Preliminary Theological Certificate

Yesterday, I opened a parcel to find this:

 

After hearing about - and from - quite a number of friends having started it, and being given a personal recommendation from a teacher from my high school who’s completed all 18 units, I've finally gotten around to enrolling myself. I'm talking about Moore College's Preliminary Theological Certificate.

Some Christians I'm really grateful for in my life have been asking me what ways I intend to keep growing as a Christian while I'm in Japan, where Bible teaching will no doubt be hard to come by, let alone of a quality as we take it for granted here in Sydney. Well, Moore College is one of the two solid, faithful Bible colleges I've been considering for my theological degree, so completing this program offered by them will be like starting Bible college early. Working through all the units of the PTC is one way I intend to challenge myself in my faith during my time in Japan, along with listening to weekly talks from CBS and my church.

For those who haven't heard of the PTC course, I couldn't recommend it any higher. It gives you an excellent foundation in reading the Bible well, in the correct context of the book of the Bible it came from, the whole Bible, and in the backdrop of church history. Until I actually spend some time getting into the course myself, that's the most I can speak of it.

And now, some comments on what this course isn't. Firstly, it isn't a complete theological degree. These units of study won't count as credits toward a formal theological degree - but that's ok for me, I'm doing this study to learn more about my God, not to get a piece of paper. It also frees me from potential ulterior motives, and to undertake these units of study purely to learn. Having said that I do this course purely to learn, however, by no means implies that all that this course offers is intellectual advancement. The second thing the PTC isn't is pure head knowledge. To back it up, here's a quote from the introduction to the course itself:

As any good Bible student should know, the study of God's Word is not an end in itself. Our study as Christians should always be to know God's will and commands better so we can put them into practice.

'Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.' 1 Corinthians 8:1
'Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.' James 1:22

The External studies department prays that our labour in making this course available will not be in vain. We also pray that students who undertake it will grow in Christ.

These are just a few of the reasons why I'm excited to begin this course. And no, I'm not receiving any monetary incentive to say any of this.

Because the PTC is a correspondence course, it's just the course for a guy going overseas for the next five years. Thank God for providing the PTC course for people who desire to be trained in better understanding the Bible, and to deepen their understanding of God, to ultimately shape our lives to conform to our new identity in Christ. Pray that God would shape both my head and heart as I learn to better engage with God's Word as I undertake this course.