Academic Dean’s Blog

What’s new this coming fall semester at Kyiv Theological Seminary? My answer to the question is: Diploma Programs in Christian Educations, Church Planting, Pastoral Leadership, Pastoral Chaplaincy Leadership, World Missions and Youth Ministry.

I am happy to share that this morning the Executive Council of KTS approved launching of new Diploma Program. It is our noble intention as we open another program in our seminary is providing better and diverse study opportunities to those evangelical believers who are busy with their work and cannot commit for full-time study. This diploma program is going to be our first part-time track that provides transferable credits which could be used as building blocks for earning a degree at our school. This new program will use the current schedule, teachers and courses, and such approach ensures efficient use of seminary resources.

Students will come twice in a year for two weeks of residential study and earn total of 39 credits over 3 years of study. Here are general divisions of the study plan:

• KTS Core (Bible, Church History, General Ed., and Theology): 18 credits
• Specialization: 18 credits
• Specialized practicum: 3 credits

Beside spreading this news our academic office has to update admissions application to include new programs. General admissions requirements are not changed as well as academic expectations from these new students.

Next week our we have special event night when Dr. Scott D. Edgar presents his dissertation findings at KTS Public Seminar on Wednesday February 4, 2009. According to Dr. Edgar, he wants to “encourage mentoring relationships among the students at KTS and in the churches and organizations in which they serve”. Topic of his presentation will be Mentoring – the missing link in Ukrainian Theological Education for Ministry.

I am excited that Dr. Edgar and his wife Becky came to our seminary to teach two intensive courses this month. It’s my delight to welcome old friends of Kyiv Theological Seminary who served here in Ukraine as missionaries in 2000-2002. Dr. Edgar served as full-time faculty and active Academic Dean of KTS at that time.

You can download reproducible poster to print and share with your church this weekend. Poster Seminar Edgar A4 Eng Rus

Please pray for this event and for Dr. Edgar as he presents this important topic to us.

Interesting and fun way to represent words in visual way. Here you can see my blog presented visually with some words used here. I think that http://www.wordle.net is a great tool for teachers to bring a creative element into their classrooms. I plan to test the service and see how well my students respond to it.

I am privileged to teach Exposition of Isaiah course to senior students at KTS these two weeks. Wow! So much to enjoy in this book and so much to learn. Please pray for me to have physical strength and spiritual discernment and clarity of mind and ability to communicate well and rightly the truths of God’s Word.

From yesterday’s blog post at Desiring God:

Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.

Test Revival with Doctrine :: Desiring God

Among many things that the article and quoted source provoked me to think about was importance of seminary education for evangelical churches in Ukraine. Particularly I focus my attention on importance of teaching believers the whole counsel of God and Christian doctrine that comes out of Biblical data with illumination of the Holy Spirit. Teaching believers discernment with sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is also important aspect. This is vital to any church in the world, North American, Eastern European or Pacific. Ukrainian evangelical churches are in great need of biblical preaching and teaching, relevant to contemporaries and true to heart of the Gospel.

Thus I read about evidence why ministry of Kyiv Theological Seminary is of vital importance for Church in Ukraine and other neighboring countries.

Please pray with our seminary faculty and staff to be used by God mightily and gloriously for causes of His wonderful and blissful kingdom. Please pray for our 168 students (Enrollment Statistics for Fall 2007) to grow in knowledge of God and his will for this generation and for obedience to follow his call.

As St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:28, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (ESV)

Rick Warren is known worldwide. He is well known in US and recent TIME Magazine features him in its article The Global Ambition of Rick Warren. I found even an article in Encyclopædia Britannica Online on him, not mentioning Wikipedia’s article. But he is known beyond America. He is known in former USSR, several of his books translated into Russian and gained popularity among local evangelical churches as well.

In my church in Kyiv, Ukraine we had men’s group meetings that were based on one of his books: Purpose Driven Life. Few other churches in Ukraine even try to follow Saddleback Church model, adapting it to our local culture. Celebrate Recovery program started in Saddleback Church and makes its steps into Eastern Europe. Kyiv Theological Seminary hosted the Celebrate Recovery Conference on June 23-27, 2008. People from around Ukraine came for the training to experience the program themselves and take it to their churches.

Professors of our seminary require students in church planting program read his books and write book reports. Students then also required analyzing how they can contextualize the principles in their communities. Warren’s books are not the only books we use in our church planting curriculum, many of other authors are required of students to read, but his books definitely in our reading focus.

Rick Warren’s church is one of top influential evangelical churches in America and globally. My heart is burden with this question: will evangelical church in Ukraine have her own national Rick Warren someday? Hopefully, our seminary could do its part by training, equipping and forming next generation of leaders. For the future of evangelical church. To the glory of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This July 2008 Kyiv Theological Seminary website features Talbot School of Theology on its front page.

Talbot opened extension cite in Kyiv and offers Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies program to students from Estern Europe. Currently majority of students in the porgam are from Ukraine, but I am sure the program will draw more students from other former Soviet Union countries as well. It is exciting that the program will accept students every fall, as seats are available.

You can visit Talbot School of Theology at this address: http://www.talbot.edu/

First part in series of education and learning quotes collected on the Internet.

“Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.” – Sir Claus Moser

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” – John Cotton Dana

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry Brooks Adams

“An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.” – Anatole France

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” – Chinese Proverb

“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” – C. S. Lewis

“I may have said the same thing before… But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different.” – Oscar Wilde

“The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn

“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” — Carl Rogers

Sources:

• English Teachers Network, http://www.etni.org.il/quotes/education.htm

I just uploaded all photos that I took during commencement ceremony today to my web album. Not many pictures this time, I had to charge my battery right there in the church building during the event.

Kyiv Theological Seminary celebrated achievement of 13 faithful men today. Trust my words even when you look at this picture. Only 12 graduates are there. But 13 names where announced. Thanks to my wife who practiced with me last night at home and guided me to the best announcement style. Does anyone of those who attended agree with me, or I just boasting in vain?

I must add that It was God’s service today! Yea. Just two examples.

Photo Caption:: Dr. Grigory Komendant speaks at KST Commencement 2007

Firstly, former President of Ukrainian Baptist Union Dr. Grigory Komendant spoke prophetic words. He said that some people may say that we have no reason to celebrate today: Kyiv Seminary exists for 13 years and today we have 13 graduates. But it is God’s day, he said – and very next year we will celebrate KTS commencement in new and renovated conference-hall of Kyiv Theological Seminary. His words received a great applause from the audience! I wish we would have official video recording of his speech, but the school has no video equipment. I have a ‘digital 8′ format of the video camcorder but have difficult time of getting tapes for it, outdated format. So no video I have to show you here. But what I have I want to share. My Zooomr Photo Album has a Commencement 2008 Photo Set. Go and see for yourself.

Secondly, I want to share at this moment that God kept speaking to us at commencement. Dr. Yount, our commencement speaker, shared the message on building on the foundation of Christ with gold, silver and precious stones. He gave great and – importantly – simple and clear explanation of difference between building with gold and building with hay and straw. Motivation and Focus - these are two main things that define what we build with.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15, ESV)

I am thankful and glad that Dr. Yount kindly agreed to teach at KTS faculty in-service Monday through Wednesday next week. All KTS faculty are expected to attend his lectures, of course those who are available and are still in Kyiv. I personally look forward to his class.

As I greeted and congratulated each fresh alumnus after the ceremony I wished him (and myself) to go on and build with gold for God’s glory and be satisfied with nothing cheaper. Could you pray for me and our graduates as we going and living our lives to do the very best thing that God expect us to do, just as we’ve heard today and may read every day in the Book.

I am thrilled to go to this morning to Kyiv Theological Seminary commencement. Dr W. Rick Yount from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) will be our keynote speaker at KTS commencement ceremony. I will announce graduates, their degrees and majors. Our Seminary President Anatoly will hand each one of the thirteen students a diploma. What a great time and event of the school year!

I am thankful to program directors and teachers who worked hard finishing grading and submitting those grades to KTS Academic Office in time making us able to graduate these students. I commend you, my dear hard working colleagues, for you dedication to education of KTS and this graduating class. Thus along with Bachelor of Theology Diploma these graduating students will receive their transcripts.

I recall a passage from one of Paul’s letters: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8, ESV

Putting in efforts and reaping a reward. These graduates reap today their reward for months and years of diligent study and one day they along with us will reap a greater reward on the Day of Christ as we stand before our Lord. Be we all faithful, fighting the good fight, trusting in his grace.