Hello, here is a letter I got from a friend. How should I answer it? Does ithavemerit?
START LETTER:
Do Reformed seminaries give enough emphasis to training leaders for world
> missions and evangelism?
It seems like very few Reformed seminaries offer
degrees in missions, and most don't even have resident faculty in missions,
relying instead on adjunct and visiting professors. This limits the course
offerings in missions significantly.
>
> RTS Jackson has the biggest Reformed missions department, with four resident faculty, and is the only Reformed seminary that offers a doctorate.
>
> Others are sparse. WTS Philly has one resident faculty and an urban
> missions degree. Covenant Seminary has one resident faculty with no degree, and Greenville Seminary has one missions/evangelism faculty, and no degree.
> Knox Seminary has an MA in Evangelism, and the president is a church
> planter, but there are no other resident faculty in missions.
>
> Besides those, there is almost nothing. RTS's other campuses, Erskine
> Seminary, Westminster Seminary in Escondido, Reformed Presbyterian
> Theological Seminary, and Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary don't even
> have resident faculty in missions.
>
> In contrast, nearly every Baptist school has a degree in missions. Three of
> the Southern Baptist seminaries have doctorate programs in missions.
> Southern Seminary alone has more resident faculty in their school of
> missions than all of the above seminaries COMBINED.
>
> So why is that?
Are there just not that many Reformed missionaries around
> to hire to teach?
Do Reformed seminaries not value missiology in training
> ministers? Do they see the M.Div. as sufficient to minister anywhere, and
> cross-cultural training as unnecessary? Do they not value missiology as an
> academic discipline? Are they not supportive of research and dissertations
> in the field of missions and evangelism? Are they reluctant to give
> full-time faculty positions for missions?
END OF LETTER
START LETTER:
Do Reformed seminaries give enough emphasis to training leaders for world
> missions and evangelism?
It seems like very few Reformed seminaries offer
degrees in missions, and most don't even have resident faculty in missions,
relying instead on adjunct and visiting professors. This limits the course
offerings in missions significantly.
>
> RTS Jackson has the biggest Reformed missions department, with four resident faculty, and is the only Reformed seminary that offers a doctorate.
>
> Others are sparse. WTS Philly has one resident faculty and an urban
> missions degree. Covenant Seminary has one resident faculty with no degree, and Greenville Seminary has one missions/evangelism faculty, and no degree.
> Knox Seminary has an MA in Evangelism, and the president is a church
> planter, but there are no other resident faculty in missions.
>
> Besides those, there is almost nothing. RTS's other campuses, Erskine
> Seminary, Westminster Seminary in Escondido, Reformed Presbyterian
> Theological Seminary, and Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary don't even
> have resident faculty in missions.
>
> In contrast, nearly every Baptist school has a degree in missions. Three of
> the Southern Baptist seminaries have doctorate programs in missions.
> Southern Seminary alone has more resident faculty in their school of
> missions than all of the above seminaries COMBINED.
>
> So why is that?
Are there just not that many Reformed missionaries around
> to hire to teach?
Do Reformed seminaries not value missiology in training
> ministers? Do they see the M.Div. as sufficient to minister anywhere, and
> cross-cultural training as unnecessary? Do they not value missiology as an
> academic discipline? Are they not supportive of research and dissertations
> in the field of missions and evangelism? Are they reluctant to give
> full-time faculty positions for missions?
END OF LETTER