Carpe Deum

We are most like God when we love God most. ~ paraphrase of David Brainerd’s journal, 18 June 1747

Canadian Theological Education

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Note well: Skip these introductory paragraphs if you want to know Canadian theological institutions for pastoral formation that I recommend. Return to these paragraphs if you want to know why I’ve selected these institutions, not others.

A. Donald MacLeod’s W. Stanford Reid: An Evangelical Calvinist in the Academy (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004) influenced me greatly early in my immigration process to Canada (in 2019). The Canadian Church is heavily influenced by theological education and churches in the States. My initial impressions of the influence of US theological education on Canada was only confirmed as I read T. D. Regehr’s Faith, Life and Witness in the Northwest, 1903–2003: Centennial History of the Northwest Mennonite Conference (Kitchener, ON: Pandora; Scottsdale, PA: Herald, 2003) for part of my ordination requirements within that conference (in 2022). Noticeable developments within the NWMC can be traced to the time when more and more pastors sought training in mainline American Mennonite institutions rather than doing in-church and in-conference pastoral development. Having recently finished D. A. Carson’s Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), I am stunned by the contrastive growth that happened in Québec (versus the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the NWMC), which was initiated by the Spirit of God and institutionalized by local theological training.

The following summary of evangelical theological institutions flows out of an ongoing felt need time to map the present landscape of theological education in Canada. Even when all else isn’t equal, I believe local is often better. These are institutions that I think would ultimately be more help than hindrance in Christian education, particularly pastoral formation. I selected them from the 2023 list drawn up by Converge Media in their annual Christian College Guide for Canada.

Six caveats about the list and my thoughts on theological education for pastors generally:

  1. My aim presently is not to critique unfaithful institutions but to promote what, for the time being, seem to be faithful ones.
  2. Related to the above, this webpage for now remains a work-in-progress. I have not yet looked into all Canadian theological institutions but only commended those with which I am familiar by personal acquaintance or research. Don’t take all omissions as outright condemnations. I’m glad to receive your feedback if you know something I don’t, wonder why I left someplace out, or think I should include something.
  3. I couldn’t care less about accreditation. Costs of education can be cheaper when institutions don’t have accreditation fees. No financial strings attached to the government means institutions aren’t bound so much to the State’s dictates. More pessimistically, you can ask students from accredited universities about how hopeful they are of prospects for more than entry-level jobs. Then tell me how much a difference graduating from accredited institutions makes for many jobs. However, the bottom-line in many cases is what the denomination or church in which you’re pursuing ministry requires.
  4. I’d sooner send my kids off to a secular university where they know that what they’re being fed is antagonistic to Christ than send them to a place where they think they’re receiving a biblical education but aren’t. Before doing so, I’d likely encourage them to attend a little unaccredited Bible college, as was the strong tradition of Canada until recent years.
  5. I do not believe that the Bible school or seminary model is the only nor best way to foster pastoral formation. But if we move beyond the ideal to the real, most won’t do self-study and don’t have access to men who will mentor them into maturity. It’s essential to learn how to read, write, and think critically and broadly and most aren’t autodidacts (self-directed learners). Thus, this webpage.
  6. If you want to judge institutions for yourself (particularly those I’ve omitted), talk to alumni or current students if you can (be warned: often students of even good institutions are jaded and discontent). But always look at institutions’ statement of faith, affiliation, and history (typically in the “About Us” part of a website). See what their statement of faith says about especially the doctrine of Scripture (retaining such words as “inerrant” or “infallible” doesn’t mean they’re solid, but excluding them typically means they’re not solid). Then go straight to faculty bios and publications. See if faculty are aficionados of influential anti-evangelical theologians (e.g., Karl Barth, Jürgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Stanley Hauerwas, Walter Brueggemann, Gregory Boyd) or theologies (e.g, neoorthodoxy, open theism, process theology, liberation theology, deconstructionism). Big, unfamiliar words and the appearance of such names don’t automatically mean endorsements; if you’re really ambitious, try to learn something and lookup the publications to see whether the faculty are interacting critically versus commending.

Bible Schools

Peace River Bible Institute (PRBI)

  1. Website: https://www.prbi.edu/
  2. Founded: 1933
  3. Location: Sexsmith, Alberta
  4. Affiliation:Interdenominational
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:Individual statement of faith here
  6. Accreditation: Not accredited
  7. Level: Undergraduate
  8. Other: PRBI is closer to where I live than any other institution for theological education. When I lived in Grande Prairie, I was a member at the same church as two of PRBI’s core faculty. I’m very much a fan and supporter of the school and have filled out a couple pastoral references for applicants.

Millar College of the Bible

  1. Website: https://www.millarcollege.ca/
  2. Founded: 1932 (Pambrun, Saskatchewan), 2012 (Sunnybrae, British Columbia), 2021 (Winnipeg, Saskatchewan)
  3. Location: Hamilton, ON
  4. Affiliation:Interdenominational
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:Individual statement of faith here (markedly premillennial)
  6. Accreditation: Not accredited (to my knowledge)
  7. Level: Undergraduate and graduate
  8. Other: I’m not currently aware of the differences in degree options between the three institutions. At a denominational retreat in 2022, we had the privilege of learning from president Phil Ruten, who sincerely seems to be a humble, God- and Bible-loving man.

Universities

Redeemer University

  1. Website: https://discoverheritage.ca/academics/graduate/
  2. Founded: 1982
  3. Location: Hamilton, ON
  4. Affiliation:“Reformed” (no specific denomination listed, but markedly neo-Calvinist)
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:Their individual statement of faith can be found here, but for a fuller articulation of their beliefs see The Cross Our Calling: The Identity and Vision of Redeemer University.
  6. Accreditation: Accredited
  7. Level: Undergraduate only
  8. Other: The only Canadian university I’d currently recommend as a place where one can receive a solid liberal arts education grounded in historic Christianity is Redeemer University.

Seminaries

Canadian Baptist Theological Seminary and College

  1. Website: https://cbtsc.ca/
  2. Founded: 1986
  3. Location: Cochrane, Alberta
  4. Affiliation:Baptist (Canadian National Baptist Convention)
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:CNBC Statement of Faith (to my knowledge, it is the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, except that in §6 on The Church, the CNBC statement has simply “pastor” where BFM 2000 has “pastor/elder/overseer” due to a SBC amendment passed June 14, 2023)
  6. Accreditation: Accredited
  7. Level: Undergraduate and graduate
  8. Other: The CNBC’s sister convention in the States are the Southern Baptists. Robert Blackaby is the president of CNBC, son of Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) fame.

Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL [West])

  1. Website: https://www.canil.ca/wordpress/
  2. Founded: 1985
  3. Location: Langley, British Columbia
  4. Affiliation:Nondenominational
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:Nondenominational (but hosted by Trinity Western University [see here] and ACTS, which is Believers’ Church, i.e., mostly Anabaptist and Baptist [see here])
  6. Accreditation: Accredited
  7. Level: Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate (DMin only)
  8. Other: The CanIL faculty as a rule is great. CanIL funnels their theological and exegetical courses through their host, Trinity Western University and ACTS Seminaries. ACTS Seminaries and Trinity Western University have world-class faculty in Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, and linguistics. These excellent programs are nevertheless integrated into the university more broadly, which is laden with neoorthodoxy, higher criticism, and especially deconstructionism. If you have already received sound theological training and spiritual formation and want preparation in Bible translation or biblical studies, then this could be a great option.

Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary

  1. Website: https://www.canadianreformedseminary.ca/
  2. Founded: 1969
  3. Location: Hamilton, ON
  4. Affiliation:Canadian Reformed Church
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:The Three Forms of Unity (i.e., the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort)
  6. Accreditation: Accredited (for MDiv only, it seems)
  7. Level: Undergraduate and graduate
  8. Other: My positive views of this seminary (as opposed to iterations of the CRC found in many local churches) comes from personal acquaintance with a graduate and the strength of their faculty profiles.

Concordia Lutheran Seminary

  1. Website: https://www.concordiasem.ab.ca/home
  2. Founded: 1984
  3. Location: Edmonton, Alberta
  4. Affiliation:Lutheran (Lutheran Church-Canada)
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:The Book of Concord (i.e., the Augsburg Confession, Luther’s Larger and Shorter Catechisms, Formula of Concord, etc.)
  6. Accreditation: Accredited
  7. Level: Graduate only
  8. Other: The Lutheran Church-Canada is linked to the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, which is a solid evangelical denomination, not to be confused with the mainstream Lutherans on either side of the border.

Heritage Theological College and Seminary

  1. Website: https://discoverheritage.ca/academics/graduate/
  2. Founded: 1993 (formed through Central Baptist Bible College and Seminary, 1949, and London Baptist Bible College and Seminary, 1976)
  3. Location: Cambridge, Ontario
  4. Affiliation:Baptist (The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches, Central Region)
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:Institutional statement of faith here (oddly emphasises immersion but not credobaptism?)
  6. Accreditation: Accredited
  7. Level: Undergraduate and graduate
  8. Other: This is Michael A. G. Haykin’s primary haunt.

Ryle Seminary

  1. Website: https://www.ryleseminary.ca/
  2. Location: Ottawa, Ontario
  3. Founded: 2012
  4. Affiliation:“Cross-Denominational” (Reformed and especially Anglican-leaning)
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription:Subscribing to the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Jerusalem Declaration.
  6. Accreditation: Non-accredited
  7. Level: Graduate only
  8. Other: Yes, that’s Ryle, as in J.C. Ryle.

Toronto Baptist Seminary & Bible College

  1. Website: https://tbs.edu/
  2. Location: Toronto, Ontario
  3. Founded: 1927
  4. Affiliation:Baptist (Reformed/Particular Baptist, especially Jarvis Street Baptist Church)
  5. Beliefs/Confessional Subscription: Individual statement of faith here
  6. Accreditation: Accredited
  7. Level: Undergraduate and graduate
  8. Other: If other graduates are as gentle as my friend Rev. Rory St. John, I’ll forgive them for being founded by T. T. Shields.