Denver Seminary

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Denver Seminary
Established 1950
Type Evangelical Seminary
Religious affiliation Conservative Baptist Association of America
Endowment $7.1 million[1]
Chancellor Gordon MacDonald
President Dr. Mark Young
Academic staff 27 (Fall 2010)[2]
Students 1,001 (Fall 2010)[2]
Location Littleton, Colorado
Website http://www.denverseminary.edu

Denver Seminary is an accredited, graduate-level institution in Littleton, Colorado. It offers a wide range of degrees not typically associated with other accredited seminaries. It is also known for its emphasis on training and mentoring as integral to seminary education. Denver Seminary adheres to the National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith.

Theological stance

The evangelical theological stance of Denver Seminary is captured by the words of the late chancellor Vernon Grounds:

Here is no unanchored liberalism, freedom to think without commitment. Here is no encrusted dogmatism, commitment without freedom to think. Here is a vibrant evangelicalism, commitment with freedom to think within the limits laid down in Scripture.

This statement was first used by Grounds to stake out Denver Seminary's theological position in the midst of conflict between moderately conservative and ultra-conservative factions of the Conservative Baptist Association that eventually led the ultra-conservative faction to withdraw from the CBA and found the Conservative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). Grounds, formerly the academic dean of fundamentalist Baptist seminary in New York state affiliated with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, eventually becoming a key spokesperson for the evangelical movement that attributes its roots to the writings of Carl F. H. Henry. Under his leadership, Denver Seminary became firmly rooted in this theological camp.

Today, Denver Seminary is a non-denominational, evangelical seminary that still holds to this statement by chancellor Vernon Grounds.

History

Founded in 1950, Dr. Carey Thomas became the Seminary's first president in 1951.

The Seminary was founded by members of the newly founded Conservative Baptist Association. This is a group of churches that separated from the Northern Baptist Convention over theological differences stemming from the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy conflict earlier in the twentieth century. The school was originally known as the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary and, in 1982, changed its name to Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary. The school changed its name again in 1998 to Denver Seminary to reflect its growing appeal to a wide-spectrum of evangelical students, most of whom were no longer from the Conservative Baptists Association. Yet, the Seminary maintains its Baptist roots by requiring all full-time faculty to sign a doctrinal statement that is baptistic in nature. Students, staff, and adjunct faculty, however, are only required to sign the statement of faith used by the National Association of Evangelicals.

After Thomas' death in 1956, Vernon Grounds became the second president and remained so until 1979; he was named the seminary's chancellor in 1993. In 2002, Senior Professor of Church History Bruce Shelley authored a biography on Grounds titled Transformed by Love: The Vernon Grounds Story. This book gives a comprehensive overview of Denver Seminary's history as it developed from a small denominational school to a major evangelical seminary under Grounds' leadership.

Denver Seminary was previously located in Englewood, Colorado on the site of the former Kent School for Girls. It moved to a newly built campus in Littleton, Colorado in July 2005. Extensive renovations were made to the campus in 2011 that include several renovated classrooms to increase capacity and an addition to the library to serve as a student center.

Presidents

The following men have served in the presidency of Denver Seminary.

1. Carey S. Thomas, 1951-56
2. Vernon C. Grounds, 1956-1979
3. Haddon Robinson, 1979-1993
4. Edward L. Hayes, 1993-1996
5. Clyde McDowell, 1996-1999
6. G. Craig Williford, 2000-2008
7. Mark Young, 2009–present

Accreditation

Denver Seminary is accredited by Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP).

The school has a library that contains over 166,000 books and bound periodicals.

Training and mentoring

Denver Seminary's training and mentoring program, started by former president Clyde McDowell in 1998, was the first of its kind among evangelical, theological schools and led to an increase in student enrollment. The training and mentoring program places students with a team of mentors who help them design and pursue up to two learning contracts each semester, one focusing on spiritual growth and a second on professional development.

Publications

Since 1998, Old Testament professor Richard Hess has edited the Denver Journal: An Online Review of Current Biblical and Theological Studies. This is primarily an electronic journal that provides Denver Seminary faculty an opportunity to publish book reviews on the latest theological scholarship.

Denver Seminary Magazine, published quarterly since 1981, addresses current topics in the church and ministry and is distributed primarily to Denver Seminary alumni and other financial supporters.

Notable Faculty

  • Craig L. Blomberg New Testament scholar.
  • Gordon R. Lewis, co-author with Bruce A. Demarest of Integrative Theology (Historical - Biblical - Systematic - Apologetic - Practical) Three Volumes in One (Zondervan, 1996) ISBN 0-310-20915-3 Originally published in three volumes by Zondervan in 1987, 1990, 1994.

Programs

Denver Seminary offers the following programs of study:

  1. Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree (with optional concentrations in biblical studies, chaplaincy, Christian formation and soul care, intercultural ministry, leadership, Messianic Judaism, pastoral counseling, philosophy of religion, theology, justice and mission, or youth and family ministries)
  2. Master of Arts (Biblical Studies) degree
  3. Master of Arts (Christian Studies) degree
  4. Master of Arts (Philosophy of Religion) degree
  5. Master of Arts (Theology) degree
  6. Master of Arts in Christian Formation and Soul Care degree
  7. Master of Arts in Counseling (licensure) degree (with a concentration in community mental health or school counseling)
  8. Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries degree (with an optional 12-hour concentration in chaplaincy)
  9. Master of Arts in Leadership degree (with an optional 12-hour concentration in intercultural ministry)
  10. Master of Arts in Youth and Family Ministries degree (with an optional 12-hour concentration in counseling ministries)
  11. Master of Arts in Justice and Mission
  12. Graduate Certificate (with an emphasis in leadership, theology, Christian studies, or intercultural ministry)
  13. Certificate of Completion (with an emphasis in chaplaincy, Christian apologetics, Christian formation and soul care, or intercultural ministry)
  14. Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree for those who are currently in ministry and who hold the Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent (with concentrations in leadership and marriage and family counseling)

References

  1. ↑ As of June 30, 2011. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2011 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2010 to FY 2011" (PDF). National Association of College and University Business Officers. January 17, 2012. p. 22. Retrieved February 6, 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 statistical information.

External links

Coordinates: 39°36′2.18″N 105°1′20.56″W / 39.6006056°N 105.0223778°W / 39.6006056; -105.0223778

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