2021-22 Pastors College Courses
Greetings from the Pastors College!
We’re off to a wonderful start this year, grateful once again for the fine students our churches have sent to Louisville. Despite Covid’s persistence, I’m grateful that things have opened up a bit, which means I’m eagerly anticipating having SGC pastors visit us again in the PC.
In that light, I want to draw your attention to two unique course offerings in the spring.
Special Course
In addition to our core curriculum, each year we offer at least one specialized course designed to serve not only our students but also the pastors of Sovereign Grace. These courses provide the opportunity for pastors and pastoral teams to gather, grow, and learn together.
“Pastoral Life and Ministry: Learning from Calvin and the Reformers”: Dr. Scott Manetsch
One of the most fascinating books I’ve read in recent years on pastoral ministry is Calvin’s Company of Pastors, authored by Dr. Scott Manetsch of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In this book Manetsch explores both the pastoral theology and the ministerial practice of the men who served with and succeeded Calvin as pastors in Geneva and its environs. Here were men whose deep commitment to Scripture and the theological vision it imparts found energetic expression in the practicals of daily ministry. So I am particularly delighted that Dr. Manetsch will be joining us to teach this course, based on his outstanding volume and his wider scholarship. In addition to Calvin, Scott will roam more widely, drawing lessons from the life, theology, and pastoral practice of some other Reformed luminaries, such as Baxter, Perkins, and Oecolampadius. I invite you to come and be encouraged, strengthened, and equipped by the wealth of wisdom and compelling example of these pastors. We would love for you to join us in Louisville for Dr. Manetsch’s course, March 8-11, 2022.
Systematic Theology 5: Pneumatology
I’m creating a new course this year to serve this important part of our core curriculum. In the past we’ve invited different professors to teach this course, most notably Wayne Grudem, whose material we’ve continued to utilize. But for some time now I’ve wanted to create more of an “in-house” class to cover this material which has been a distinctive part of Sovereign Grace’s history and ongoing theological emphases (representing our 3rd “Shared Value”). I’m looking forward to exploring and celebrating this vital aspect of God’s work in our lives, the church, and the world. Please consider joining us for Pneumatology as well, offered April 12-15, 2022.
My prayer is that these courses will not only provide fruitful training for our Pastors College students but will also serve to equip those of you who are already faithfully laboring in the fields. We would be honored if you would join us.
Jeff Purswell is the Director of Theology and Training for Sovereign Grace Churches and the dean of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College. He also serves as an elder at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, KY.