About Christ Theological Seminary
Welcome and Overview
Christ Theological Seminary is a cooperative effort of Christ College, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States. It is undertaken for the glory of God and the building of his Church, in response to the expressed need of God’s people throughout the world for a Christian training program that is faithful to the Word of God as summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and Larger and Shorter Catechisms. In accordance with our Christian profession and ministerial vows, we are committed to many of the biblical distinctives of this system that have fallen out of favor in most educational institutions but which represent the purest fountain of Reformed thinking: the five Solas of the Protestant Reformation, the Puritan commitment to the law of God as the eternal standard of a devout and holy life, postmillennial eschatology, which was the motivational heart of 19th century Southern Presbyterianism, and presuppositional apologetics, the outgrowth of a thoroughly biblical epistemology. We do not believe that this is the sum total of Christian thinking; we do affirm that without them the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ will be unable to fulfill the great commission of our Savior, to make the nations his disciples.
Our three degree programs, the Masters of Divinity, the Master of Arts in Christian Studies, the Master of Arts in Philosophy and Apologetics are designed to be completed by the student in his present home and church environment, without the need of relocation, yet with ongoing assistance and interaction from ordained ministers and ruling elders. In addition to the full programs that are outlined in this handbook, students will have the opportunity to participate in biannual, week-long modular classes from program instructors. These are designed to afford the student with opportunities for concentrated study, accelerated completion of the prescribed course of studies, and closer relationships with his instructors. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you in your studies and use you to glorify his name!
We recognize that the commitment to complete a program of Christian studies is a serious time and financial commitment, often placing a great strain upon the families involved. We believe that this sacrifice is commensurate with the need of the present hour – a thoroughly, biblically educated ministry equipped to proclaim the whole counsel of God from house to house, in the pulpit, and in Christian schools throughout the land. The Word of God remains his power unto salvation and the means he has appointed to subdue every enemy beneath the feet of his enthroned Son, Jesus Christ. It is our prayer that our study programs will contribute to that glorious end.
Philosophy of Education
The programs offered by Christ Theological Seminary are primarily dedicated to the training and equipping of Christian men for the gospel ministry. We believe the need of the hour is for the Lord of hosts to raise up thousands of qualified men to become “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1). Our philosophy of education is driven by Paul’s command to Timothy: “And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Paul’s ministerial training model indicates that the pastors and teachers of the church should be the instructors of ministerial candidates. Accordingly, our program is primarily taught by ordained ministers of the gospel, men whose lives and teachings are attested by the church of the Lord Jesus Christ as faithful shepherds of the flock of God. Too often in the past two centuries the church has entrusted the training of its ministers and teachers to men and institutions that reject its beliefs and practices, who lack official accountability to the church and its courts, and whose tendency has been to subvert the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). It is our firm conviction that our exalted Savior has by his Spirit gifted the church with the necessary didactic means for its present equipping and future expansion. All Christ Theological Seminary instructors are accountable to the courts of the church for their doctrine and lives, and personally committed to its received doctrinal standards.
Each student received into the programs offered by Christ Theological Seminary must have a similar accountability to his local church. M.Div. students must submit a letter of recommendation from their overseeing church body. Each student will be assigned an overseeing pastor, either a member of the faculty or his local pastor, for purposes of accountability, academic and personal monitoring, and personal encouragement and assistance in his studies. We reject the idea that a seminary degree alone constitutes a legitimate authorization to serve the body of Christ. A man’s life as well as his doctrine must be known by the people of God before they should entrust him with the momentous responsibility of assuming the mantle of leadership and authority in the church of Jesus Christ. While successful completion of an educational program demonstrates academic proficiency, to this must be added a life of consecrated discipleship to Jesus Christ, without which a man can claim neither the calling of God nor the respect of God’s people.