Course Objectives

The focus of the preacher training is to learn how to preach biblically. In two years, students learn the basic steps from observing and analyzing a biblical text to delivering a sermon. The one who teaches, leads; therefore, the student is also introduced to the responsibilities of spiritual leadership and eldership.

Course Descriptions

Expository Preaching

This course is the heart of the program and goes hand in hand with the Homiletics course. Expository Preaching provides the theoretical foundation and tools for developing a sermon, which is then delivered and evaluated in Homiletics.

In the first year, the emphasis is on content. The necessary exegetical steps for grasping the original purpose of a given text or author (i.e., the method of interpretation) are explained and applied. The student will incorporate hermeneutical principles as he works step by step through the process of sermon preparation. A strong emphasis is placed on the importance of expository preaching: preaching the text faithfully in its context. Units of thought within the book must be understood in light of the writer’s overall intent and the original context, then applied to the audience.

In the second year, the focus is on the communication skills necessary to convey the sermon content clearly and effectively.

Over the course of the two years of preaching training, students will preach through every genre in the OT and NT.

Homiletics

In this course, the aspiring preacher will learn to practically apply what he has learned in the preceding courses. After all, the best way to learn to preach is to practice. From the beginning to the end of the program, each student will preach 16 sermons. This is done in small groups of no more than 6 students and one teacher. After the sermon is preached, it is immediately discussed and evaluated. An audio or video recording additionally helps the student to set new goals for the next sermon and thus to continuously improve. Homiletics II can only be taken after successful completion of Homiletics I with a passing grade of at least 75%.

Systematic Theology

Everyone is a theologian, even the atheist. Thus, the crucial question is: am I a good or a bad theologian? All people have a theology because all people have a set of beliefs about God. These beliefs are only true if they agree with what the Bible says, because Scripture is the only source that makes truthful and inerrant statements about God and His work.

Over two years, the following areas of theology are examined and presented systematically:

• The Bible (Bibliology)
• God: The Trinity, God the Father, Jesus Christ, the
• Holy Spirit (Theology Proper, Christology, Pneumatology)
• Angels, including Satan and Demons (Angelology)
• Humanity (Anthropology)
• Sin (Hamartiology)
• Salvation (Soteriology)
• The Church (Ecclesiology)
• Last Things or Eternity (Eschatology)

At the same time, emphasis is placed on apologetics, the defense of the faith.

This course is not intended to serve as a tribune for theological debate, but rather to provide an opportunity to know and love God more deeply. With the Bible in hand, the student is to know the majesty of God and be led to worship. This course is taught jointly with students from Biblical Counseling and demonstrates the relevance and applicability of biblical teaching in both fields.

Practical Theology (Spiritual Leadership and Eldership):

This course is concerned with the practical application of theology in one’s life, in church ministry, and in biblical counseling.

The one who teaches, leads. Therefore, the student will be introduced to the responsibilities of spiritual leadership and eldership. For a church to mature spiritually, its leaders must be able to identify and define biblical goals. The two primary questions addressed are: 1) Who is qualified to lead? and 2) What goals are to be pursued in such areas of ministry as Sunday school, youth ministry, small groups, and worship services?

The first year is primarily about the offices of church leadership. In the second year, special attention will be paid to specific tasks for church leadership and operations in the church as well as specific ministries within the church.

Applied Hermeneutics

The student will receive an introduction to the art and science of biblical interpretation (including an overview of the most significant interpretive approaches used throughout church history). The goal is to equip the student to accurately interpret passages in the various literary genres of the Bible. The normal grammatical-historical method of interpretation is emphasized.

Text Analysis

In this course, the student will research a biblical text using the grammatical-historical method of interpretation, applying the basic rules of grammar learned in the Profitable Bible Study program. After identifying the intention of the biblical author with the help of textual diagrams, the student will learn to clearly formulate the objective of the sermon accordingly.

The students’ selected texts will be analyzed collectively as a class. To communicate biblical truth effectively, content must be well and clearly expressed. Therefore, the concept of a competent use of language will be explored.

Character Development (Years 1-2)

This course focuses on personal character development. It is taught separately by gender. The goal of the course is to:

• Enrich and deepen the student’s personal life and relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Create a better understanding of how to identify and classify problems the student will face in biblical counseling (of self and others)
• Provide a practical framework for understanding the process of counseling from a biblical perspective