Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the

Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That y ...

, in 1966, it serves primarily students from more conservative branches of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and Reformed traditions.

Founding

In 1966, conservatives from the Southern Presbyterian Church, the

(PCUS), concerned about the increasing influence of liberalism and

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

in the denomination's seminaries and pulpits, established Reformed Theological Seminary, independent from the PCUS, along " Old School" Presbyterian lines, to educate ministers. RTS has largely served the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...

since that denomination's founding in 1973, then later the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...

and in more recent years serves a large population of students from

Reformed Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...

and Independent churches.

Leadership

RTS is governed by a Board of Trustees exercising oversight through its administration. RTS is led by its Executive Committee, the Chancellor of the RTS system and through the respective campus presidents.

Ligon Duncan Jennings Ligon Duncan III (born November 29, 1960) is an American Presbyterian scholar and pastor. Early life and education Duncan is native to Greenville, South Carolina. His father was an eighth-generation Southern Presbyterian ruling elder. ...

is Chancellor and CEO.

Academics

RTS follows the

Reformed tradition Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the Christian theology, theological tradition and forms of Christianity, Christ ...

, including

Covenant Theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organ ...

Accreditation

Reformed Theological Seminary is accredited by the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The associ ...

to award the MDiv, MABS, MAR, MATS, MAC, MACC, and DMin degrees. It is also accredited by

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priva ...

to award masters and doctorate degrees.

Programs of study

RTS's institutional focus is on training students (especially in its

and

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

branches) to be

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

educators A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

counselors. RTS offers

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced ...

(D.Min.),

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

(M.Div.), and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(MA) degrees in several subjects. Through its Global program, RTS offers a Master of Arts - Religion (MAR) degree, Master of Arts - Biblical studies degree (MABS), and a Master of Arts - Theological Studies (MATS). The degrees can be earned completely online. RTS also provides course recordings on

iTunes U The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

free of charge.

Faculty

RTS has had many notable faculty over the years Including

R.C. Sproul Robert Charles Sproul ( ; February 13, 1939 – December 14, 2017) was an American Reformed theology, Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries (named f ...

, John Frame,

Roger Nicole Roger R. Nicole (December 10, 1915 – December 11, 2010Roger Nicole (1915-2010) http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/12/11/roger-nicole-1915-2010/) was a native Swiss Reformed Baptist theologian and proponent of Christian egalita ...

Ronald H. Nash Ronald H. Nash (May 27, 1936 – March 10, 2006) was a philosophy professor at Reformed Theological Seminary. Nash served as a professor for over 40 years, teaching and writing in the areas of worldview, apologetics, ethics, theology, and h ...

, Steve Brown, Douglas F. Kelly,

Richard L. Pratt, Jr. Richard Linwood Pratt Jr. (born October 17, 1953) is an American theologian, author, and founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries. Third Millennium was launched in response to the lack of training of Christian leaders around the worl ...

, Michael J. Kruger,

Bruce Waltke Bruce K. Waltke (born August 30, 1930) is an American Reformed evangelical professor of Old Testament and Hebrew. He has held professorships in the Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wes ...

, Willem A. VanGemeren, and Tim Keller. In April 2010,

offered to resign his professorship at Reformed Theological Seminary because of controversy over a video made by

The BioLogos Foundation The BioLogos Foundation is a Christian advocacy group that supports the view that God created the world using evolution of different species as the mechanism. It was established by Francis Collins in 2007 after receiving letters and emails from ...

where he discussed his positive views on evolution. Waltke wrote in a letter that he found no fault with the administration of RTS on the matter.

Campuses

RTS has campus locations in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

;

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

;

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

;

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

;

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

; as well as its Global Campus. RTS also has extension sites in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, as well as

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in Texas. RTS's Washington, D.C. campus is a member of the

Washington Theological Consortium The Washington Theological Consortium is an ecumenical organization of Christian theological schools and interfaith partners located in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Members cooperate to deepen ecumenical unity in theologic ...

. RTS's global campus traces its origins to the Orlando campus, from which distance education was first offered for RTS students in the early 1990s. In 1998, the Global campus official launched as a separate "campus". The global campus eventually became the first online seminary to offer accredited degrees.

References

External links

* {{authority control Seminaries and theological colleges in Mississippi Seminaries and theological colleges in Florida Seminaries and theological colleges in Georgia (U.S. state) Seminaries and theological colleges in Washington, D.C. Seminaries and theological colleges in North Carolina Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges in the United States Christianity in Orlando, Florida Universities and colleges in Orlando, Florida Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Jackson, Mississippi Buildings and structures in Jackson, Mississippi 1966 establishments in Mississippi Educational institutions established in 1966 Christian organizations established in 1966 Universities and colleges in the Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi * Presbyterian universities and colleges in the United States