In this issue
Other Notes
Register for Spring Classes: Spring registration has begun. Click here to see the Spring Course Schedule and Book List.
Donate Online: You can donate to RPTS securely online! Click here.
Planned Giving Calculator: Explore how a planned gift to RPTS could work for you with our online planned giving calculator.
Bicentennial: Learn more about our 200th Anniversary in 2010, including a bicentennial video, here!
Professor Videos: Watch professors sharing their vision for their respective departments here.
Scripture Verse: But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today.
-- 1 Kings 8:27-28 (NKJV)
Quote: It is important to remember that the Old Testament text has been in continuous circulation since the time of its initial writing. Its text is far better attested than any other document of comparable age.
-- Ellis R. Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction
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First Online Correspondence Course Offered for Free or Credit During Spring Quarter
The Seminary is beginning to enter the arena of online correspondence curricula, by offering its Ministry of Worship course on its website, beginning with the spring quarter that commences March 9. Applications and payments must be received no later than March 8 to take the course for credit.
The lectures and notes are available online at no cost for anyone interested in studying the material. Those who would like to take the course for credit must apply and be accepted as a student and pay the correspondence fee of $930 following formal registration. The first RPTS online course is designed to serve as a way of gauging interest in distance education with its constituents and prospective students, before proceeding to offer additional online courses.
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Webinar with Professor Steve Miller: "How Do We Know What Missions Is?" Today, Tuesday, February 23
RPTS will host its next free online webinar for alums and friends (sponsored by RP Missions) Today, Tuesday, February 23, at 3 p.m. Rev. Steve Miller, Adjunct Professor of Missions, will lecture live on the topic, "How Do We Know What Missions Is?"
"There is a very basic question being asked today among many missiologists and missions academics as well as in the church at large," says Miller. "The question is: 'What is missions or foreign missions?' The question is particularly acute when one asks what is legitimately missions activity. Or alternatively, what is not missions activity?"
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Estate Planning 101 Seminar in Syracuse March 26
RPTS will host an Estate Planning 101 event with Rev. Anthony Selvaggio, J.D. (right), on Friday, March 26, at Messiah’s Church (Reformed Presbyterian) at 8181 Stearns Road, Clay, NY 13041. All Seminary friends are welcome to attend.
RPTS 2002 alum, Rev. Anthony T. Selvaggio, works in the wealth planning field in Rochester, NY. He will share about estate planning topics such as:
• Why Do I Need a Will, Power of Attorney, or Health Care Proxy?
• Beneficiary Designations
• Various Types of Trusts and Related Benefits on Estate Taxes.
RSVP with Kim Backensto at 412-731-8690, ext. 128, or kbackens@rpts.edu.
RPTS Biblical Counseling Institute Spring Conference April 16 & 17
The RPTS Biblical Counseling Institute will host a conference entitled “Discipleship in the 21st Century” on Friday and Saturday, April 7 and 8, on the Seminary’s campus.
The conference speakers are Dr. Richard Ganz, Senior Pastor of the Ottawa Reformed Presbyterian Church and President of Biblical Psychology and Counseling for Ottawa Theological Hall, and Dr. George C. Scipione, Director of the RPTS Biblical Counseling Institute and Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology.
For more information and to register, visit www.rpts.edu/bci/conference.php.
Open House March 16
RPTS will host an open house event on Tuesday, March 16, from 8:20 a.m. to 3 p.m. for those who are considering a call to ministry and graduate theological studies.
Participants will get a tour of the mansion campus, sit in on classes, visit with professors and students, explore financial aid options, and learn about curriculum and requirements for its Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies degrees, as well as various certificates.
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New 3-3 Program with Geneva College
Students interested in pursuing seminary studies after college can save a year of classes and tuition through Geneva College’s new Three-and-Three Program in a partnership with nearby RPTS. The program enables students to complete a bachelor’s degree from Geneva and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from the Seminary in just six years, rather than the normal seven.
“We are blessed to have Geneva College partner with us in this effort, and excited for the students who can take advantage of this opportunity,” said RPTS President Dr. Jerry F. O’Neill.
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Read McLeod's 1802 "Negro Slavery Unjustifiable" and Watch Video Documentary
RPTS is now making available in digital form on its website Andrew McLeod's 1802 work, Negro Slavery Unjustifiable: A Discourse, along with a documentary video featuring excerpts from the work in honor of its 2010 bicentennial and Black History Month. McLeod was a founding Superintendent of RPTS two centuries ago this year.
Watch the 27-minute documentary video which features an introduction and narration by Vince Sims, Reporter and Anchor for Channel 11 News (Pittsburgh’s NBC Affiliate). RPTS first-year Master of Theological Studies student, Alisha McCombs, sang Negro spirituals for background music. The dramatic reading of excerpts from McLeod’s work was done by RPTS 2006 alum, Andrew Cooper, who also is a D.Min. student at the Seminary and serves as Church and Student Relations Specialist and Adjunct Professor of Church History, teaching the Black Church History course.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE BOOKLET AND VIEW THE VIDEO
Bicentennial Celebration June 24 at Heinz History Museum
Before the telephone, before the electric telegraph, before the Pony Express, RPTS was equipping men to herald the news -- the good news of Jesus Christ! Celebrate with us at the Heinz History Center on Thursday, June 24, for this special event: To God Alone Be Glory!
Besides enjoying sections of the History Museum, you can learn about student and Seminary life through special vignettes highlighting 1810, 1910, and 2010. Keynote speakers will be Drs. Sinclair Ferguson and Derek Thomas.
Visit http://www.rpts.edu/celebrate.php for more information and to register.
Wish List Feature - We Need a Snow Blower!
The Seminary has the need of a donation of a snowblower, preferably an eight-horsepower that comes in the 24-inch swath, but anything would be accepted. The Seminary does hire plowing service, but staff and students spend a great deal of time shoveling to properly prepare spots for parking and to provide adequate safety. If you have a snow blower you can donate to the Seminary it will be greatly aprreciated, especially in Pittsburgh this February! Contact Development Director Grant Van Leuven to facilitate such a gift.
Gibsonia Study Center at Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church Hosts “Understanding the End” Lecture Series Featuring Seminary Professors March 9 - April 13
Gibsonia Study Center at Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPC) at 3916 Bakerstown Rd. in the North Hills of Pittsburgh will sponsor a free 6-week seminar series from March 9 through April 13 entitled "Understanding the End". The seminars, which run Tuesday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m., deal with a number of common questions within Christianity regarding what the Bible teaches about the end of the world, the millennium, the tribulation, the Antichrist, and the consummation of the heavenly kingdom of Jesus Christ. Three current RPTS professors and one emeritus professor will give the lectures.
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Reformation Society of Pittsburgh Conference "Discipling Leaders in the Church” March 13
The Reformation Society of Pittsburgh will host its next Saturday Seminar, entitled "Discipling Leaders in the Church," at RPTS on March 13, from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Dr. Bruce Bickel, author of Light and Heat: the Puritan View of the Pulpit and President of Transformational Leadership Group, will outline a three-year plan: Year 1 - Theological Preparation; Year 2 – Scripture Study and Message Preparation; and Year 3 – Pastoral Ministry and Service.
RPTS President Dr. Jerry O’Neill will teach on "The Six Things Every Elder Needs to Know".
A $5 donation at the door is appreciated. RSVP to Patrick.Marx@verizon.net. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information on the Reformation Society of Pittsburgh, visit www.reformationpittsburgh.org
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