Nazarene Theological Seminary

Lately I have been thinking about how the seminary serves the Church and why its service to the Church is important.  Perhaps a brief review of the mission statement would be helpful: 

 
The mission of Nazarene Theological Seminary, a graduate school of theology in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition, is to prepare women and men to be faithful and effective ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to offer itself as a theological resource in service to the Church of the Nazarene, its sponsoring denomination, and the wider Christian Church. 

 
It is essential for the Church to adequately prepare “the called” to be “faithful and effective ministers of the Gospel.”  The original impetus in the Church of the Nazarene for the establishment of a seminary was out of the need and hope for “more and better preachers.” The need for an educated clergy has not diminished over the years. Rather, the complexities, challenges and opportunities related to pastoral ministry in the United States and Canada are as great, if not greater than ever.  Demographic shifts of urbanization, socio-economic disparity and ethnic diversity increasingly characterize the typical context for ministry.  Multi-ethnic churches, suburban new starts, and “emerging churches” offer new and exciting opportunities for ministry.  At the same time, the rapidly changing social environment contributes not only to increased complexity, but also to social instability.  Family breakdown, addictive behaviors, and moral relativism are not far removed from the day to day lives of members in every congregation. The pressures on those serving in pastoral ministry are often immense.    

Nazarene Theological Seminary has the opportunity and responsibility of asking the question, “What is the very best way to prepare people for ministry in our complex society?”  Members of the NTS faculty embrace their responsibilities as a sacred trust.  To a person, they are deeply committed to Christ, the mission of the Church, and the Wesleyan Holiness theological tradition. Faculty who are experts in their respective disciplines of theology, biblical studies, church history, preaching, pastoral care and counseling, spiritual formation, evangelism, missions, Christian education, and urban ministry serve as both professors and mentors to students.  They are concerned not only about what students “know,” but also about who students are “becoming” as they are formed in Christ in the context of Christian community.  Supervised ministry requirements immerse students in the practice of ministry as part of their preparation for pastoral leadership.  While there will always be some who will not succeed in ministry, the church can be confident that those who are educated for ministry in the NTS community will be as prepared as possible to serve Christ and the Church as pastors, associates, evangelists, chaplains, missionaries and teachers. 

NTS’ mission also calls the seminary to offer itself as a “theological resource in service to the Church.”  The community of NTS understands that Wesleyan Holiness theology is central to the calling and mission of the Church of the Nazarene.  There is an underlying conviction in the community that theological research and dialogue with and for the Church is essential to the life and mission of the Church.  It is around a shared theology that a clear vision of the mission of the Church emerges.  In rapidly changing and diversifying social contexts, the corporately embraced theology and mission of the Church can become fragmented as the Church is overcome by pragmatic concerns, cultural relativism and organizational fatigue.  It is crucial in such unstable times for the Church to hold steady on the essentials of Christian doctrine and practice.  A corporately held theological understanding of the nature and mission of the Church can serve as a rudder to the denominational ship in stormy seas.   

And so, Nazarene Theological Seminary serves as a theological resource for the Church.  We are active in collaborative efforts with sister institutions for sustained ministry preparation and through distance education strategies to resource pastors engaged in local ministry. The seminary works diligently in the midst of these distributed education processes to ensure students have opportunity to strategically gather and engage together as a mutual learning community; a community that reminds them of the breadth and diverse strengths within our tradition. The presence of NTS as a central residential seminary resists the natural tendency in the Church toward the regionalization of theology. Instead the seminary serves as a place of both resource and hospitality to expand the horizons of student awareness and ministry potential as they study for classes, gather for worship, and participate in the life of the community.

Nazarene Theological Seminary exists to serve the Church.  How does NTS serve the Church?  It serves the Church as it prepares women and men to be faithful and effective ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as it offers itself as a theological resource to the Church.  Why is that important? Because the Church needs “more and better preachers” and because the Church’s theology is essential to its mission.