Renewal
Fall 2017
Western Seminary Newsletter
Western Seminary Provides Contextualized Training in Hawai'i
In partnership with The Gospel Coalition Hawai'i, Western Seminary has formed a location specific cohort of students to receive distance education in community. A small group of students will join together to walk through courses in a blended format of online content and live seminar meetings. Formatted around seven week increments, students will meet weekly for class sessions. At the end of each seven-week session, Western Seminary faculty will visit to teach in person. Hawai'i-based leaders will be present in all aspects of the cohort so that the learning experience stays geographically relevant. Students are enrolled to begin in the fall of 2017.
Cohort participants will be prepared to complete a Master of Divinity, M.A. (Biblical and Theological Studies), or a M.A. in Ministry and Leadership online through Western Seminary. Students in full-time or part-time ministry under the mentorship of a TGC Hawai'i member pastor are eligible for a Ministry Partner Grant that pays a generous portion of tuition costs.
In August, Western Seminary partnered with Humble Beast to host the second Canvas Conference, diving into the relationship between theology and creativity. Click "play" to watch a few highlights from the weekend.
Video courtesy of Humble Beast.
Western Seminary will be launching a new cohort in the spring of 2018. Named after the biblical character of Theophilus, this cohort will be focused on creating a tight-knit learning community of individuals already serving in vocational ministry.
The twenty-four credits completed through the cohort will apply to either the Master of Divinity, M.A. (Biblical and Theological Studies), or M.A. in Ministry and Leadership. Students will meet together once a month for two years, developing together through the learning process.
We created Theophilus because we believe that theological education should include wisdom-giving, virtue-shaping, and disciple-forming aspects. The main way this happens is through being together. There is a lot of good and bad theological content out there, but Theophilus provides an opportunity to sit down and wrestle through this content with other individuals who are currently in some ministry position and have been exposed to these ideas before.
There are many ways to form learning communities, but this cohort leverages the power of gathering together in person. Part of training for ministry means spending time with both peers and mentors to encourage one another to become more like Christ. This cohort is one opportunity for students to develop that support group. Every cohort member will be in some sort of leadership position in a local ministry context. Because being together is a often a challenge for those in ministry, the Theophilus program schedule allows students to stay in their ministry context, while also getting that “together” component.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jesus: Our Great Provision
October 13-14, 2017
Portland, OR
This year, we’re excited to learn from Susan Jahns, our keynote speaker. She will have great insight on Jesus as our great provision—our Bread of Life, our Good Shepherd, and our Resurrection and Life—that one who supplies our daily needs and breathes beauty into our daily lives. The Verity Fellowship is a gospel-centered ministry of Western Seminary, encouraging and equipping women to use Scripture well.
October 18, 2017
Spokane, WA
The Gospel Coalition Inland Northwest, in partnership with Western Seminary, will be a hosting an event with Todd Miles on Wednesday, October 18th at Grace Christian Fellowship. Todd will be speaking on ethical issues facing the church today, such as marijuana, sexuality and gender issues, and euthanasia. The main event will be from 6-8, which will include two sessions of 45-50 minute talks.In between those two session, Kyle Schwahn and Dave Farley will spend 10-15 minutes talking about Western Seminary and the programs that are offered. There will be a short break at 8:00 and, for those who can stay a little later, a Q&A will be held from 8:10-8:45. There is no cost for this event. Please register for this event at The Gospel Coalition Inland NW Website, tgcinw.org.
October 19, 2017
Spokane, WA
Dr. Todd Miles will be speaking at The Spurgeon Fellowship at Indian Trails Church from 10:30-3:00. He will be speaking on the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and why the Reformation matters today. There is no cost for this event. Please register for this event at The Gospel Coalition Inland NW Website, tgcinw.org.
October 20-21, 2017
Milpitas, CA
Join us for the annual ReGeneration Forum including main sessions with key speakers along with interactive learning labs. The focus of the forums are primarily looking at some of the tough questions of faith and the importance of the Bible. The ReGeneration Project exists to encourage church leaders and new generations, equipping them with ways to respond to the difficult questions being asked today about theology, the Bible, church and Christianity in general.
Friday, November 3
Vancouver, WA
Friday, November 17
Lake Oswego, OR
REVIVE is a half-day women's conference, held in both Vancouver and Portland, that aims to transform ministry leaders from feeling like a sun-scorched land to a well-watered garden! If you’re a woman involved in ministry, come join us for this half-day conference designed to REVIVE you: through Bible exposition, heart-felt worship, passion group sharing and six thought-provoking labs that promise to get you unstuck so you can Press On!
Renewal is an electronic newsletter published by Western Seminary biannually and sent to students, alumni, supporters, and friends of the Seminary. All articles, photographs, and illustrations are copyright 2010–2017 by Renewal.
Western Seminary is an accredited graduate school founded in 1927. It offers trustworthy and accessible training for gospel-centered transformation at both the graduate credit and personal enrichment levels for those currently serving, or aspiring to serve, in key ministry leadership roles. The Western system consists of four campuses (Portland, OR; San Jose and Sacramento, CA; and Online) and a teaching site (Seattle, WA) that together serve approximately 950 credit students annually.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Bob Bridges, Greg Moon, Dr. Randy Roberts, and Kate Zahradka
Western Seminary
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