This is a true account of misunderstanding, misinformation, and missed opportunity.  Reading about what happened to me could keep it from happening to you.

HOW IT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED

About three months before graduating from Bible College, I consulted a respected Christian leader for advice.  I had a good job.  My employer was on the board of a nearby Seminary.  He offered to make arrangements for me to continue with the company, and to enroll in the Seminary’s M.Div. program.  I had only to finish Bible College, take a summer break, and enter Seminary in the fall.

My boss’s words remain in my memory.  “Dennis, you can stay with the company for three more years, continue earning an above average income; and when you have finished, you will have your M.Div. degree along with money in the bank when you leave to take your first pastorate.  This could be God’s provision for you.”  That is not what happened.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

When I consulted the respected Christian leader, he saw things differently.  His words also remain in my memory.  “Dennis, you will graduate in three months.  At that time, you will have all the education you will ever need to be ordained, and to pastor a church.  You came here to train to become a pastor.  Going to Seminary will only delay you from doing that.”

During the three days of the conference, I was exposed to terminologies, theories, and theologies that I did not understand…concepts I probably would have studied in Seminary.  It was not that my Bible College education was lacking (it was of the highest quality).  It was the fact that there was so much more to learn.  Consequently, the advice, “Dennis, you will graduate in three months.  At that time, you will have all the education you will ever need…” turned out to be the worst advice I ever got from a Christian leader.

The need for additional ministry education did not go away when I became a pastor.  In fact, it had become more important.  Because I was a pastor, others presumed that I knew about things I did not.  My epiphany at the pastor’s conference was (as they used to say) a rude awakening.

WHY IT NEED NOT HAPPEN AGAIN

It took me another year before I located an appropriate program…a correspondence study master’s degree.  That was over 30 years ago.  In those days, earning a degree of any kind without studying on campus was not well understood.  Today, that has changed.  It is no longer “correspondence education,” it is now “distance education” or “online education,” and is a widely respected method for earning all kinds of degrees.

The need for those in ministry to be engaged as life-long students of the Word of God and related subjects such as systematic theology, Biblical geography, Bible era history, and apologetics remains the same.  Continuing education is not only important; it is a responsibility.  Like Master’s, there are literally hundreds of high quality Christian institutions making it possible for just about anyone to study from anywhere anytime.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW?

If you are minister, then you probably already know a great deal about the Bible and related subjects.  You may be a Bible College or Seminary graduate.  However, do you really know everything you need to know?

For example, how would you answer the following questions?

• Is there is a difference between propitiation and expiation?

• Is there any tension between free will and predestination?

• Why would a preterist object to premillennialism?

• What is the difference between transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and emblemism?

• What did Jesus’ use of the term “gates of hell” have to do with the spring at Banias in Israel?

• What did Jesus’ statement about faith that could move mountains have to do with the Herodium?
   

Someone may ask, “Do the answers to these questions really matter?”  Well, those who know the answers know why they matter greatly.  Those who do not know the answers, and have ever preached or taught on the topics of salvation, the second coming of Christ, the practice of communion, church growth, and the power of faith, may have fallen short of Paul’s admonition in II Timothy 2:15.

GOOD ADVICE FROM A CHRISTIAN LEADER

As the president of the Divinity School, I am often in a position to give advice.  If I may be permitted, I would like to give some now.  Whatever your position in ministry one thing is certain, remaining a life-long student is not only wise, it is a responsibility.  As I have already mentioned, there are hundreds of good options available today that simply did not exist when I graduated from Bible College in the 1970s.  Master’s is not the only good option, but we are one of the best options.

If you agree that you need additional ministry education, and believe that God has directed you to Master’s, then I encourage you to begin the enrollment process right away.  If you will contact us, we will give you the very best advice possible.  All of our Admissions Officers are ministry leaders in their own area, and have themselves remained life-long students of the Word of God.

Thank you for responding to my email, and for reading this letter.  May God continue to bless all of your labors in the work of His glorious Kingdom.

Sincerely in the Master’s Service, 

Dennis D. Frey, Th.D., President
Master’s International School of Divinity