Theology & The Minister

Dr. Ronald Smith

The soul of the Church is driven by the thought life of her people. For nearly two thousand years the Church has “at once and always believed” that the soul is driven by a person’s will, and the will is driven by the freedom to think. That’s why it is a great tragedy that American evangelicalism for over a century has tended to devalue the mind. And that is the reason why the soul of the evangelical church is poorer than it ought to be. In the last century, a great skepticism has been created concerning education. We have believed that wrong education poses a threat to the well being of Christianity. We have hung the corroding values of liberalism and modernism on wrong education. The end result? Education itself has become suspect.

The educators at Wesley Biblical Seminary aim to revise evangelical thought at this level. The antithesis of wrong education is right education---not devaluing education! In an age when right thinking is so desperately needed, we offer you the opportunity to come and study at a “school of thought.” Wesley Biblical Seminary embraces a philosophy of education that the natural world is understood through its Creator, and He Himself is the key to understanding all truth. Whether one studies the arts, humanities, mathematics, or sciences, all of the world finds its epicenter of truth, when rightly understood, in Christ. We need to study to understand Him as He makes Himself known through natural revelation.

In theological education, we suggest that the epicenter is the study of redemption. We believe in One Redeemer who has specially revealed Himself through Scripture. The great end of theological education is the redemption of the world. One needs to academically prepare toward that end with as much diligence as a lawyer prepares, or a brain surgeon. And, we believe, since God is not letting Christian lawyers and brain surgeons “opt out” of their education, He is not about to ask lesser preparation from His ministers. Remember, He is no respecter of persons.

Whether you are preparing for pastoral ministry, Christian education, family, children’s or youth ministry, the mission field, Christian counseling, or perhaps even lay ministry, our doors are open. We want to equip you with serious theological training. The soul of the Church depends on it, and so does your ability to help in God’s desire to rightly understand His world as we participate in His Great Commission to redeem it.

Dr. Ronald Smith, Ph.D. is President of Wesley Biblical Seminary. He resides in Jackson, Mississippi with his wife, Dorena, and their two daughters.