Church Hopping

Most seminaries are now offering layman’s classes. These are classes offered to those not wanting or having time for the degree, but who want the education. I recommend you check out your local seminary to see what they offer. The classes are usually survey classes costing around $50 not including the books and they’re held once or twice a week.

If you fear the sunlight and the possibility of social interaction, you might be interested in Gordon-Conwell’s new offer. They are offering a free online layman’s seminary called Dimensions of the Faith. The classes are self-paced via streaming audio via RealPlayer with an accompanying study guide. Here is a sample lecture from the Old Testament Survey class.

There are 10 courses offered, each having around 15 lectures of about 40 minutes. The courses offered include:

• Biblical Interpretation - intro to the foundational concepts of interpreting the Bible
• Old Testament Survey I - overview from Genesis to Song of Songs that discusses God’s plan from creation through the kings of Israel
• Old Testament Survey II - overview from Psalms to Malachi that discusses Israel in exile and the teachings of the prophets
• New Testament Survey I - overview from Matthew to Acts about the life of Christ and the establishment of His Church
• New Testament Survey II - overview of the epistles and Revelation mainly focusing on Paul and how God communicates through the New Testament
• Church History Survey I - study of the Church from Pentecost to the Reformation
• Church History Survey II - study of the Church from the Reformation to today
• Christian Theology I - basic Christian doctrine regarding theology proper, bibliology and harmartiology
• Christian Theology II - basic Christian doctrine regarding Christology, soteriology, and ecclesiology
• Evangelism and Missions - a biblical, historical, cultural and strategic perspective on missions

At the end of each lesson you can take an exam to see if you actually retained any of what you learned. Those who pass all 10 courses (at least 21 of 30 questions right) are awarded with a nice shiny Dimensions of Faith certificate to hang up next to your TMNT movie poster.

Read more about the Dimensions of Faith program here.