Find the full schedule on our Academic Calendar.
All course descriptions are available in the Catalog
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Academic Year 2023-24
Students may apply to enroll any time during the year.
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Term 1   
August 14-October 8, 2023
Kingdom, Covenants & Canon of the Old Testament (BIB501) 2 credits
This course gives a brief survey of the Old Testament, examining the themes of kingdom, covenants, and canon. Students learn that the Old Testament is not a random amalgam of episodes, genealogies and prophetic tidbits. Instead, it is unified around the central theme of the kingdom of God which was administered through covenants and applied to life through the Old Testament as a “canon,” or rule of life in covenant with Israel’s God. This course, based on the lecture series, Kingdom, Covenant, & Canon of the Old Testament, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and presented by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr., requires graduate level readings, spiritual formation activities, faculty tutorials, and engagement with a local mentor to understand and apply the covenantal structure and patterns of the Old Testament canon to life and ministry in the new covenant.
The Gospels (BIB505)   3 credits
The four gospels are key books of the Bible, since they narrate the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Indeed, Jonathan Pennington has described the Gospels as ‘a canon within the canon,’ the climax of the Bible’s redemptive drama. Each evangelist offers a unique perspective with some shared and some unique communicative aims for describing the life of Christ to their original audience(s). This course examines those aims and explains the historical background, literary structure, main contents, and major themes of each gospel. Integrating the lecture series, The Gospels, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Pete Alwinson, this course requires graduate level readings, spiritual formation activities, faculty tutorials, and engagement with a local mentor to study the life of Jesus and his proclamation and practices of the reign of God. These are demonstrated in four unique perspectives. Students will consider how Jesus himself used parables and symbolic actions not only to reveal his identity as Christ, the Son of God, but also to train his followers how to participate as citizens in the kingdom of God.
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Discipleship Practicum – Worship (MIS501)  1 credit 
The worship practicum explores the scriptural elements of Christian worship, the history of its theological development, and its practice in a variety of cultural contexts. While the ministry of Word and Sacrament lies at its core, corporate worship reenacts the Gospel in other ways as well, including confession of sin and assurance of pardon, and our offer of ourselves, our gifts, both spiritual and material, and our praises and prayers back to God. This course uses graduate level readings, discussion forums, faculty tutorials, mentor meetings, and ministry activities to provide you with opportunities to worship God in different contexts and to reflect on practices of worship through the lens of Scripture, theology, and the history of the Christian mission where you serve.
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Term 2
October 16-December 10, 2023
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He Gave Us Scripture, Part 1 (BIB515)   3 credits
Evangelical Christians affirm the Scriptures as God’s infallible and authoritative Word, but many still disagree over the meaning of particular passages. One reason for these disagreements is the different approaches to interpreting the Bible. But how do we know which approach is the most responsible, respecting the nature of the text and its communicative aims? Incorporating the lecture series, He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr., Part One of Foundations of Interpretation employs graduate level readings, spiritual formation activities, faculty tutorials, and engagement with a local mentor to cultivate an approach to Scripture and practices of investigation which respect its divine origin, yet human authorship, by exploring the historical background, literary shape, and theological themes of the text.
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The Apostles’ Creed (THE502)  3 credits
There are many denominations, divisions, and theological disputes in the modern church. Despite these types of disunity, there is a common core of belief that all faithful Christians have affirmed throughout history. For almost two millennia, this doctrinal core has been summarized in the Apostles’ Creed. This course explains the history and use of the Apostles’ Creed, as well as the details and significance of each of its twelve articles of faith. Utilizing the lecture series, The Apostles’ Creed, produced by Third Millennium Ministries, this course integrates graduate level readings, spiritual formation activities, faculty tutorials, and engagement with a local mentor to explore the connection between the Bible and theology, and the usefulness of doctrinal summaries for discipleship today.  
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Term 3 
January 8-March 3, 2024   
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He Gave Us Scripture, Part 2 (BIB516)  3 credits
Incorporating the lecture series, He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr, Part Two of Foundations of Interpretation employs graduate level readings, spiritual formation activities, faculty tutorials, and engagement with a local mentor to build on the student’s approach to and investigation of the text’s historical background, literary shape, and theological themes by practicing how to summarize the concepts, behaviors, and affections that are featured or implied in the text, and how to discern whether they were intended to be mimicked or avoided by readers. Students will then practice how to responsibly apply these concepts, behaviors, and affections to themselves and those they are discipling.
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We Believe in God (THE508)    2 credits
This course briefly surveys what theologians call theology proper or the doctrine of God. It deals with questions such as: Who is God? What are his attributes? What is his eternal plan? What are God’s works in history? At the most fundamental level, the Scriptures were given to teach us about who God is and what he has done for us. In fact, knowing God is essential for us to understand ourselves and our world. Based on the lecture series, We Believe in God, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Rev. Dr. Thurman Williams, this course employs graduate level readings, spiritual formation activities, faculty tutorials, and engagement with a local mentor to explore the being, attributes, and actions of the Triune God.
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Discipleship Practicum - TBD 1 credit
 
Term 4
March 18 – May 12, 2024
Kingdom and Covenant in the New Testament (BIB502) 2 credits
We Believe in the Holy Spirit (THE505)      2 credits
Discipleship Practicum - TBD 1 credit
 
Term 5 
June 3 -July 28, 2024
He Gave us Prophets (BIB513)   3 credits
Capstone (MIS603)  3 credits