
to drive to Evansville, Indiana to see if Master's isocated in a tool shed also.
We are not. Before
leaving, he enrolled in a "real" master's program with a
concentration in Biblical counseling which offered certification
with the International Association of Biblical Counselors.
His low cost degree in pastoral counseling he considered a loss
(and a valuable lesson).
Why
do Cheap and Easy Degree Mills Continue to Thrive?
The answer is simple...pride. Pride is a spiritual disease. Not
too long ago I asked an acquaintance (who also happens to be a
recognized authority on the subject of degree mills) which
professions were the most egregious abusers of cheap and phony
degrees. His answer shocked and angered me. He said (in
this order), school teachers, law enforcement officers and
preachers. I am not an authority in his area so I can only
take him at his word, but if he is even close to being right, it's
an outright shame...a spiritual disease...the degree disease.
Why
Should One Desire to Earn A Degree for Christian Ministry?
One should desire to earn a degree for Christian ministry in order
to fulfill the requirements of a God-initiated call to service.
Whether the call of God is full-time, part-time, clergy or lay, the
call itself will certainly involve some kind of initial preparation,
and after that, continuing study. The earning of a degree may or
may not be the best method of preparation. If it is, then the
degree should be a consequence of the preparation, with the gaining
of new knowledge and insights, the ultimate prize. Actually, a
"degree" is a validating document attesting to acquired skills and
knowledge. It's not about the piece of paper that hangs on the
wall...it's about the power of the mind that comes from real
discipline and learning.
What
About
Your Need?
If you acknowledge a call of God to continue your education (in
order to better serve in the cause of Christ), and if you are
willing to pay the price to really learn, we encourage you complete
an Online
Evaluation, or to contact an
Admissions Counselor right away. If, after proper
consultation, one of our programs appears to be right for your
situation, we will do our best to assist you. On the other hand, if
your situation requires something that our program cannot provide,
we will do our best to recommend a more appropriate alternative.
Thank you for reading, and I sincerely hope that the straight talk
on this subject has been a help to you or someone you know that is
seeking your advice on how to go about finding a quality ministry
degree program. May God grant you His wisdom today!
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