10 years....
Ten years ago, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY, and Covenant Theological Semiary (CTS) in Saint Louis, MO both hired new Presidents. SBTS hired a young man named Al Mohler, and CTS hired a young man named Bryan Chapell. Both men were younger than most would expect a seminary president to be and both were taking the helm of their seminaries during a time period of low enrollment and for SBTS, the turmoil of liberalism.
Throughout this time period, both seminaries grew rapidly. SBTS was at 700 students in 1994 and today the enrollment is 2,200, which makes it one of the top five largest seminaries in the United States. CTS was facing an enrollment of around 100 when Dr. Chapell took the helm and today the enrollment is 1,000, which makes CTS the twelfth largest seminary in the United States.
But what is the secret of these two men? What is the secret of Dr. Mohler and what is the secret of Dr. Chapell?
From what I have read of their own writings, I believe the biggest secret is their trust in the authority of Scripture. Both men bleed Bible and they love the Word of God and you can tell that it defines their life.
Another secret is their embracing their grounding in the historical roots of their traditions. Mohler is a Baptist and has a good grasp of his heritage, and though he is deemed contraversial for doing so, he has stayed true to historic Southern Baptist teachings.
Chapell is a Presbyterian (PCA) and he is faithful to the Presbyterian heritage he became a part of while a seminary student in the 1970s.
Lastly, both teach grace, grace and more grace. This is not to say they teach "cheap grace", but they both stand on the sovereign grace of God and believe that God is in control, guiding history for His purposes, and both men teach that grace is something which should be an emphasis of teaching, doctrine and life.
Anyway, enough rambling for the day and this really is an odd thing to talk about, but in reading lately, I just thought the resemblence between Drs. Mohler and Chapell to be striking.
Book of the day Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.
Throughout this time period, both seminaries grew rapidly. SBTS was at 700 students in 1994 and today the enrollment is 2,200, which makes it one of the top five largest seminaries in the United States. CTS was facing an enrollment of around 100 when Dr. Chapell took the helm and today the enrollment is 1,000, which makes CTS the twelfth largest seminary in the United States.
But what is the secret of these two men? What is the secret of Dr. Mohler and what is the secret of Dr. Chapell?
From what I have read of their own writings, I believe the biggest secret is their trust in the authority of Scripture. Both men bleed Bible and they love the Word of God and you can tell that it defines their life.
Another secret is their embracing their grounding in the historical roots of their traditions. Mohler is a Baptist and has a good grasp of his heritage, and though he is deemed contraversial for doing so, he has stayed true to historic Southern Baptist teachings.
Chapell is a Presbyterian (PCA) and he is faithful to the Presbyterian heritage he became a part of while a seminary student in the 1970s.
Lastly, both teach grace, grace and more grace. This is not to say they teach "cheap grace", but they both stand on the sovereign grace of God and believe that God is in control, guiding history for His purposes, and both men teach that grace is something which should be an emphasis of teaching, doctrine and life.
Anyway, enough rambling for the day and this really is an odd thing to talk about, but in reading lately, I just thought the resemblence between Drs. Mohler and Chapell to be striking.
Book of the day Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.
posted by Bobby's blog at 10:10 AM
1 Comments:
I like this entry. FYI, this year SBTS broke their record enrollment numbers. And across the street at the PCUSA seminary, they have 200 enrolled this year.
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