BHCTI - FAQs

Main Menu

Home

About Us

Home

FAQs

Written by Administrator

What are the purposes of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute was organized to seek accreditation and certification of and ultimately begin a Baptist Seminary. If granted accreditation and certification, the Institute will be a graduate level community of faith and learning dedicated to (1) equipping men and women called to serve Christ in the diverse and global ministries of His church and (2) preparing and mobilizing disciples for more effective ministry through His church. B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is an independent non-profit corporation operating in cooperation primarily with, but not limited to, Southern Baptist churches.

What is the vision of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

Through an integrated network of scholar-mentors and teaching churches, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute shall mobilize the priesthood of believers for service in every sector of society. Upon accreditation and certification It will provide, through a wide array of technology and media, theological education that is both biblically-based and praxis-oriented. B. H. Carroll Theological Institute shall develop Christ-centered leaders who are committed to academic excellence, lifelong learning, and transformational ministry.

With whom and where did B. H. Carroll Theological Institute begin?

Actually the institute was created from the vision and words of the great Baptist leader, B. H. Carroll, in the 1890s. The specific concepts behind the Institute have been years in the making. The most recent impetus for B. H. Carroll Theological Institute began 18 months ago with a small group of Southern Baptist educators.

Why is it named B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

It is named for B.H. Carroll, whose vision was to make theological education, and particularly the teaching of the Bible, accessible and affordable to all Christian men and women, in order to mobilize them all for ministry within and through the churches.

What is the confessional position of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

The sole authority for faith, practice, and teaching in B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is Jesus Christ, whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The confessional position of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is the consensus of opinion concerning those articles of the Christian faith and practice that have been most surely held and expressed in historic Baptist principles and practices.

Why must B. H. Carroll Theological Institute exist?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute was formed in early 2003 by a group of Southern Baptists who observed three key problems confronting Christian churches, particularly in Baptist life, as they try to meet the challenges of a radically changing world: (1) a decrease in the proportion of ministers trained to serve in the churches; (2) a decline in the effectiveness and relevance of ministerial training; (3) and a diminishing commitment by church members to prepare and mobilize for Christian ministry. Recognizing at the same time that ample technological and human resources are available to meet the challenges, these Southern Baptists decided to re-invent theological education in an innovative and creative way that will make it more relevant, practical, affordable, accessible, and effective.

Is B. H. Carroll Theological Institute really needed? Are there not already enough Southern Baptist seminaries?

The six seminaries of the SBC and the other twelve graduate-level institutions supporting Southern Baptists are not keeping pace with the need to provide trained ministers for their churches. In the past twenty years, the number of Southern Baptist churches has grown by 17%, but the number of ministers has grown only 10%; the number of SBC seminary graduates per church has declined 30%; the number of SBC seminary graduates per member of SBC churches has decline 45% .

Is B. H. Carroll Theological Institute a reaction to developments at Southwestern seminary?

No. B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is not a reaction to anyone or to any group. B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is a response to a pressing and growing need for a more effective, efficient, and appropriate way of providing theological education in a radically changing world.

Will B. H. Carroll Theological Institute recruit Southwestern seminary students?

No. Students will not be recruited from any seminary. We will respond to and consider for admission all qualified prospective students.

Will B. H. Carroll Theological Institute compete directly with other residential seminaries for students?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will not be aimed at recruiting students who desire to attend one of the residential seminaries already in existence. The focus of the Institute will be to recruit students who desire to continue ministering in their own local congregations while pursuing theological education at a Teaching Church very near their home base.

What will be the relationships of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute to the SBC, CBF, and to state conventions?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute seeks to build collaborative and collegial relationships with all Southern Baptists, with the Southern Baptist denomination as a whole, with state conventions, and with its local churches in order to provide trained leaders for any Southern Baptist churches, convention, or other agency within Southern Baptist life. The Institute seeks to be free standing and independently funded by all Southern Baptist who have a common vision for Christ and His church.

Where will B. H. Carroll Theological Institute be located?

The primary teaching and administrative site of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will be in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at a location accessible to all cities of that metroplex.

Is B. H. Carroll Theological Institute incorporated?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Texas on 1 May 2003.

Does B. H. Carroll Theological Institute have tax exempt status?

Application for 501(c)(3) status has been filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the Institute is awaiting final approval.

Who is implementing the strategic plan?

A strategic planning group began meeting last summer. The group is composed of the three existing officers and 13 other members including persons with expertise in business, finance, insurance, legal, medicine, real estate, teaching, education administration, pastoral, denominational, and communications areas.

How will B. H. Carroll Theological Institute be governed?

The B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will be eventually governed by a Board of some fifteen members.

What will be composition of the governing board?

One-third of the Board will be patrons or donors to B. H. Carroll Theological Institute; one-third of the Board will have educational or corporate experience; and one-third of the Board will be from church constituency or cooperative groups.

How will members of the governing board be selected?

The governing board is self-perpetuating. The three original governers will select the other members of the board. Thereafter, the board will select new members as old members rotate off the board.

When will operations begin?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is already functioning. It plans on having full-time professors and support personnel beginning in January 2004.

What are the primary degrees B. H. Carroll Theological Institute plans to offer?

If accredited and certified pursuant to Texas law and the accrediting agency guidelines, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute plans to confer the professional degrees for ministry in theology, Christian education, and Church Music. It plans to confer other master degrees deemed necessary for the preparation of specialized professional ministry. In collaboration with other colleges and universities, the Institute also hopes to confer dual-professional degrees.

Does B. H. Carroll Theological Institute plan to offer doctoral degrees?

If proper accreditation and certification are achieved, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute plans, to confer Doctor of Philosophy level degrees in theology, education, and church music, and Doctor of Ministry level degrees in theology, education, and church music.

Will B. H. Carroll Theological Institute offer bachelor degrees?

No. B. H. Carroll Theological Institute may confer certificates for pre-baccalaureate study and for special programs. It may confer associate-level diplomas and baccalaureate-level advanced diplomas, if proper accreditation and certification are awarded. In collaboration with other colleges, it may offer accredited courses contributing to baccalaureate degrees conferred by those colleges, but only if proper accreditation and certification are granted.

What will be the emphases of the core curriculum of the Institute?

There will be four learning clusters in the core curriculum: (1) Scripture and Witness, (2) Faith and Heritage, (3) Discipleship and Christian Formation, and (4) Worship and Spiritual Disciplines. The traditional, classical theological disciplines will be offered in new configurations.

What type of library will the Institute develop, and where will it be?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is developing its own collection for use by students in the DFW metroplex and by research students in the doctoral programs. This collection will include the outstanding John Newport library, which has already been made available to B. H. Carroll Theological Institute. In collaboration with libraries of other established institutions, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will develop a digital, electronically connected library. It will form agreements with the libraries of colleges and universities near the Teaching Churches that will enable students to use those libraries. The primary teaching site in the Dallas-Fort Worth area plans to develop agreements for use of local library resources.

Who can be admitted as a student of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

Students will be expected to be active members of Christian churches; persons of genuine Christian character, attitude, and behavior; have sufficient academic qualifications; and exhibit a call to serve Christ in the diverse and global ministries of His church, or who are committed to preparing and mobilizing as disciples for more effective ministry through His church. Students will include lay persons seeking academic and spiritual enrichment. B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will encourage diversity in race, ethnicity, national origin, and gender and will be open to persons from any Great Commission church.

How many students are expected to attend B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

It is expected that the primary teaching site in the DFW metroplex will eventually have some 500 to 1000 students. Student bodies at the Teaching Churches will number about 200 to 300. The total student body will grow as Teaching Churches are added across the nation and globally.

What will be the cost of tuition?

Upon proper certification and approvals, initial tuition cost is expected to be approximately $100 per credit hour. As the student body grows and curriculum offerings increase, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute hopes to lower this cost.

Will non-Southern Baptist students pay a different tuition rate than Southern Baptist students?

No. Non-Southern Baptist students will pay the same tuition rate as Southern Baptist students.

When will classes start?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute expects Classes to start in the Fall 2004.

Will there be residential housing for students?

Because of the structure of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, we do not anticipate providing residential housing for its students.

How will classes be taughti.e., in what forms/media will course content be delivered?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will organize and operate at a primary learning site inter-connected with other learning centers at several Teaching Churches under the direction of mentor-teachers. Content will be delivered in four ways: (1) traditional classroom settings, with students and professors (or mentor-teachers) meeting face-to-face; (2) instruction by professors (or mentor-teachers) using electronic means (Internet) to interact with classes of students at other locations; (3) on-line classes conducted by professors with classes of students communicating with each other and the professor (or mentor-teacher) over the Internet; and corresponding studies through electronic retrieval of content stored at the main server of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute.

Who will teach in B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

The faculty of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will be persons of genuine Christian character, attitude and behavior who are active members of Christian churches; who demonstrate a call for teaching; who have adequate academic, normally doctoral, preparation and experience in their discipline; who model scholarly excellence and practical ministry; who teach consistently with the Bible and historic Baptist principles; who work collegially together and who are committed to building constructive and collaborative relationships with all constituencies of the Institute, especially local churches. The core faculty members will be located at the primary learning site in the DFW metroplex, and mentor-teachers will be located at the Teaching Church sites.

How many core faculty will this involve?

When fully staffed, we anticipate about twenty-five core faculty at the primary learning site.

What will be the duties of faculty at the primary learning center?

Faculty will teach courses in their disciplines (1) at the primary learning center, (2) to the teaching churches via technology, (3) from the teaching churches back to the primary learning center and to other teaching churches via technology, and (4) in cooperation with academicians in the teaching churches will develop and deliver curricular materials.

Where will the Teaching Churches be located, and how many of them will there be?

Teaching churches will be located where there are academically qualified teachers/mentors in churches that will have adequate technology. The initial and key Teaching Churches will be located near the primary nodes of the Internet Backbone. Subsequently, other Teaching Churches will be located near the secondary nodes. The first of the teaching churches will Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.

Has a business plan been developed?

Yes. A full business plan has been developed in consultation with knowledgeable persons and the interim strategic planning group. A preliminary budget for 2003-2005 and a strategic plan have been developed.

How much will it cost initially to fund B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

The initial cost to fund B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, including endowments, will be $8-10 million.

How much will it cost to make B. H. Carroll Theological Institute fully operational?

The cost to make B. H. Carroll Theological Institute fully operational, including endowments, will be $35-50 million.

Where will the Institute get its funding?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will be funded by donations from individuals; gifts and offerings from local congregations; development programs of its teaching churches; contributions from Southern Baptist associations and state conventions; grants from foundations; tuition from students; and income from endowments.

What will be the funding priorities of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute?

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute will invest minimal funds in capital development. Funding priority will be given to four areas: (1) intellectual capitalendowment of faculty; (2) technology electronic delivery systems; (3) library resources; and (4) curricula development of content that is competency-based and compatible with electronic delivery.

How will funds be appropriated?

Academic scholarships, most of the library expenses, and all core faculty positions are planed to be endowed; most of the other expenses will be paid from operational funds.

How much will it cost to endow the core faculty?

Endowment of the core faculty will cost $35 million.

How much will the delivery system for the Teaching Churches cost?

The delivery system for the Teaching Churches will cost $5-6 million.

How much will the library cost?

The library for the entire system will cost $5-10 million.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 August 2007 )