David Ridder

Insights from
Phil Baur

Insights from
David Ridder

Facts about Bethel Seminary East

ethel Seminary of the East is a merging of soul mates. The philosophies of theological education espoused by both Bethel Seminary and Seminary of the East reflect like-minded thinking, hearts in sync, and parallel purposes that fit like hand in glove.

"When we started to learn more about Bethel Seminary, we discovered that Bethel had just retooled around the three centers philosophy-- centers that lined up exactly with our three emphases on head, heart, and hands," says David Ridder, dean and executive officer of Bethel Seminary of the East.

The founding pastors of Seminary of the East envisioned an adult education environment in which students would learn to think theologically and reflect critically about issues of the Christian faith, precisely the focus of Bethel's Center for Biblical and Theological Foundations. They implemented discipleship groups and a mentoring program to prepare whole and holy persons who would exhibit utmost integrity as they live by God's word, much like Bethel's Center for Spiritual and Personal Formation. And they purposed to provide a dynamic context within local churches to produce effective servant leaders for relevant ministry, mirroring the purpose of Bethel's Center for Transformational Leadership.

"Seminary of the East was, I believe, a vision given by God to the Conservative Baptist pastors and laypersons who got it chartered in 1985," says Phil Baur, the seminary's acting president. "Viewed from a businessman's perspective, it was an entrepreneurial endeavor to enter a very competitive field with a limited constituency, but with a real and growing need for the kind of educational experience Seminary of the East was offering."

Stemming the flow

Historically it has been Seminary of the East's mission to train leaders for the Northeast in the Northeast. Those who train for ministry elsewhere and are transplanted to the Northeast region experience a certain amount of culture shock, Ridder says. The bigger problem, however, was that Northeastern natives were not staying home. Students left their churches to attend seminary in Denver or Portland and never came back. "There was a kind of steady drain of leadership from the East Coast to other parts of the country," Ridder says. "Students went away to school, fell in love with other places, and just didn't return."

To stem the flow, Seminary of the East took seminary education to the students--ultimately offering classes at four different locations in four specific contexts. "Training leaders in New England, for example, is a very different proposition from training leaders in New York City," Ridder says. "By serving students in multiple locations, we can lend a regional flavor to their training. There is a real hands-on dimension in learning to do ministry in the context where you will be ministering that I believe is one of our greatest strengths."

Ridder speaks from experience. A pastor himself, he has mentored nine students who now serve churches scattered throughout the Northeast. "They have seen ministry close up," he says. "They have learned of the heartaches as well as the victories. They are not so wet behind the ears that everything blows them away within their first year or two of service."

Mentoring for maximum ministry

It was, in fact, the mentoring component of the seminary's teaching philosophy that drew Ridder to the school in the first place. Asked to serve as a pastoral mentor for student David Nelson in 1986, one year after the seminary's founding, Ridder saw firsthand the value of such an approach. "I was sold on it from the beginning," he says. "I felt like a lot of my own seminary classmates were diving into ministry with no working understanding of what thechurch was all about. To come alongside of somebody training for ministry in the context

Students at Bethel Seminary of the East actually benefit from more than just one mentor during their courses of study. In addition to a faculty advisor and faculty discipleship group leader, each student also enjoys regular meetings with both a pastoral mentor and a lay mentor from a local church. The mentors supervise the student's Guided Learning Experience, or GLE. Some GLEs center on spiritual formation goals, others on ministry skills. One student, for example, faced a major hurdle in homiletics--he spoke too fast. As part of his Guided Learning Experience, he spent time with a therapist who helped him slow down his rate of speech.

"Also among the mentors' responsibilities are to ensure that the students are adjusting well to church life," Ridder says, "and that they aren't blowing it with their families in the process of going to school and working or serving the church."

According to President Baur, such intimate involvement between students and mentors continues to be one of the most significant contributions Bethel Seminary of the East makes to the training of persons for ministry. "The strong personal relationships built among students, faculty, staff, and mentors are powerful weapons for resisting the temptations to sin that surround us and grow more insidious and invasive with every passing day," he says. "I find also that the students' involvement in holding us--administration and faculty--accountable for practicing what we preach provides a good check for us in our own walks with the Lord."

Seminary at night

Taking seminary education to the students where they live is only part of Bethel Seminary of the East's strategy to offer the greatest possible accessibility. The seminary's shift from daytime to evening classes led to an increase in enrollment and enhanced the school's ability to attract a greater diversity of students.

"Students come to class one evening a week," Ridder explains. "It's a very intensive evening, but by doing it that way students can remain in their local churches or at their full-time jobs and still make progress on their seminary degrees."

The Bethel factor

How has becoming Bethel Seminary of the East altered the distinctives on which Seminary of the East has built its reputation for innovative seminary education? Not one whit, according to Ridder. "We have felt utterly respected and affirmed," he says. "Our best elements are being preserved. While we come out of the accreditation and merger process enjoying greater academic credibility, we are yet able to train students in ways true to our founding commitments. We haven't had to give up anything; instead we have been helped to do it even better.

"There is a genuine sense of hope here about the future," Ridder continues, "a real anticipation that God is going to do some great things on the East Coast through Bethel Seminary of the East. Already we are seeing new opportunities coming our way, and new students walking through our doors. I believe the best days are just ahead." ¥

Scott Wible is editor of Heart & Mind magazine and an M.Div. student in Bethel St. Paul's SemPM program.