Academics

Bible Exposition

The objective of the Bible exposition department is to provide training in interpretation and exposition. This is accomplished by developing skill in doing inductive Bible study, in applying principles of interpretation to the biblical text, and in relating Bible content to the problems of life.While the original languages are not a prerequisite for these courses, their terms and grammar are used if they play an important part in properly understanding the text.

Biblical Counseling

Central Seminary ‘s counseling program is designed to give the student solid biblical information along with practical counseling skills. Together these will allow you to adequately and effectively help people with their problems. It will ultimately make it possible for you to receive a degree that you can apply where the Lord may lead you to do ministry. It may be that the Lord has impressed upon your heart a real compassion for hurting people. You have found that as you have reached out to them, there has been a deficiency of knowledge and skill as to how to help them. Then, Central Seminary’s counseling program is designed just for you.

Historical Theology

At Central Seminary, we want our graduates to understand why we affirm particular doctrines and why we reject particular alternatives. We also want our students to comprehend the bundles of ideas that stand behind the labels. What is a fundamentalist? What is a Baptist? What is a Christian? Are we Protestants? Are we evangelicals? These are questions that require historical answers. Our story did not begin with us. In fact, we are only the last half-page or so in a story that has been in the writing for nearly two millennia. If we are to know who we are, we must understand where we fit into that story. The four core history courses at Central Seminary aim to tell that story in a way that will help our students to grasp the importance of the issues and alternatives.

Missions & Evangelism

The purpose of the department of missions and evangelism is to have a strategic role in the effort of the seminary to train servant leaders for the local and worldwide ministries of independent Baptist churches. Both technical information and practical experience help to prepare seminaries for their God-assigned tasks of personal evangelism, local-church initiative and supervision for the local missionary enterprise, and, perhaps, actual service as a missionary.

New Testament

The purpose of the New Testament department is to equip students to exegete accurately the Greek New Testament so they can expound and apply it effectively in their ministries.To that end, courses offered by the department endeavor to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the teaching, historical backgrounds, textual criticism, introductory issues and critical problems, grammar and syntax, principles of interpretation, theology, and contemporary relevance of the New Testament writings. Special consideration is given to the life and teaching of our Lord and of Paul and the unfolding of doctrine in the New Testament period.

Old Testament

The purpose of the Old Testament department is to provide the student with a foundational knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures on the graduate or postgraduate level.The goal is to instill in the student an appreciation for the value of the Old Testament in biblical, theological, and New Testament studies, and to equip the student with the essential tools for lifelong study, teaching, and preaching of the Old Testament Scriptures.

Practical Theology

The purpose of the practical theology department is to prepare the student to be able to translate the knowledge acquired from other academic disciplines of the seminary into effective ministry to people. This involves personal and family life as well as administration and educational ministry in the church. It means being an effective communicator of Scripture, having a vision for the spiritual growth of believers, and being a servant leader.

Systematic Theology

The function of systematic theology is to order or to organize what we know about God’s person, plan and works. All Christians are systematic theologians, whether they realize it or not. Central aims to equip its graduates to do their work of systematic theology competently. Our goal is not merely to tell them what to believe, but to teach them how to think theologically. Systematic theology is not an end in itself. At Central Seminary, we do systematic theology in order to know God better, to love Him more, and to reflect more thoroughly the character of Christ. We believe that systematic theology is the foundation for the life that God wants us to live.