Andersonville Theological Seminary

Welcome to a fellow Tennesseean. I have no firsthand experience, but I have known some students there. I know that they are KJVO and that the rigor of the work appeared to be not quite practical nor typical of seminary training. That's about all without getting into personal stories.

 

If you want to know about a seminary, this is the place to look. These guys are quite competent on seminaries. Brackjin, you would do well to heed the advice of this site.

Do a search on Andersonville and you will get a good deal to read through and evaluate.

 

Have you considered schools like:

Luther Rice University www.lru.edu

Liberty Theological Seminary www.lbts.edu

Temple Baptist Seminary www.templebaptistseminary.edu

Southern Evangelical Seminary www.ses.edu

Each of these schools are fully accredited, each offer distance learning programs, and each are just as conservative as Andersonville. Andersonville has some fine, Godly men associated with it, and no doubt those who go through the programs at Andersonville get a wonderful Bible education. However, in the "wonderful" world of higher education, there are other things that must be considered. Accreditation, for better or worse, is one of those things which must be considered. If accreditation does not matter to you, then Andersonville is a good choice. However if accreditation does, or may in the future, matter to you please consider one of the schools I have linked above.

How do you know if accreditation does, or may, matter to you?

If you:

Plan on pursuing further education, maybe at a different school (secular or Christian), accreditation matters to you.

Wish to teach, accreditation matters to you.

Wish to have a degree that will be respected by most churches, businesses, and schools, accreditation matters to you.

Check into those others schools before signing up at Andersonville.

 

I was enrolled in Andersonville 10 yrs ago...
It is a diploma mill, with a diploma no one takes seriously...

All I had to do was listen to a tape, take a test, and I got the credit for the class... I could do a class a day... and I did...

And what they taught, I learned before I was 12 in Sunday School.

I took about 10 classes, and realized what a crock it was.
Now when I see an Andersonville diploma on a pastor's wall I roll my eyes... because I know what little work they did to get that peice of paper...

It may be cheap, but you get what you pay for... in the long run.. it is worthless.

 

Tiny,

Please forgive me in advance if this comes across the wrong way, but it took you ten classes to come to the conclusion that this was a crock?

Why did it take so long for you to come to this conclusion?

 

Yeah... I laughed when I read what I wrote...

I realized it, as soon as I took my first "test"... but I had paid for 10 classes up front.. so I finished them. Hoping I could learn something!

But either the lessons were too easy, or not taken in context...
For instance for Church History, they taught on the seven churches in Rev. and tried to make Christian history fit into them...

Also, on the Doctrine of the Bible... It was nothing but a KJVO course...On why the KJV is the only Bible... their class ring (that I could buy as soon as I signed up) was their logo with "KJV1611"

NT survey was just that a survey.. 45 minutes of the history of the NT...
Then all I had to do was take the test and I had the credit for that course.. took me 1 1/2 hours to complete the whole NT course!!

 

Wow! I'm ready to get my Ph.D. from them. Where do I sign up!

 

The ad at the top of the page!!! lol

 

==I know a guy who took some courses through Andersonville, I'm not sure if he finished a degree there or not. Anyway I looked at two of his classes and, while I am not endorsing Andersonville, there is no way one could have done all the work in 1 1/2 hours. There were about ten tapes, I believe one or two tests, and a paper (if I recall correctly). This was less than ten years ago so things may have changed since you took your ten classes. I also know that Andersonville started using tapes from ITS which would certainly take more than 1 1/2 hours to complete. Don't get me wrong I am NOT endorsing Andersonville, just saying that I get the impression that things have improved since you took your courses. Maybe my impression is wrong, I have no real way of knowing. Either way a person should work with one of the schools I mentioned in my earlier reply. :thumbs:

 

==My advice? Sign up at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and earn your MAR via distance learning. Then if you wish to get a MDiv sign up with Luther Rice, transfer in your Liberty degree so you will get credit for the work you have already done, and finish your MDiv with Luther Rice. Why change schools half way through? Because Luther Rice offers the languages via distance learning and Liberty does not and if you are going to earn a MDiv you need the languages. Why start with Liberty? To give yourself a break. You work towards a 45hr degree, get the degree and maybe take a few months vacation. In the meantime you have the satisfaction that you have earned your first masters (MA). Then get your "second" masters (MDiv) from Luther Rice. It sort of breaks things up, also your resume will contain two graduate degrees from two different schools instead of just one graduate degree (looks better).

Hope all of that made sense.

 

Andersonville....Smandersonville

One of my best friends "earned" (and I use that term loosely) his Bachelor of Theology degree from Andersonville about a year and a half ago. He had no previous college credit, had a full-time job, married w/ two kids, and he "earned" his degree in a year!! Give me a break!! Tiny Tim is correct!

I urged my friend to go through Liberty or Luther Rice....all I heard was, "they're too expensive" and "Andersonville is accredited." I explained that it was not accredited....he replied, "no you don't understand....they are!"

I finished my Bachelors degree through Liberty, though most of my hours had been earned on campus at another university. When I saw the "work" he had to do.....I laughed out loud!! It is a joke! Anyone who believes that is undergraduate level work is fooling themselves.....the average fifth grader could listen to those tapes and pass the test in one afternoon! One course down....how many to go???

If anyone is thinking of Andersonville, mail me your check....I'll be happy to print out a diploma on my inkjet printer and mail it back to you.

 

I do beleive they went through some type of transformation since I had my experience.

 

==Whatever "transformation" they have had was not enough. :thumbs:

 

Andersonville work load

I am in the Masters of Ministry program. No you will not listen to a tape and do a class a day.
I am doing “Church Administration” 10 tapes 1-1/2 hours a tape, read 4 books and do a report on each book, plus 2 projects and a 5 page test with 100 questions. Yes it might not be Liberty, but then again, I refuse to break Biblical principles and go in debt to learn the word of God. Remember you get out what you put into the classes.

You Know!!!!!!!

Wow! what pride. .... Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.1 Corinthians 8:1

You got the wrong education tinytim Where did you go to school?:thumbs:

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

 

==I have a MA in Religion from Liberty University. I did not go into debt and I am far from rich. At the time I was working on that degree I was employeed at a bank in their records department. So I was/am hardly rolling in cash. However I paid for most of my classes with check/check card and I paid in full. Sometimes, mainly at the start, that meant only taking one class at a time. Later on I had saved enough money where I could overlap courses by starting a second course when I was halfway through the first. I did use a credit card from time to time only because I wanted to keep a credit line active. I would usually pay it off on the next bill. A person does not have to go into debt to get a good education nowadays. Schools offer payment plans, scholarships, resonable loans that can be paid back quickly, work studies, graduate assistantships, etc, etc....Plus a ministry student "should" be able to get any needed financial aid/support from their church.

I am currently working on a second MA in History from a state university. I am not going into debt here either. I am working at the university and that saves me money (I am far from rich, believe me).

It is a myth that people have to go deeply into debt in order to get a good education.

As far as people getting out of something what they put into it. That is true. But it is also true that you normally get what you pay for. Andersonville, while I don't believe it is a degree mill persay, does not offer the quality/scope of program as a Liberty or Southeastern does. Andersonville does have some fine men associated with it. I am thinking mainly of Harley Howard.

==This is not about pride this is about proper educational standards. If a person has a MA degree, a PhD, or a DMin. then people should be able to assume that the person has done proper graduate level/doctoral level work. The simple FACT is that schools like Andersonville don't measure up to that standard. Therefore the MA (etc) degrees they handout are not on the same academic level as a MA from Liberty or Southeastern. It is as simple as that.

==They had walked with the Lord Himself for some three years (daily, in person, etc). That is better than any Bible education today. So that is NOT what this is about. This is about demanding proper academic standards. That is, a person has done graduate level work in order to earn a graduate degree (etc). These "schools" that offer MA/MDiv/PhD "degrees" to people for doing undergraduate level work (or sometimes less) are doing their students a massive disservice.

Ps...there are very good reasons why some of these type schools are not accredited: they can't because their standards/requirements are too low. I'm not sure Andersonville falls into that category. I think they could gain TRACS accreditation if they put some effort into it.

 

Andersonville thoughts and reply.

Cost of Study
2007-2008 Tuition. Not sure if I did the figures right.
$250 per credit hour for Mdiv X 90 houres= $22,500.00. And you do not even take up space there. not including books. I am sure you get what you pay for. I would love to take a class some day from them. Just to say I did that.

Are not you walking daily with Jesus, daily and in person. The Holy Spirit as your teacher. And just to think; they were still doubters:thumbs:

I think you took me out of context. I was referring to tinytim’s knowing how little work a pastor did to get his degree. You cannot know this by looking at a degree. Now if the pastor tells you he just coasted, that is different.

I took a Galatians class. I also read 4 books and 3 commentaries on Galatians and preached a 16 week series at the same time, doing massive and extensive outside work and many sermon outlines. I could do a commentary on Galatians with all my notes.

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Yes, His Job class he taught was great.

 

Yes, it was!

 

Harley Howard's book/commentary on the book of ACTS is great!