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I'm Done at Luther Rice...Just Started at Liberty

Discussion in 'Baptist Colleges & Seminaries' started by eddie, May 13, 2009.

  1. eddie

    eddie New Member

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    Hello All,

    Sorry, I haven't posted in a long while. Just wanted to let you know that I will graduate from Luther Rice Seminary this Friday, 15 May, with a Master of Divinity degree. I have been working on this degree for about eight years through four different schools. I thank God that I am finally done!

    Currently, I am being considered for a bivocational pastor position at a local Baptist church. I am praying that I will be selected so that I can put to good use what I've learned in seminary as I serve God's people.

    Additionally, I entered the Ed.D in Educational Leadership program at Liberty University earlier this year. I'm in my third class right now. Because I can use Air Force civilian tuition assistance to pay for many of the Ed.D classes, I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by. I hope, Lord willing, to finish this doctorate in three to four years. I would like in the future to pursue employment opportunities at the Community College of the Air Force, Air University, or DANTES. Presently, I am the Education Services Officer for Columbus AFB.

    If anybody wants current information about Luther Rice or Liberty, let me know! Luther Rice and Liberty have been a tremendous blessing to me.

    Eddie
     
  2. dcorbett

    dcorbett Active Member
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    Congratulations on your completion! I just finished my last class at Liberty, and I now have a Bachelors degree.

    Debbie Mc
     
  3. Jkdbuck76

    Jkdbuck76 Well-Known Member
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    Congratulations.

    I'm interested in LRU. If you don't mind my asking: what was the quality of the education?
     
  4. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    Congratulations on your graduation.

    I took a look at the program and if I were you I would take more statistics classes than they require. Some doctoral programs require at least three statistics classes. You will never regret it.
     
  5. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    Eddie,

    Congratulations on your graduation and your moving on to your doctoral education. :applause:
     
  6. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    Debbie,

    Congratulations! :applause:
     
  7. PreacherTeacher

    PreacherTeacher New Member

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    Congratulations, Eddie! As an '08 Luther Rice M.Div. grad, I know the feeling! I'll be praying that God's will is done concerning the bivocational church job. I have been a bivocational pastor in a small church for over 5 years, along with teaching in the public schools. God bless you!
     
  8. Pastor Shaun

    Pastor Shaun New Member

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    Eddie,
    Congrats, I am leaning heavily on LRU for the MDIV, what information and advice can you give me?

    PreacherTeacher,
    How has teaching/preaching as a bivocational pastor been for you? The reason I ask is because I do my student teaching this fall, and will also be a public school teacher/pastor. How has LRU helped you? It is encouraging to see someone in a similar situation as myself. I feel called to both teach and preach and have been seeing how the Lord will lead in these directions.
     
  9. eddie

    eddie New Member

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    Before I answer your question, I first want to say that the LRU graduation ceremony was beautiful! My wife cried when she saw me march into the First Baptist Atlanta worship center. Dr. Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and currently serving on President Obama's Faith Council, was the commencement speaker. He did a marvelous job.


    The quality of education is good. Like at any other school, some of the courses were rigorous and some were not. Thankfully, the discussion board assignments at LRU have prepared me well for Liberty U., which also requires a lot of discussion board assignments.

    My biggest regret is not having taken Greek language courses. Greek and Hebrew are not required at LRU. LRU does offer Greek online, so I would recommend that you take the Greek courses. I'm thinking about taking a couple of online Greek classes through LRU in the future.

    Here are what I consider to be some LRU pros and cons (please keep in mind that all schools have pros and cons):

    Pros

    - Unwavering commitment to the authority of Scripture
    - Caring professors
    - Heavy emphasis on missions
    - Solid preparation for church leadership
    - Excellent library support
    - School reps (Financial Aid, Registrar, Academic Advising, etc.) are easy to get a hold of (hold times when calling Liberty are ridiculous!)
    - Very reasonable tuition rate!
    - Nationally accredited

    Cons

    - Nationally accredited
    - Lack of rigor in some M.Div classes
    - Biblical languages not required


    Overall, I think LRU is a wonderful school, and I thank God for my degree!


    Liberty Ed.D update:

    I've gotten an "A" in each of my first two Ed.D classes. I really like the program so far.
     
  10. SaggyWoman

    SaggyWoman Active Member

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    yo! Congrats!
     
  11. eddie

    eddie New Member

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    Here are a few things:

    - I recommend that you take the online Greek classes. I wish that I had.

    - When you answer the discussion board questions, give answers based on research you've done. The professors don't like discussion board answers based on what you "think" or how you "feel" about the subject; interact with what biblical scholars have to say on the topic.

    - Keep in mind that LRU is nationally accredited. Unfortunately, many regionally accredited seminaries do not accept students with nationally accredited M.Div's into their D.Min programs.

    - Take advantage of the excellent library support. The library will send books to your house at no charge. You pay the return postage.

    - Buy your books from Amazon.com, not through the LRU MBS Direct book store. Amazon is a lot cheaper.

    I think LRU is a wonderful school. Just make sure that a nationally accredited school like LRU will allow you to achieve your goals. If you'd like more information, please let me know.

    Thanks,

    Eddie
     
  12. michaelbowe

    michaelbowe Member

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    What agency accredits LRU? ATS which is only a national accreditation is commonly accepted into any D.Min programs. I am not so sure about TRACS.
     
  13. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    They are accredited by tracs
     
  14. eddie

    eddie New Member

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    Good point. I should have been more specific. Many regionally and/or ATS accredited seminaries offering D.Min programs do not accept applicants with TRACS only accredited degrees. I have emailed the admission offices at several seminaries and, so far, I have found that only Liberty and Southern Seminary will accept LRU graduates into their D.Min programs.

    Even though ATS is a "national" accreditor of theological schools, I don't think of ATS in the same way that I think of other national accreditors, such as TRACS or DETC. From what I can tell, ATS accredition is highly respected among seminaries and university-based divinity schools. TRACS does not enjoy anyone near the same level of respect as does ATS. Am I wrong about that?

    Thanks,

    Eddie
     
  15. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    ==I believe that Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary also accepts MDiv students from Luther Rice providing they have the correct hours of greek/hebrew. That is based on some research I did into this topic a few years ago.

    ==Among seminaries/divinity schools you are correct. However secular universities don't view either ATS or TRACS as being on the same level as regional accreditation. That is important if a person is considering going into college teaching and/or earning a PhD from a secular school. So if a person wants to enter college teaching they need to make sure that the school(s) they wish to earn their PhD from (which needs to be regionally accredited) will accept thier MDiv/MA seminary work. Mainly if that seminary work was done at a school that is only TRACS or ATS accredited.
     
  16. michaelbowe

    michaelbowe Member

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    I disagree here to some extent. I know several of my seminary friends who have graduated and went on to do Ph.D. work at very reputable places such as Oxford, Vanderbilt, Duke, etc. This argument goes both ways. There are several who have not been successful. Some ATS schools have issue accepting credits from RA schools basing equality as an issue. There is no rule that any school has to accept another school's credits. Accreditation helps here, but unfortunately, all is up for grabs concerning what will and will not be accepted.
     
  17. dcorbett

    dcorbett Active Member
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    I took all my classes online in Liberty's distance learning program. I LOVED the Bible courses that are required - I learned so much from Dr Caner's class - and from Dr Hindson's class. My Criminal Justice classes were good too....the texts are tough reading and I had to take lots of notes.

    Debbie Mc
     
  18. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    ==That is certainly true. However I still think it is safer to go the RA route if a secular PhD is the goal.

    ==True. I am of the view of all federally approved accreditation should be treated equally. However that is not the reality.

    :thumbs:
     
  19. paidagogos

    paidagogos Active Member

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    Can you trust the federal government?

    Martin, do you really think that "all federally approved accreditation" agencies are created equal? In other words, do you really believe that the requirements are comparable and equally rigorous? IMHO, "federally approved accreditation" carries about as much weight and credibility as USDA-approved or FDA-approved. :laugh:
     
  20. michaelbowe

    michaelbowe Member

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    I think accreditation is a starting point. Schools should not have any issue accepting credits from schools with same accreditation, or better. Harvard, Yale, etc does not accept transfer credits and has high standards of admission, but they state that they will not accept transfers from other institutions. I don't know if I can say all are equal if they have acheived accreditation, but there is at least a standard. Hope this makes sense.
     
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