Cedarville Magazine Fall 2016

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Master of Divinity and Master of Ministry
their bachelor’s degree in biblical studies
and M.Div. in just five years. The added
cost for students is only about $5,000 for
the extra year of school, yet graduates will
leave Cedarville with two degrees.
“The M.Div. is the accepted,
professional degree for ministers, whether
it’s as a senior pastor, on the missions field,
or as a chaplain,” noted Randy McKinion,
Associate Professor of Old Testament
and Director of the M.Div. program.
“Cedarville has always had a solid niche in
the undergraduate preparation for biblical
studies. With the M.Div., our students will
be prepared for everything they might face
— teaching, preaching, counseling, and
ministering.”
GREATER DEPTH
The Cedar ville M.Div. will be
rigorous, just like the undergrad, and
will deepen students’ understanding of
biblical languages, the Old (OT) and New
Testament (NT), and theology. Students are
required to take 12 hours (four three-hour
classes) in both OT and NT, and 12 hours
more in theology.
“We did a lot of benchmarking with
other schools,” McKinion noted. “Other
schools offer a couple of OT and NT
classes and the content is very broad, while
we’re being very intentional and doing a
more thorough coverage of each. Same
with theology.”
For students like Punzi, the opportunity
to continue learning from faculty who had
already revolutionized his understanding
of the Bible was a huge draw.
“The professors are very good at
expressing themselves,” Punzi said. “It’s
easy to catch on. Andmy spiritual walk has
improved being in class with them.”
EASY DECISION
The Cedarville program takes what
would normally be a seven-year process —
four years undergraduate and three years
graduate school — and shrinks it into five.
“From a cost perspective, it’s money
well spent,” said Punzi. “When you leave
college, you have to pay off those loans,
then you have new ones as well [for an
M.Div.]. This way you don’t have to worry
about paying off two different degrees;
it’s just one extra year. Plus, after college,
it can be hard to convince yourself to go
back to school. This way you only have one
extra year, and you don’t have to get out of
the routine of going to classes and doing
homework.”
Cedarville’s program is comparable
to the premier seminaries in the country,
McKinion affirmed. “We have top-tier
professors, publishing in their field,” he
said. “Plus, we have faculty experienced
in ministry. We have scholars and former
pastors. And we’ve turned it into a five-
year process. Cedarville students get the
best of both worlds.”
“The day I heard about the M.Div. in
chapel, I went to Dr. McKinion and asked
himwhat I needed to do to get ready for it,”
Punzi added. “Then I went to the registrar’s
office and switched from the biblical
studies degree to the accelerated plan.”
Clem Boyd is Managing Editor of Cedarville
Magazine.
Program
Highlights
B.A.+M.Div.
§ § Faster path to ministry by earning a
B.A. in biblical studies and M.Div. in just
five years
§ § Save thousands on educational costs
and avoid the weight of debt; both
degrees cost just $5,000 more than the
base price of the bachelor’s degree alone
§ § Theologically conservative based on
the importance, inerrancy, and sufficiency
of theWord of God and the need to
spread the Gospel to all
§ § Vibrant and comprehensive Christian
university setting
§ § 19 remarkable faculty, including:
Jason Lee, Ph.D.
Author of The Theology of John Smyth:
Puritan, Separatist, Baptist, Mennonite
Randy McKinion, Ph.D.
Translator for Grammar of Biblical Hebrew
Dan DeWitt, Ph.D.
Author of Christ or Chaos
Greg Couser, Ph.D.
Contributor to Entrusted with the Gospel:
Paul’s Theology in the Pastoral Epistles
Dan Estes, Ph.D.
Author of Handbook on theWisdom Books
and Psalms
“The Cedarville M.Div. is very, very
affordable. I knew the faculty would not
only challenge me academically but
also care for me as a person and as a
believer in Christ.”
Joel Wasserstein ’15, M.Div. ’19
Biblical Studies
(B.A.) degree
traditional
Biblical Studies
(B.A.) degree
Master of
Divinity (M.Div.)
degree
5
4
3
2
1
Y E A R S
only
$5,000
more!
Learn more and apply:
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