Luther Rice Bible College and Seminary

Martin · #1 03-05-2005, 08:45 PM

A while back I did a review of the level of acceptance that TRACS only schools have. I found that while many schools that are regionally accredited do accept TRACS only credits/degrees, many do not.

Luther Rice Bible College and Seminary is a school that holds TRACS only accreditation. Therefore the schools degrees/credits are accepted on a limited basis. However Luther Rice has now announced that they have made application with SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). This is a great move!

Former Liberty University President John Boreck is now the Provost of Luther Rice. This year the school is holding graduation at FBC/Atlanta (Charles Stanley's Church). The school seems to be "moving on up". I hope to see this trend continue.

PatsFan · #2 03-05-2005, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Martin:
Luther Rice has now announced that they have made application with SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). This is a great move!

That's really good news. I think LRS is a good school. I seriously considered applying to their DMin program last year. Dr. Bruce Kreutzer at LRS told me they were looking into other forms of accreditation. They run a tight ship. I think SACS will go through no problem.

gb93433 · #3 03-05-2005, 09:53 PM

The doctoral work at Luther Rice is equivalent to the M.Div. at SWBTS.

PatsFan · #4 03-05-2005, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gb93433:
The doctoral work at Luther Rice is equivalent to the M.Div. at SWBTS.

I'm not sure how you can compare the MDiv at SWBTS to the DMin at LRS. It's like comparing apples and oranges. They are completely different programs of study. My guess is that the most challenging aspects of the MDiv at SWBTS are the Biblical languages and exegetical work. At LRS the most rigorous aspect of their DMin is the major ministry project.

El_Guero · #5 03-05-2005, 11:41 PM

Sounds good.

Martin · #6 03-06-2005, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gb93433:
The doctoral work at Luther Rice is equivalent to the M.Div. at SWBTS.

==I am disturbed by the kind of comment that you have made. You should probably prayerfully realize that each "real" seminary (I put real in there for obvious reasons) has its own strengths and weaknesses. I could sit here and list of several major problems with Southwestern, Southern, Southeastern, New Orleans, Golden Gate, Dallas, Liberty, Mid America, Moody, etc, etc. However that is not my purpose. All of those schools are great, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

O yes, btw, Southwestern accepts transfer credits and honors degrees from Luther Rice Seminary. While all transfers are done on a case by case basis, Southwestern admissions stated in a email to me that "SWBTS accepts degrees from Luther Rice". So if Luther Rice is of low quality, what does it say about Southwestern that they accept degrees from Luther Rice?

Luther Rice is not any easier or harder than any other real school. Besides what is easy and what is hard is sort of a relative thing.

I tend to agree with Patsfan that the most challenging part of any seminary program is the Biblical languages.

I hope you re-consider your comments.
Martin.

Martin · #7 03-06-2005, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PatsFan:
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Martin:
Luther Rice has now announced that they have made application with SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). This is a great move!

That's really good news. I think LRS is a good school. I seriously considered applying to their DMin program last year. Dr. Bruce Kreutzer at LRS told me they were looking into other forms of accreditation. They run a tight ship. I think SACS will go through no problem. [/QUOTE]==I agree that their will gain SACS accreditation with no problem. They are a sound school both Biblically and academically. I hope Southern Evangelical follows in Luther Rice's footsteps.

Martin.

Jabbezzz · #8 03-06-2005, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Martin:
This year the school [LRS} is holding graduation at FBC/Atlanta (Charles Stanley's Church).

Dr. Stanley earned his ThD from LRS long before the school was TRACS accredited. In conversation with the LRS librarian, I was told that Stanley's ThD dissertation was a study on prayer.

Amazingly, Stanley has never been accused of having a less than credible doctorate. For some within ministry circles a solid unaccredited degree may indeed meet one's needs. [img]graemlins/type.gif[/img]

Martin · #9 03-06-2005, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jabbezzz:
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Martin:
This year the school [LRS} is holding graduation at FBC/Atlanta (Charles Stanley's Church).

Dr. Stanley earned his ThD from LRS long before the school was TRACS accredited. In conversation with the LRS librarian, I was told that Stanley's ThD dissertation was a study on prayer.

Amazingly, Stanley has never been accused of having a less than credible doctorate. For some within ministry circles a solid unaccredited degree may indeed meet one's needs. [img]graemlins/type.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]==Yea, I have heard that many people who graduated around the time of Stanley did dissertations like that. However Luther Rice has changed over the years, yet it remains a mainly ministry school. Unaccredited degrees work within the Baptist church. I know of alot of pastors, of sort of good size churches, with degrees from Andersonville, and Covington (etc). Since they are not really in academic circles I don't see that as being a really big deal. However I doubt they, or Stanley, could enter into academic circles and be accepted. Stanley's dissertation probably did him well for the direction his ministry has taken.

I think Ankerberg, Vines, and Paige Patterson's wife all got Doctorates from Luther Rice.

Martin.

Broadus · #10 03-06-2005, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gb93433:
The doctoral work at Luther Rice is equivalent to the M.Div. at SWBTS.

A little documentary support, please?

I suspect that such a broadside with no support made in an MDiv paper at SWBTS would receive the prof's ire. I know it would at SBTS.

BTW, a DMin is typically a practical degree. It is not academic by its very nature. I would put a DMin from LRS as being comparable to many of the DMins at SBTS, and I don't think SBTS will compare unfavorably to SWBTS. A PhD, though, is a different matter.

LRS achieving SACS will be a solid step forward. I'm glad to see it. The more opportunities for folks to get solid training is better for the church all around.

Bill