DMin's and Their Place in the Educational Scheme

Bill (Broadus),

I could not agree with you more about the DMin and Southern. It is a great opportunity.

Dr. Akin is great. For my first seminar we met at the Olford center in Memphis and there were students from Southern and Southeastern, and Dr. Akin was there with his group and taught several of our sections. He is a great guy. Probably the highlight of the week for me was getting to sit around with Dr. Akin and Dr. York and hear them talk like normal guys. It has been a great experience.

I would recommend the DMin at Southern to anyone interested.

 

What is really fun is to hear Drs. Akin and York take issue with something the other said.

I'm glad the DMin in Expository Preaching is a benefit to you. IMO, it's the best of the DMin programs for pastors which Southern offers.

Blessings,
Bill

 

Bill, yes I got to hear that a couple times between Drs. Akin and York, plus it was very interesting to hear them talk about Dr. Mohler. It seems like a great guy as well.

 

Larry,

I think he was referring to a more rigorous D.Min vs. a much less rigorous one.

A D.Min from Southern (or from Southwestern once the current changes are finished) is a much more academically rigorous program than many that are out there. I won't name names, of course, but there are some D.Mins that if you can spell your name and pay your money, you'll be "Dr. So and so..." in a year or so.

That's my biggest complaint about the D.Min (a degree I'm pursuing presently, by the way) in general. There seems to be no real standard.

 

Point of clarification:
I didn't intend to malign the SWBTS D.Min by suggesting that it will be better once some current changes are finished.

Historically, it has been one of the best. It was the first among SBC seminaries, if I recall. But it began to be less academically rigorous in the mid-to-late 90s. Not to say that the instruction weakened, but the acceptable standard of research papers, prospectus, and project papers was much weaker during those years than they had been previously, going back to the 70s.

They're presently working to increase the expectations of both students and professors. It hasn't been completely pain-free for many of the students who were already well into the program when the changes began.

All that to say...it has always been a good degree. But now it is becoming a little more academically rigorous.