March 25, 2002

New Kentucky seminary ready to start
___By Trennis Henderson
___Kentucky Western Recorder
___LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABP)--Six years after incorporating, the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky will launch classes this fall at Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington.
___Greg Earwood, elected last summer as the school's first president, said plans include offering five to seven courses this fall toward a master of divinity degree.
___"We are hoping we can begin with a student body of 25 to 30 students or more," he said. "We have a handful of students already committed to us for the fall even though we haven't formally begun the application process. The curriculum already has its basic shape, and the class schedules are being firmed up."
___Earwood, former pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Georgetown, Ky., said discussions about an alternative seminary in Kentucky began in the mid-1990s in response to a shift toward fundamentalism and Calvinism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.
___"We would not be pulling together Baptist Seminary of Kentucky if it were not for shifts at Southern Seminary toward a narrow Calvinism," he said. "Baptist Seminary of Kentucky is committed to the gospel being for all people. There's no way a narrow Calvinist view allows for the breadth of God's call to missions that Baptists in Kentucky and elsewhere have held."
___Southern Seminary President Al Mohler declined to be interviewed about the new school, according to a spokesman.
___"We're not trying to match Southern," said Charles Midkiff, former pastor of First Baptist Church of Greenville and chairman of the new school's trustee board. "Southern is who they are now and we are going to seek to be who we understand we should be.
___"We think theological education is very important and needs to be done with openness with a commitment to Baptist heritage--religious freedom, separation of church and state, priesthood of the believer," Midkiff added. "I believe our seminary will be very strong in those areas. We don't want to get into fighting somebody else but to provide an opportunity."
___Calvary Baptist Church's decision to provide office and classroom space rent-free is a significant step in making the new seminary a reality, Earwood said. "We can make this much more affordable because Calvary is hosting us. It frees us up to put funds into students and personnel."
___Other entities partnering with the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky include the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship, which has donated $10,000 and pledged another $40,000, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which will provide $15,000 in student scholarships. Lexington Theological Seminary, a school affiliated with the Christian Church, has agreed to make its library available to students, and Georgetown College, a Kentucky Baptist Convention school, will provide record-keeping services through its registrar's office.
___Financial needs are far from settled, however. Budget needs for the coming year total $500,000. Just over $130,000 has been pledged toward that budget. Earwood currently is the school's only paid staff member.
___Glenn Hinson, a former professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, will serve as a visiting professor in spirituality and church history, Earwood said. Bill Ellis, a retired professor of history at Eastern Kentucky University, will teach a history course, and other adjunct faculty members will be enlisted to teach additional courses.

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook