Since my last column, I have endured some difficult maladies: back surgery—again; lens replacement surgery in my left eye, and a retinal tear to my right eye. It’s been a rollercoaster four months. Yet, it’s simply a result of being human. The wear and tear of life. But no worries, I am healing well! And if I have had a bit of a struggle, YTI has had little or no struggle! Indeed we are celebrating our largest student body yet, and a very promising future.
We celebrate many things this year. We celebrate 14 years of YTI. We celebrate the highest enrollment in our short history—we have students from Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arizona, Texas, California, and even Europe! We celebrate our first accreditation visit with the Association of Theological Schools. We celebrate the teaching ministries of Dr. Jim Keena, and the inestimable Dr. Derry Long as they prepare for retirement. We celebrate one of the finest faculties an institution can possess. They are active in their churches, they mentor students, and they pursue research and writing. Additionally, the have a keen vision for what’s next.
In the upcoming year, we are looking ahead to a major shift in our program, as YTI has made the decision to move to a “semester system.” Tentatively, our Fall semester will run August 24 to October 19, with final exams and papers turned in November 30 through December 4. The Spring semester will January 18 to April 23, with papers and final exams April 26-30. We are eager to begin a system that allows our students more time to process material and our professors the opportunity to dive deeper into subjects.
Finally, if you are reading Inscribed regularly, I would ask that you consider making YTI a beneficiary of your personal philanthropy. Theological education is changing faster than most seminaries can adjust. Yes, “Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever”; but the culture in which we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) is changing rapidly. With every major polling organization telling us that the church is in decline (Pew Research, Gallup, Barna, et al.), this means that fewer students are attending and fewer donors are giving. Nevertheless, church and seminary decline does not mean that Christianity is dead. Christianity is a living faith. It is simply slowly adjusting to the death of a modern-postmodern culture and reimagining—even reinventing—how it exists in a rapidly changing world. The message of Jesus has not changed; how we articulate it and embody it must change.
YTI is on the front lines of change. Our students serve in traditional churches, helping them engage the change necessary to be vital churches in our culture. They are creating-planting new congregations that have the flexibility to survive the cultural shifts. We need your support to continue our mission. We need resources for scholarships and innovative programs. With your assistance and commitment, YTI will be able to provide affordable theological education each year!
Grace & Peace,
Dr. Jay Smith