Why Theological Education?

There is an obvious answer to the question of “why theological education?” Seminaries can provide things most local churches cannot provide on their own to prepare pastors for seminary. There is no premium on ignorance; pastors need the tools to teach God’s Word. In this breakout session, three different seminary presidents discuss the joys of leading seminaries and the dire need for men grounded in the inerrant word of God.


Speakers

Albert Mohler

R. Albert Mohler Jr. serves as the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Mohler is a theologian and an ordained minister, having served as pastor and staff minister of several Southern Baptist churches. He came to the presidency of Southern Seminary from service as editor of The Christian Index, the oldest of the state papers serving the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Mohler is a member of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of The Gathering Storm: Secularism, Culture, and the Church, The Apostles’ Creed: Discovering Authentic Christianity in an Age of Counterfeits, The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down, We Cannot Be Silent, The Conviction to Lead, He is Not Silent, Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth, and Atheism Remix. He is also the general editor of the new Grace and Truth Study Bible. He is married to Mary, and they have two children, and are the proud grandparents of Benjamin, Henry, and Margaret.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur is the president of The Master’s College and Seminary and featured teacher with Grace to You. In 1969, after graduating from Talbot Theological Seminary, John took the pastorate at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. The emphasis of his pulpit ministry is the careful study and verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible, with special attention devoted to the historical and grammatical background behind each passage. Since completing his first best-selling book, The Gospel According to Jesus, in 1988, John has written hundreds of other books and study guides, including Our Sufficiency in Christ and The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series. John and his wife, Patricia, live in Southern California and have four married children. They also enjoy the enthusiastic company of their fifteen grandchildren.

Ligon Duncan

Ligon Duncan is Chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, and John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. Born in Greenville, South Carolina, and reared in a Christian home, he did his studies at Furman University, Greenville, SC (BA); Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis (MDiv & MA); and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (PhD). Ligon and his wife, Anne, have two children. Ligon has edited, written, and contributed to numerous books, most recently including: The Gospel As Center, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Preaching the Cross, Fear Not: Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective, In My Place Condemned He Stood, and Does Grace Grow Best in Winter?.