Best Seminaries for Military Chaplains

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Greg Hitt

Greg Hitt

Puritan Board Freshman
Question: for someone looking at going into the military Chaplaincy, where should a reformed Chaplain attend seminary? I am primarily looking at RTS for their hybrid MDiv, and CTS also has a hybrid MDiv. RTS looks to have the better financial aid options. Thoughts? Comments?
 
I haven't looked at "chaplaincy" emphases within MDiv programs in a number of years. But from back when I was keeping tabs on these "tracks" within an MDiv program...

They tend to focus on counseling at the expense of Bible/Theology/History.

I think this is terribly misguided. There are some great men in the chaplaincy, but a lot of them lack the necessary rubric for processing today's troubles in light of Biblical truth. A significant number of chaplains are woefully lacking in terms of ability to do real Biblical exegesis and theology... so preaching in military chapels is legendarily weak (not just in biblical content, but in homiletic ability as well).

This is in part because people go into the chaplaincy thinking "I'll do a lot of counseling, so I'd better prepare by taking a lot of counseling courses" and while they are prepared to do the "counselor" part of the job, they are woefully unprepared to do the "religious services provider" part of the job. (I friend of mine got an accredited MDiv from a school that required no language classes, and only 2 Bible classes: an OT survey and a NT survey, and 1 class in theology... the rest was counseling related. And even though I do consider him to be a friend, I have to say: his preaching and teaching are abysmal because he simply doesn't have the knowledge base.)

Here's the thing: whether you're prepared or not, if you go active duty you're going to be baptized by fire into the counseling world. You will rapidly gain a lot of experience. The military will provide you with a number of training opportunities - even certifications in certain models - and you'll be up to your eyeballs in resources to help you counsel in just about every crazy situation you can imagine.

But you WON'T have good resources readily available to you to provide solid theology, biblical study, or history (for perspective).

Almost to the man I could identify those chaplains who had done a good "old fashioned" MDiv that focused on the languages, Bible, theology, history, etc., - regardless of denominational background - because their sermons and studies were simply better: more substantive, better presented, etc.

So my advice: focus on the most intensive MDiv you can find - so that *your mind* is prepared to do hard work, and then you'll be able to take that trained mind and apply it to hard things such as relational situations and all their complexities, interpreting command guidance, even dealing with base contracting office.... and oh, yeah, you'll be better prepared to be a real pastor to your flock.
 
I should qualify my answer: I would say RTS over CTS any day.

But as the current Student Council President at PRTS, I would say that PRTS is the absolute best choice you could make. :)

In all seriousness, in light of Ben's excellent comment above, PRTS is a rigorous MDiv program that will prepare you well to preach and pastor. If you have any questions about the school I'd be happy to talk (either privately or I can respond to questions here).
 
Thanks for all the advice. Anyone know about Knox Theological Seminary? I heard they went through some issues not too long ago. Are they back on track? They also have an MDiv that looks to be all online now from their website.

One thing to keep in mind: I cannot and will not relocate for seminary. Strictly online or at least a hybrid of online, on-campus is all I can really do.
 
SolaScriptura said:
I haven't looked at "chaplaincy" emphases within MDiv programs in a number of years. But from back when I was keeping tabs on these "tracks" within an MDiv program...

They tend to focus on counseling at the expense of Bible/Theology/History.

I think this is terribly misguided. There are some great men in the chaplaincy, but a lot of them lack the necessary rubric for processing today's troubles in light of Biblical truth. A significant number of chaplains are woefully lacking in terms of ability to do real Biblical exegesis and theology... so preaching in military chapels is legendarily weak (not just in biblical content, but in homiletic ability as well).

This is in part because people go into the chaplaincy thinking "I'll do a lot of counseling, so I'd better prepare by taking a lot of counseling courses" and while they are prepared to do the "counselor" part of the job, they are woefully unprepared to do the "religious services provider" part of the job. (I friend of mine got an accredited MDiv from a school that required no language classes, and only 2 Bible classes: an OT survey and a NT survey, and 1 class in theology... the rest was counseling related. And even though I do consider him to be a friend, I have to say: his preaching and teaching are abysmal because he simply doesn't have the knowledge base.)

Here's the thing: whether you're prepared or not, if you go active duty you're going to be baptized by fire into the counseling world. You will rapidly gain a lot of experience. The military will provide you with a number of training opportunities - even certifications in certain models - and you'll be up to your eyeballs in resources to help you counsel in just about every crazy situation you can imagine.

But you WON'T have good resources readily available to you to provide solid theology, biblical study, or history (for perspective).

Almost to the man I could identify those chaplains who had done a good "old fashioned" MDiv that focused on the languages, Bible, theology, history, etc., - regardless of denominational background - because their sermons and studies were simply better: more substantive, better presented, etc.

So my advice: focus on the most intensive MDiv you can find - so that *your mind* is prepared to do hard work, and then you'll be able to take that trained mind and apply it to hard things such as relational situations and all their complexities, interpreting command guidance, even dealing with base contracting office.... and oh, yeah, you'll be better prepared to be a real pastor to your flock.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice! Would Knox Seminary be a good place for an MDiv?
 
Hamalas said:
I should qualify my answer: I would say RTS over CTS any day.

But as the current Student Council President at PRTS, I would say that PRTS is the absolute best choice you could make. :)

In all seriousness, in light of Ben's excellent comment above, PRTS is a rigorous MDiv program that will prepare you well to preach and pastor. If you have any questions about the school I'd be happy to talk (either privately or I can respond to questions here).
Click to expand...
What does the PRTS hybrid model like? I can really only do either fully online or a hybrid.
 
J.L. Allen said:
Greenville might have what you are looking for.
Click to expand...

Are they accredited so that a graduate would qualify to be a military chaplain? This doesn't seem very straightforward:

"We have not sought academic accreditation with accrediting bodies of the United States government, though we seek to comply with all rules, regulations, and laws for non-profit charitable organizations in the State of South Carolina and in the United States of America. We have entered into an academic accountability arrangement with the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries, through whom we maintain formal accreditation. "
 
Greg Hitt said:
The military requires that the institution be accredited. To my knowledge, New Geneva is not accredited and withdrew ARTS accreditation a couple years ago.
Click to expand...

ARTS is not a recognized accreditor by the Department of Education. Make sure you look for ATS or regional accreditation. GPTS and New Geneva are not accredited by any bodies recognized by the DoE.

This is probably a good rough starting place:

List of schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Greg Hitt said:
Thanks for all the advice. Anyone know about Knox Theological Seminary? I heard they went through some issues not too long ago. Are they back on track? They also have an MDiv that looks to be all online now from their website.

One thing to keep in mind: I cannot and will not relocate for seminary. Strictly online or at least a hybrid of online, on-campus is all I can really do.
Click to expand...
I'm in my last year at RTS (Dallas Campus) - I have found the quality of the 106 Hr MDiv to be both challenging and rewarding... Let me know if you have any questions specifically about RTS!
 
Greg Hitt said:
Anyone know about Knox Theological Seminary? I heard they went through some issues not too long ago. Are they back on track?
Click to expand...

The question was asked and not answered back in 2016.

https://www.puritanboard.com/threads/did-knox-theological-seminary-recover.89933/

I haven't heard anything bad about them since then. They do appear to have ATS accreditation.

Some of their problems were fallout from the fiasco at Coral Ridge, and things seem to have stabilized there.
 
I‘ve been talking with several chaplain recruiters recently as I’m interested in the Army CCP with the goal of at least being a reserve chaplain. They directed me to this website, https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home. If the school is not on here, a degree from elsewhere will probably not be accepted. Have you interacted with any recruiters?
 
Greg, I never recommend Covenant Theological Seminary anymore to anyone. I've seen too many problematic grads from that institution. I would echo Ben's advice wholeheartedly, and would challenge the prevailing model that states that a chaplaincy training should be fundamentally different from pastoral training. You are training to be a pastor. Period. Chaplaincy defines the context in which you will do pastoral ministry. But military people are still people. They are not some other species. You need the tools to understand the text of Scripture. The RTS's, WTS's, GPTS, PRTS, and MARS will all give you this training.
 
MTrigsted said:
I'm in my last year at RTS (Dallas Campus) - I have found the quality of the 106 Hr MDiv to be both challenging and rewarding... Let me know if you have any questions specifically about RTS!
Click to expand...
Hi Mark, please fix yourself a signature so folks know how to address you. See the link under useful links at the bottom of the page.
 
Mark,
I’m currently undergoing the same process as you but doing the Chaplain Candidate program for the Army reserves (they apparently woefully need Chaplains in the Reserves as I mentioned this to a recruiter and was almost giddily referred to a Chaplain recruiter ).

I’m selecting PRTS in Grand Rapids mostly because (as many men have said here) of a focus on homiletics, languages, and Confessionalism. Those things will help you immensely as the Army will provide a wealth of counseling resources and educational opportunities. At the end of the day (in my opinion at least) you are a missionary pastor similar to a pastor setting up a missionary church plant in Romania or China. Only it has a different flavor, as some will truly be sheep in the church invisible and others will be goats or pagans with seared consciences. However by Army regulation you are required to treat them as “your flock” for all intents and purposes.
 
Greg Hitt said:
Question: for someone looking at going into the military Chaplaincy, where should a reformed Chaplain attend seminary? I am primarily looking at RTS for their hybrid MDiv, and CTS also has a hybrid MDiv. RTS looks to have the better financial aid options. Thoughts? Comments?
Click to expand...

Greg, sent you a PM.

Craig
 
EcclesiaDiscens. said:
Mark,
I’m currently undergoing the same process as you but doing the Chaplain Candidate program for the Army reserves (they apparently woefully need Chaplains in the Reserves as I mentioned this to a recruiter and was almost giddily referred to a Chaplain recruiter ).

I’m selecting PRTS in Grand Rapids mostly because (as many men have said here) of a focus on homiletics, languages, and Confessionalism. Those things will help you immensely as the Army will provide a wealth of counseling resources and educational opportunities. At the end of the day (in my opinion at least) you are a missionary pastor similar to a pastor setting up a missionary church plant in Romania or China. Only it has a different flavor, as some will truly be sheep in the church invisible and others will be goats or pagans with seared consciences. However by Army regulation you are required to treat them as “your flock” for all intents and purposes.
Click to expand...
I am also looking at going into the CCP program. I have also looked at PRTS. Are you going in resident or distance learning? Right now, I am considering Knox Theological Seminary for their fully online program.
 
Greg Hitt said:
I am also looking at going into the CCP program. I have also looked at PRTS. Are you going in resident or distance learning? Right now, I am considering Knox Theological Seminary for their fully online program.
Click to expand...

I’m considering doing a few distance courses right now while I finish paying some debt and then going immediately after that is taken care of and after Wuhan Virus is contained. I have to finish up my application however.

I would avoid Knox and go for one of the trustworthy accredited seminaries listed in this thread.
 
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