Joomla gallery by joomlashine.com
Welcome to Central Seminary
A brief look at Central Seminary
building.jpg
commencement.jpg
http://centralseminary.info/images/PromoPics/commencement.jpg
students.jpg
sign.jpg
pratt.jpg
Many seminaries focus on the techniques of ministry. While technique is important, a good seminary has to do more than just teach people how to accomplish a job. It must prepare them to decide which jobs are worth accomplishing. That is what we aim to do at Central Seminary. Our mission is to prepare tomorrow’s Christian leaders. We do this by equipping their minds to think carefully about God’s revelation and shaping their hearts to respond quickly to God’s will. To these we add technique so that their hands will be skilled to serve God, and their mouths will be equipped to proclaim his Word.
2012 Commencement Streaming
The commencement ceremony for Central Seminary begins at 10:30am. To watch the event live, please click here.
2012 Commencement
Please join us on Saturday, May 12, 2012 for our commencement service. Come celebrate eighteen students who have diligently completed their studies in preparation for the minstries to which God has called them. The service begins at 10:30am.
Dr. Straub in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Congratulations to Dr. Jeff Straub of Central Seminary on the publication of his article "Fundamentalism and the King James Version: How a Venerable English Translation Became a Litmus Test for Orthodoxy" in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. The work originally appeared in Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 16 (2011) and was included in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology volume 15, number 4 (Winter 2011) by permission.
In his article, Dr. Straub traces the development of the King James Only movement within fundamentalism and identifies many of the leading figures who have furthered the idea and intensified the nature of the debate. He concludes by offering several observations concerning the movement's weaknesses and limitations.
The Sandbox
To paraphrase Les Ollila, "Wisdom is gained from the furnace of life not from the sandbox in the playground." Correspondingly, when life gets hard I want to hear from the “furnace man” over the “sandbox guy” any day!
In the fire I need more than platitudes, poems, and a song or two from the “sandbox guys”. I need wisdom from God and His Word, and in some way, it helps when it comes from the mouth of a fire-tested individual. You instinctively know whether you are hearing a “sandbox guy”, who spouts platitudes and truisms about the furnace he has never been through, or a “furnace man”, who has had the truth seared into his soul by the fire of suffering, trial, disappointment, and affliction.
So I say to the “sandbox guy”, “Please pipe down so we can hear the “furnace man” when he talks.” They generally speak soft, but their message is always worth hearing.
The Furnace
The deepest and most refining work of God in our lives happens in the furnace and not the sandbox. God never sends us into the furnace alone, for He goes with us and stays for the duration. On the other hand, my impoverished soul would do almost anything to avoid the fire by which God intends to accomplish His refining work. This may be why He usually doesn't leave the choice with us. We would prefer making our castles in the sandbox; God is fitting us for greater things and greater ends.
On Church Leadership: Part 1
There is much that is beyond the control of church leadership—the quality of spiritual food coming from the pulpit is not one of them. Pithy sayings, platitudes, and poetry is snack food at best. We can't live on snack food in real life and we can't in our spiritual lives either.
Consequently, if a church's leadership trots out snacks and trail mix week after week and another church is dishing up steak—I know where I would be eating!
When the pulpit of a church dispenses trail mix as regular fare, it should come as no surprise when the people in the pews head for other churches—where solid spiritual food is being served. Adding a prize at the bottom of the box won't fool wise parishioners for long. Trail mix isn't steak no matter how much steak sauce you pour on it or how much you praise the cook. Trail mix is trail mix no matter what you call it or regardless of who dispenses it!