Covenant Seminary on iTunes University

**Herald** · #1 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 07:15 PM

I was able to download Bryan Chapell's entire Christ-Centered Preaching course at Covenant Seminary. I've taken homiletics before, but not from a Reformed perspective. Excellent course, and the price is right - $0.00

**DMcFadden** · #2 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 09:54 PM

Bill,

I am currently working through the course on Calvin's Institutes. I have previously benefited greatly from the Covenant courses. As you say, "the price is right."

I especially appreciated the way Dr. Calhoun gives you outlines of his lectures, his notes of the lectures, and the MP3s of them! This was a great help in his Reformation and Modern Church History course and the one on Calvin. Who could ask for more?

Some have argued that giving away more than 20 actual courses is a cheapening of the brand. However, in an era of distributed information and internet sources of information, it is a wonderful way to enhance the biblical/theological knowledge of a layperson or as continuing education for a pastor.

I wish someone with credibility would put together a disciplined program of education utilizing the various free web seminary level courses, coupled with either online chat or core group meetings in a central location, and a system of accountability. With a solid handful of master teachers, one could give people who do not "need" an accredited seminary degree with a VERY close functional equivalent to it.

**Herald** · #3 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 10:07 PM

Dennis,

Certainly an eclectic approach, utilizing different seminaries, would be a great asset to pastors, elders, and interested lay people. As I indicated in the OP, my bible education is not from a Reformed background. I could profit immensely from non-traditional education in the Reformed tradition. I have no desire to be an educator. My wish is to serve in the capacity of a pastor or teaching elder. Accreditation is not uber-important.

P.S. And may I add, with a tight family budget, the cheaper the better!

cbryant · #4 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 10:32 PM

Don't forget Reformed Theological Seminary is on iTunesU.

**DMcFadden** · #5 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herald

Dennis,

Certainly an eclectic approach, utilizing different seminaries, would be a great asset to pastors, elders, and interested lay people. As I indicated in the OP, my bible education is not from a Reformed background. I could profit immensely from non-traditional education in the Reformed tradition. I have no desire to be an educator. My wish is to serve in the capacity of a pastor or teaching elder. Accreditation is not uber-important.

P.S. And may I add, with a tight family budget, the cheaper the better!

Actually, less eclectic than you might think. Between RTS and Covenant, you would have almost all of a seminary education other than the Hebrew and Greek. And, there are places to do those online for free as well. That would leave all of your biblical training from solidly Reformed sources. I have certainly enjoyed both the Covenant and RTS courses.

The 23 courses currently offered by Covenant would equal more than a M.A. by themselves (approximately 72 units!). RTS has 27 courses. Between them you could receive just about everything an M.Div. gets (sans languages), including a FULL sequence in OT, a FULL sequence in NT, a FULL sequence in Church History, a FULL sequence in Practical Theology, and a FULL sequence in Theology/Apologetics/Ethics.

If you want to spend some $$$, RTS even has the languages available! But, there are other options that do not cost you anything.

I know that WSC has been running commercials on the White Horse Inn broadcast saying: "Would you let a surgeon operate on you who graduated from an online medical school?. However, my contention is that whatever merit that argument might have (and that would take a different thread), it would only apply to the person seeking ordination. For someone looking for the content of a seminary program without a $50k to $100k debt load, this could be a gift from the Lord.

I remain convinced that apprenticing under a strong pastor is essential to a well rounded biblical education. Still, these MP3 courses could become the basis for a pretty good program for biblical training.

One of the things that needs to be considered has to do with cost of a traditional seminary education vs. the size of congregation anticipated. Many of the Reformed Baptist and Reformed congregations are too small to employ a full time clergyman adequately. They rely upon bi-vocational pastors and yoked ministries. I would much rather have a pastor who had faithfully read all of the same books, faithfully listened to all of the same lectures, and been held accountable by a pastor helping to train him than none at all. And, I would much rather see a pastor enter ministry without a crippling debt load to work off.

And, for that matter, what pastor in his right mind would NOT want his lay leaders, elders, etc. to have advanced theological training from the same people who taught his own seminary classes?

Curt · #6 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMcFadden

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herald

Dennis,

Certainly an eclectic approach, utilizing different seminaries, would be a great asset to pastors, elders, and interested lay people. As I indicated in the OP, my bible education is not from a Reformed background. I could profit immensely from non-traditional education in the Reformed tradition. I have no desire to be an educator. My wish is to serve in the capacity of a pastor or teaching elder. Accreditation is not uber-important.

P.S. And may I add, with a tight family budget, the cheaper the better!

Actually, less eclectic than you might think. Between RTS and Covenant, you would have almost all of a seminary education other than the Hebrew and Greek. And, there are places to do those online for free as well. That would leave all of your biblical training from solidly Reformed sources. I have certainly enjoyed both the Covenant and RTS courses.

I certainly agree that with these two schools - and some others with history and philosophy courses. there is much to be gained (at that GOOD price). I have no need of any more degrees, accredited or not, but I have benefited greatly from some of the courses I have audited via iTunesU.

RAS · #7 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 11:09 PM

Dennis,

I am contemplating the pursuit of a seminary education and have been going through these online courses.

Your enthusiasm for them is encouraging considering that Covenant Seminary is often a major target of criticism not only for its theology but also for its quality.

I am wondering if you could speak to these two issues based on your experience with seminary education in general and in comparison to these online lectures?

This would be very helpful to me as Covenant is on my list of possibilities.

Please feel free to private message me if that is more comfortable for you.

Thanks!

21st Century Calvinist · #8 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 11:17 PM

I am in Dr Chapell's class and it is awesome. The last 4 lectures on the covenant worldwide site are from Christ Centered Preaching, basically Homiletics III. The readings from Clowney, Keller, Greidanus, etc are really helpful. I am preaching on Sep 22 in class.
Dr Calhoun's Church History x 2 and Calvin's Institutes are also top notch.
I am currently in a course organized by Dr Calhoun called Calvin's Legacy. Sadly, ill health at this time prevents him from giving the lectures. Today, Dr Chapell lectured on Calvin and Worship. The main points are to be found in his new book Christ Centered Worship.
Try and catch some of Dr Chapell's sermons at Living Christ 360 or from Monergism.com :: Classic Articles and Resources of the Historic Christian Faith

Dr Kelly of RTS is on my MP3 player- oh, for the time to listen more.

re4med · #9 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 05:59 AM

What is really good is that Covenant Seminary also has a learning tracker that you can utilize...

Worldwide Classroom: What is My Classroom?

OR

http://worldwide-classroom.com/

**DMcFadden** · #10 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAS

Dennis,

I am contemplating the pursuit of a seminary education and have been going through these online courses.

Your enthusiasm for them is encouraging considering that Covenant Seminary is often a major target of criticism not only for its theology but also for its quality.

I am wondering if you could speak to these two issues based on your experience with seminary education in general and in comparison to these online lectures?

This would be very helpful to me as Covenant is on my list of possibilities.

Please feel free to private message me if that is more comfortable for you.

Thanks!

You're asking the wrong guy. Remember, I went to Fuller!

The classes are just that, they are seminary courses that have been recorded. Both RTS and Covenant are giving you a pretty fair sample of what life would be like if you took those courses. Between the two you are getting a good sample of a Reformed theological education. Remember, the missing element is the interaction. That is why the MP3s by themselves would never satisfy me as a substitute for seminary. Unless someone put together a group of learners to discuss the material on an iterative basis and had a mentor pastor working with you, it would not equip a man for ministry. And, so far, that is not being done on a free basis to my knowledge.

The people that carp at the quality of Covenant should be appeased by some of the ones posted by RTS. However, if you pick a WTS or WSC for seminary these tapes would be a great baking of the cake for seminary to ice for you.

Frankly, I am more impressed with places that train PASTORS and PREACHERS than academics. My seminary did a lousy job of anything but pre-PhD prep. I have opined that if it were my future, GPTS or PRTS would be pretty high on my list of options.

These iTunes U MP3s are seminary quality in every respect. Actually, it enhanced my respect for both RTS and Covenant to listen to them.

jwithnell · #11 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 09:24 AM

I can't say this from a seminarian's perspective, but I did greatly appreciate Dr. Chapell's preaching when I was at an Independent Baptist Church in Alaska, and sermon series I could buy (anyone remember cassette tapes?) from Covenant and Westminster were all I had to keep from starving to death. We now have such a cornucopia on the internet!

Re4mdant · #12 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 09:28 AM

I am working through the schaeffer series, and have taken both the church history, Calvins institutes, the one on the spirit and last things and biblical theology.
I download them from world-classroom there they are free as well.
They are all good and edifying.

larryjf · #13 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 09:32 AM

If it wasn't for resources such as Covenant's free lectures, the seminary that i'm involved with would never be able to offer free education.

I think that whenever the Church can take a step away from consumerism it's healthy for the Church.

**Herald** · #14 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by re4med

What is really good is that Covenant Seminary also has a learning tracker that you can utilize...

Worldwide Classroom: What is My Classroom?

OR

Worldwide Classroom

This is most excellent.

**Herald** · #15 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMcFadden

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAS

Dennis,

I am contemplating the pursuit of a seminary education and have been going through these online courses.

Your enthusiasm for them is encouraging considering that Covenant Seminary is often a major target of criticism not only for its theology but also for its quality.

I am wondering if you could speak to these two issues based on your experience with seminary education in general and in comparison to these online lectures?

This would be very helpful to me as Covenant is on my list of possibilities.

Please feel free to private message me if that is more comfortable for you.

Thanks!

Frankly, I am more impressed with places that train PASTORS and PREACHERS than academics. My seminary did a lousy job of anything but pre-PhD prep. I have opined that if it were my future, GPTS or PRTS would be pretty high on my list of options.

Dennis,

That is one of the reasons why MWTS interests me. It's a pastoral based seminary. Yes, it currently lacks accreditation, and it's faculty (Sam Waldron, Tom Ascol, Rich Barcellos etc.) is limited in size; but it seems to be designed for those men who aspire to pastoral ministry and can profit from personal interaction with professors and pastors. I like that model. It doesn't threaten the existence of WCF, Covenant, RTS or any other Reformed seminary. In a real sense it compliments these fine institutions. How many men have the funds to attend these seminaries? MWTS waves tuition for those churches that contribute $2000 a year towards the school. While this may seem like a lot, it provides a tuition free education for those men that desire to increase their knowledge for service in the church. I consider that a wise investment in future church leadership.

Rich Koster · #16 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 03:50 PM

The goodies I come across here on PB never cease to amaze me. Thanks all, for sharing.