Blog Archives
Sacramento Campus Preview – Tonight!
Western Seminary-Sacramento will be hosting a Campus Preview Day event tonight, Monday, October 4th from 7 – 9pm. This is event is absolutely free and you’ll be able to meet program advisors, Western alumni, and have your personal questions answered. Coffee and dessert will be provided. Here is a link where you can RSVP: www.westernseminary.edu/sacramento/access We hope to see you there!”
Summer Courses of Interest at Our Sacramento Campus
If you are a student at our Sacramento campus, or you live near Sacramento and you are considering seminary studies, we have some classes you may be interested in taking. For example, Dr. Art Azurida, the Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Portland campus, will be teaching a class titled “Maximizing the Church’s Redemptive Influence” and Jan Verbruggen, Professor of Old Testament Literature and Language, will be teaching a class titled “Theology of the Old Testament”.
For dates and times, as well as our extended list of classes, click here. If you have any further questions or you would like to sign up for a class please contact us at 800.250.7030.
From the Horse’s Mouth: Why Seminary is Still Relevant for the Church
by Tom Demuri
Tom Demuri
It was a mid-week evening when I walked into Temple – a quaint little coffee shop in downtown Sacramento. That night the place was bursting at the seams with caffeine-enhanced conversation and the constant chatter of the espresso machine. I made my way in, pushing past an after-hour business ensemble and swarm of collegiate intellectuals to search for a study space. Seating was slim pickings that night, so I temporarily opted out of my coffee purchase to edge my way into a two-by-two foot cubicle. The pinch was enough to induce a temporary twitch, but I remained optimistic looking forward to my one-on-one theology course with Dr. Breshears via DVD.
It wasn’t long after I had begun my intellectual ascent into the theological realm that I noticed an old friend take a seat close by. Politely, I nodded and then made my way in his direction. We shook hands and caught up on life, and before I knew it my theological course drifted right into our friendly dialogue.
As we discussed God and life, we found ourselves enriched and filled, but it got me thinking: I find that these theological and philosophical heart-to-hearts happen increasingly more outside the church walls than they do inside.
But I fear that the Church is not prepared for a grassroot style of interaction that seems to be on the rise. Our youth and evolving culture seem less interested in conventional church and a pulpit message and it’s this sort of transition that could expose how unequipped the majority of the people in our congregations really are.
Now more than ever, I think that Christ followers need to be rigorously equipped, thoroughly and individually, in order to strengthen our collective purpose. It won’t be enough to “bring em’ to church” and hope the preacher brings his A-game. The individuals of this culture want to hear it from the horse’s mouth and see it in his trot.
In fact, a colleague recently challenged me with a question that I think is relevant. He asked, “Do you think seminary is still relevant to the church?” And the short answer is “yes…absolutely.” Everyone needs to be equipped, not just the pulpit pastors. But to be equipped well, Christ-followers need more than a handful of old congregational notes and their weekly dessert driven bible-study. Christ-followers need to engage in the rigors of committed study. They need to be able to answer the pessimistic teenager who has bought into a nihilistic philosophy; the skepticism of the relative who just can’t reconcile a loving God with the suicide of a lifelong friend; or the humanistic neighbor whose philanthropic achievements blind him from his depravity. Try finding those answers in last Sunday’s sermon notes.
Seminary is a phenomenal place to be equipped. It’s the place to really take on these sorts of questions with the input of seasoned theologians and ministers. I’m glad that Western Seminary is such a place.
When I got back to my course that night, after spending time with my old friend, I took a moment to thank God for leading me down the path of seminary training. Because of it, I’m not the same person that I was when I started. What I love most is the richness that it has brought to my conversations and my relational life.
Tom Demuri is a student and an enrollment counselor at Western Seminary-Sacramento.
Preview Western Seminary in Sacramento and the Bay Area
For those who are interested in seminary/counseling who live in/near Sacramento, San Francisco, or San Jose we have two preview events occuring on February 4th:
The first is from 7-9pm at First Baptist Church in San Mateo, CA. The address for this event is 2801 Alameda de las Pulgas (94403). To register contact Pira Tritasavit at 408. 356. 6889 ex. 403 or via email at pirat@westernseminary.edu. Also, you can register online here.
The second is from 6-8pm at Arcade Church in Sacramento, CA. The address for this event is 2924 Becerra Way (95821). To register contact Tom Demuri at 1. 800.250. 7030 ex. 9 or via email at tdemuri@westernseminary.edu. Also, you can register online here.
To learn more about Western Seminary visit our ‘about page’.
