Today’s Seminary Student

What does today’s seminary student look like? This is a big question, but I would like to address this from one perspective.

This week I will wrap up two years as interim director of Contextualized Learning at Central Seminary in Shawnee, KS. Over the past twenty years, I have been associated with the seminary in various ways—director of the Tennessee site in Murfreesboro, supplemental instructor in several areas, designer of the contextualized learning component of the CREATE program, interim director of the Doctor of Ministry program, faculty advisor, and financial supporter.

Over those twenty years, the Master of Divinity program has evolved in structure and in accessibility. Central aggressively developed satellite centers in the early 2000’s and programs specially for Korean students. Central had already moved to an online program prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they were ahead of the game in offering a degree that was affordable and accessible for student wherever they live.

When it comes to students themselves, however, the demographics of those in the English MDiv program have been pretty consistent with the exception of an increase in ethnic diversity. A survey of Central students from Fall 2023 highlights these characteristics:

Age: a mean of 44 years of age.
Gender: 51% Female; 49% Male.
Denomination: 62% Baptist (of some type); 8% United Church of Christ; 8% Nondenominational; 22% Other.
Race/Ethnicity: 38% White; 30% Black/African American; 27% Asian; 5% Hispanic.
State of Residency: 15—Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

The typical Central student in the English MDiv program is college-educated, middle-age, Baptist, seeking ordination or chaplaincy certification, and non-residential.

So, what does this look like in the classroom? When we started offering classes in person in Tennessee in 2005, we had men and women, African Americans and whites, and people already engaged in the church but also with full-time jobs and families. In my online classes in recent years, the gender diversity has continued but the ethnic diversity has increased with students from Myanmar, Africa, and the Caribbean.

These students bring rich personal and cultural experiences to the class. I can think of several individuals who held full-time vocational positions with a high level of responsibility, were members of Reserve military units, served as volunteer or paid church staff, and had families. Many students were women who were committed to finding their place in ministry and in society who discovered encouragement and empowerment at Central. I remember students who have fled persecution, lost family members to violence in their home countries, and are committed to be servants of God in a new place.

Now I do presume to say that all theological institutions are like this, but I do think we will find that the enrollment in most of these schools is very different from what it was in the last century. Theological education must continue to evolve to serve those who are called and the churches or ministries they lead.

Working with these students has been challenging and informative. I have learned much from them. As I close out this time of service with Central Seminary, I thank God for them and pray for them, their families, and their ministries.

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