Some may respond to a suggestion that they attend seminary with as much enthusiasm as suggesting they run a marathon. Sure there are specific people who feel that personal drive to put themselves through all that training, but it's not for just anyone. But the picture of life in seminary has changed almost as much as the types of students who attend.

Today's seminaries provide valuable leadership training and open new career paths for a variety of individuals who don't plan to lead a church or teach theology inside the classroom. In fact, these institutions of faith and higher learning are reaching into all aspects of society from movies to personal development and into high levels of business and charity organizations.

"On the one hand, the scope of our educational training has not changed. Westminster has been centered on the Bible since its beginning, and we continue to spend most of our time in the Scriptures," explains Dr. Carl Trueman, vice president of academic affairs at Westminster Theological Seminary. But "in the past 5 years we have created an M.A. in Biblical Counseling and redesigned our historic M.A. in Urban Mission. These courses are designed to open access to theological education to more non-traditional students, and to help train those who are heading for non-ordained service in the church and parachurch organizations."

Palmer Seminary, in Philadelphia, equips graduates by providing organizational leadership training in a dual M.B.A./M.Div. program. The business training along with the opportunity to improve biblical knowledge is helping graduates succeed. "We have graduates doing community development work in the Majority World, the area we have sometimes called the Third World," says Elouise Renich Fraser, dean of Palmer Seminary of Eastern University. "They're actually living with the poor and working with them, never letting go of the reality that they are there to proclaim the gospel, which is about the whole person."

Denver Seminary says its M.A. in Leadership is also popular with students planning to work cross culturally. Though less than ten years old, it's one of the Littleton, Colorado, institution's largest professional degree programs. "Leadership skills seem to be the kind of preparation most needed for those serving in world missions," says Randy MacFarland, vice president and dean of Denver Seminary. Graduates spend 32 course credit hours on theological training and 30 additional hours getting specific training through leadership courses.

Knox Seminary even offers a Master of Arts in Evangelism. Graduates of this program are also certified as trainers for Evangelism Explosion International.

"Students are now here for so many different kinds of reasons that even in our Master of Divinity program, which traditionally would have been almost entirely people seeking ordination, we now have so many people who are not thinking about ordination," explains Maxine Clarke Beach, dean of The Theological School at Drew University. To meet the career goals of this new variety of students, the New Jersey seminary had to expand its internship program to include non-governmental organizations and parachurch ministries.

Plenty of schools are also a great fit for lawyers or businesswomen, anyone who desires an advanced degree with the opportunity to live for God in a profession.

For instance, Fuller Theological Seminary, just 20 minutes from the glitz of Hollywood created a center that offers graduate degrees in Film and Theology or Art and Theology. Sherwood Lingenfelter, provost and senior vice president at the seminary says these students are "involved in media, and they're looking at how contemporary film communicates truth or distortions of truth. And how all filmmakers have a theology and what tweaking that theology looks like." But the diverse student body involves more than just those focused on the big screen. Other Master of Arts programs train graduates to minister and understand young people caught up in the gangs of Los Angeles. "How do you deal with violence? How do you deal with drug addictions? We have training programs that equip people," Lingenfelter says.

Today's seminaries also provide students the opportunities to study more cerebral disciplines. Less than a decade ago, the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University began what's become the largest graduate philosophy program in the world. "The Master of Arts with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics prepares students to be apologists. The program has successfully placed more than 85 graduates in top Ph.D. programs around the world," explains Dean Dennis Dirks.

Denver Seminary says a significant number of women have pursued an M.A. in its Philosophy of Religion. The 25-year-old graduate level program includes a class in "Religious Pluralism" examining how to respond intellectually to other religions. The Colorado campus also offers an M.A. in Counseling and is one of only two seminaries in the country with a counseling program accredited by CACREP, a distinction which allows graduates to pursue counseling licenses in almost every state.

Westminster offers a two year Master of Arts in Religion which includes the study of Greek and Hebrew. "All graduates of this program possess tools with which to bring the Lordship of Christ to bear directly upon that part of God's world in which they are called to serve," the school says. "It is especially appropriate for Christian professionals such as physicians, attorneys, teachers, administrators, and writers who desire to provide for themselves a solid biblical foundation."

Knox Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, believes today's leaders need a thorough grasp of both the Bible and classic literature. The classics are now infused throughout the institution's seminary program, exploring the spiritual philosophical world with combined study of literature and theology. The school explains, "This enhanced curriculum leads students to explore the great conversation of history by giving voice to God's standards and man's responses. This dialog between Christianity and the culture was formerly taken for granted as an indispensable tool in the preparation for ministry … Juxtaposing the voices from Aristotle's Poetics and Plato's Republic against the voices from Augustine's City of God and Dante's Comedia will nurture invaluable discernment. Their redeemed imagination is stirred and a literary understanding of Scripture is added to their systematic biblical knowledge."

The rigorous academics and practical training in seminary helps individuals more effectively bring God's wisdom to bear on the world around them and influence peers in the workplace or in the neighborhood. "People do what makes sense to them and that is why we believe our students must be taught how to show the wisdom of the wisdom of God," explains Darryl DelHousaye, president of Phoenix Seminary. "For this reason, we have changed and expanded our curriculum to include more classes on counseling, cross cultural ministry, women's ministries, and leader- ship issues." For instance, the seminary offers a Graduate Diploma in Women's Studies. The program is intended to help women "better understand their identity, be better equipped to study the word of God, and minister in a variety of settings."

At other schools, female students may find more and more female professors in the classroom, particularly at Drew. Following a conscious commitment to bring diversity to the staff, 50 percent of the faculty members are now women. Options like these may benefit some of the growing number of women choosing seminary education today.

Female and male students interested in the intersection between Christianity and other faiths can find intellectual and experiential training at today's seminaries. Drew recently began a more extensive world religions program. Students "visit a Hindu temple. They go to a synagogue. They meet with people who are practicing in these faith discussions … It helps our Christian students to understand much better who they are as Christians."

Some who feel too busy to leave work for several years to attend seminary and take advantage of all these programs, may find the new technology and flexible schedules makes Bible training possible.

Many institutions have begun entire graduate programs that can be successfully completed at night. "Fuller After 5" is the catchy title of Fuller Seminary's evening plan that allows students to earn a graduate degree usually in 3 to 5 years of coursework. "By offering Fuller at night, people can commute," explains Lingenfelter. "I have a student in my class who commutes from San Diego which is a 2 hour drive. He drives up in the afternoon, attends class at night, and drives back two hours in the evening to San Diego. That's a huge thing but that's much cheaper for him and much more viable in his life and his work than moving to Pasadena and taking the courses here."

In addition to online classes, flexible on-campus class schedules allow more working professionals to attend seminary without leaving the pay and health benefits of their full-time job. "The director of the Denver Rescue Mission actually came and got an M.A. in Leadership while he was serving as the C.E.O. So we do see those engaged in ministry or engaged in the workforce getting their theological training at the same time," MacFarland says.

"As students' life situations and needs have changed, so have course schedules," says Biola's Dirks. The entire Bible and Theology sequence required in each of Biola's master's degree program is offered evenings and Saturdays. Many schools are block-scheduling coursework. Instead of one hour on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, busy students can take one 3-hour class on a Wednesday night, for instance. Many schools indicated they too have moved to a block scheduling plan for several courses in an effort to address the scheduling issues for students. Drew offers something called Intensive Courses, which meet for just two weeks, six hours per day.

Biola has even embraced DVD technology for theology. Four of the introductory graduate courses are available on a DVD presentation. The disc includes the class lecture, Power- Point, and visual resources presented in that classroom. The DVD's are occasionally provided to help students with unresolvable scheduling conflicts. A wide range of elective courses is also available on CD-ROM.

Many seminaries have also expanded their physical location, by adding satellite campuses for graduate students to pursue advanced degrees. Westminster is in suburban Philadelphia. But the P.C.A. school opened a satellite campus in Dallas. The institution also provides master's programs at sites in New York City and even London. And you might even find seminary training coming to a church near you. Phoenix Seminary felt a strong call to serve the communities around it as a resource for faith and training. The school offers seminary level Bible classes at area local churches. "We want the community to view the seminary as one of their schools of education and a place for answers," DelHousaye explains. It's clear that at today's seminaries, geography no longer determines who can access top quality programs.

Students who can't attend a weekly evening class on campus, can still access the benefits of seminary education. Several schools such as Fuller Seminary also offer Master's programs where students participate almost entirely online. Men and women in this program can earn a Master of Arts in Global Leadership. Students spend the first two weeks receiving instruction on campus. The next 18 months of coursework are done via the internet. So students can work at 2:00 a.m. or perhaps 2:00 p.m. when the kids are napping. The master's program wraps up with a final two weeks of on campus coursework and instruction. The school says it's pleased to offer a high quality graduate degree that requires a total of only four weeks away from work, family, and a student's local church. And Fuller says this online program costs less as well.

At Denver Seminary, professors allow up to 30 hours of graduate coursework to be completed online. The school says, "We understand that not everyone is in a position to become a full-time student. For that reason we offer a variety of ways to attend—from online courses, to weekend and summer school, to full- and part-time status."

Seminaries have changed in the last 10 years. Many schools took a hard look at the types of graduates they were producing. Based on feedback, focus groups, and intense prayerful discussions, today's seminaries have expanded their emphasis on developing holistic professionals who are grounded in biblical truth.

"In the past, seminaries expected students upon enrollment to have experienced significant spiritual growth, possess certain maturity in the faith, and have some sense of ministry direction toward which they have been called. Now, students come with increased hunger for growth in Christ, often having experienced little spiritual formation and understanding of ministry direction prior to enrolling. Most come with a general sense of God's call on their lives, but often with little understanding of the direction that call will take. We found it essential to address those needs intentionally," Dirks says.

Biola's Talbot School began what it calls an Intentional Character Development program. "In addition to several required courses in spiritual formation, degree programs also include spiritual formation assignments correlated with course content. The goal is an integration of personal discipleship with all seminary studies to encourage lives and ministries that are integral and spiritually growing."

"I think more and more seminaries now are very proactive in bringing together what we've traditionally called the practical, spiritual, and academic aspects of a seminary career. We're trying to make them whole because that is how we live our lives," Fraser says.

"Students cannot make it through our programs without developing a greater awareness of themselves. One of our problems is that preachers and other leaders have become very adept at assessing what is wrong with everyone else, but they are allergic to looking at themselves. If women and men aspire to be leaders … they must first be followers of Jesus Christ. That requires humble self-examination. This is something that our curriculum not only allows, but requires."

Students at Denver Seminary will see an emphasis on so-called integrated education, teaching not just skills and knowledge but also helping people grow. MacFarland says they've added intensive mentoring for every graduate student. "We have a process that involves multiple mentors for students with intentional work in the area of character development, spiritual formation, and the development of ministerial competency." Small spiritual formation groups of ten students and a professor establish learning contracts which commit them to develop together. Lay mentors from outside the school also advise and share life experiences with students. By popular demand the school even expanded the idea into a full degree, a Master of Arts in Christian Formation and Soul Care.

Westminster has added a requirement for students pursuing degrees in divinity or counseling. They, too, must move through a mentoring process which requires work at an area church or ministry organization. "Mentored Ministry has prepared students to test gifts and discern calling as well as flesh out what is learned in the classroom," Truman says.

Palmer also decided students should have more options for dual degree programs that combine their desire to study Scripture in a higher academic setting alongside pursuing a professional degree. One popular program at the Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, school combines theological training and a graduate degree in social work. "It allows students to do both an M.Div. and then get an M.S.W. all within four years. We're trying to put together two pieces that are often polarized. 'Are you going to do evangelism, or are you going to do social ministry?' We're going to do all of it."

Palmer says a more holistic approach helps graduates in everyday job responsibilities. Graduates who work for Christian organizations, "learn to 'read' the ministry context in which they find themselves, understanding that even something as seemingly mundane as drafting a budget should be biblically grounded and rooted in a thorough understanding of the church's mission."

While some things have changed, seminaries remain the place to learn solid biblical training with academic rigor. "It's usually more academic than they thought it was going to be. And it's usually more complex than they thought it was going to be," Beach says. Today's seminaries still offer outstanding training in New Testament, in church history, and other areas.

"When I am asked how many of our graduates are in the church, my answer is all of them. The church does not stop being church when they enter the workplace. Ministry is ministry," DelHousaye adds.

MacFarland says changes in seminaries in the last decade have "enabled students to be better prepared for the changing demands of ministry and for the changing context in which ministry is practiced today." Palmer seminary says, "We changed because we love the church. Though we care about the academy, our primary mission is to serve the church. At Palmer, academic excellence must include excellence in ministry, and vice versa."

One of the Denver Seminary students got to test his seminary preparations on his way to a job interview on 9-11. "One of our graduates was at a hotel near the Pentagon. He was actually there to be interviewed for a chaplain position. On September 11th, he got deployed to work at the hotel that particular day in a chaplain role. He was later told, that was essentially his job interview. He did an exceptional job. And we believe the training he got in his seminary chaplaincy program prepared him to serve well on 9-11."

"At Fuller, we're trying to understand how the culture of the United States is changing and how the cultures of the world are changing. We strive to reshape theological education to meet the need of the changing culture," Lingenfelter says. He says more and more people today find they're stepping into ministry roles whether at church in a lay capacity or in their workplace. "They find that they're engaging in a ministry and they don't have a background and training for it. And so they come back to seminary here on our campus, or one of our six extension sites to begin to upgrade their biblical and theological skills."

With time and distance no longer a barrier and the variety in fields of study and continuing academic excellence, it's a total package available at today's seminaries for students who wish to take the next step in building their graduate education and their faith.

Kara Miller is a freelance writer and TV producer in Chicago.

Part 1: Preparing More Than Pastors

Part 3: The Christian Professional