Dr. Schenck - I came across your blog (and its subsidiaries) through Stephanie Immordino...despite the fact that I'm a Houghton grad. So I hope that doesn't taint the small testimony I bring to this website :-).
At any rate, this past summer I had the opportunity to visit AP, and it seemed to be a very solid school. Its strengths definitely seem to lay in the multi-lingual side of things, as well as in the psych department. It offers a great MDiv program, though I found it lacking with regards to other theological programs.
Even though I'm neither a current nor prospective student of Azusa (I'm not Wesleyan and am going to Biola - Azusa's arch rival, rd. Taylor), I went to visit Dr. David Wright (former IWU religion prof and current Dean at Haggard) a couple weeks ago and got a tour of the campus (actually campuses - they have 2), so I thought I'd share what I found out.
Dr. Wright said that even though Azusa is one of IWU's sister schools and is officially Wesleyan(they even have a John Wesley statue like IWU), it's far less tied to the denomination than IWU, the crown jewel of Wesleyanism. In his words, "Azusa is not like Indiana Wesleyan" - which I took to mean that Azusa is quite a bit more liberal than IWU and is really more inter-denominational (like Fuller) than Wesleyan. From what Dr. Wright said, I would say that Azusa is between Biola and Fuller on the conservative/liberal divide.
Still, Azusa has a nice campus(not as posh as IWU though)- especially the Duke Academic Complex, where Haggard School of Theology is located - actually, it's the sweetest seminary building I've ever seen. Plus, as Azusa is the largest Christian university in California (4,200), it offers a lot (even football - Azusa is probably the top Christian university in the country at sports) and is a good deal financially.
I believe Azusa would probably be the most natural progression for a Wesleyan IWU graduate headed to seminary. As an IWU graduate, I would not recommend attending a seminary that is not part of a university, such as Asbury, Dallas, or Fuller. Those are more tailored to older students with families and a recent IWU graduate will probably find them very difficult to adjust to (as was the case for me at Fuller). If you are Wesleyan and want to live in California, I would definitely recommend Azusa (Haggard). If you are not Wesleyan, but would also like to live in California, I would strongly recommend Biola (Talbot).
I hope and pray that you seek God's guidance in your journey after IWU.
This blog is dedicated to helping seniors decide on seminary by listing the experiences of individuals with various seminaries. Thinking about seminary? visiting one? attending one (now or ever)? Tell us about it.
2 comments:
Dr. Schenck - I came across your blog (and its subsidiaries) through Stephanie Immordino...despite the fact that I'm a Houghton grad. So I hope that doesn't taint the small testimony I bring to this website :-).
At any rate, this past summer I had the opportunity to visit AP, and it seemed to be a very solid school. Its strengths definitely seem to lay in the multi-lingual side of things, as well as in the psych department. It offers a great MDiv program, though I found it lacking with regards to other theological programs.
Even though I'm neither a current nor prospective student of Azusa (I'm not Wesleyan and am going to Biola - Azusa's arch rival, rd. Taylor), I went to visit Dr. David Wright (former IWU religion prof and current Dean at Haggard) a couple weeks ago and got a tour of the campus (actually campuses - they have 2), so I thought I'd share what I found out.
Dr. Wright said that even though Azusa is one of IWU's sister schools and is officially Wesleyan(they even have a John Wesley statue like IWU), it's far less tied to the denomination than IWU, the crown jewel of Wesleyanism. In his words, "Azusa is not like Indiana Wesleyan" - which I took to mean that Azusa is quite a bit more liberal than IWU and is really more inter-denominational (like Fuller) than Wesleyan. From what Dr. Wright said, I would say that Azusa is between Biola and Fuller on the conservative/liberal divide.
Still, Azusa has a nice campus(not as posh as IWU though)- especially the Duke Academic Complex, where Haggard School of Theology is located - actually, it's the sweetest seminary building I've ever seen. Plus, as Azusa is the largest Christian university in California (4,200), it offers a lot (even football - Azusa is probably the top Christian university in the country at sports) and is a good deal financially.
I believe Azusa would probably be the most natural progression for a Wesleyan IWU graduate headed to seminary. As an IWU graduate, I would not recommend attending a seminary that is not part of a university, such as Asbury, Dallas, or Fuller. Those are more tailored to older students with families and a recent IWU graduate will probably find them very difficult to adjust to (as was the case for me at Fuller). If you are Wesleyan and want to live in California, I would definitely recommend Azusa (Haggard). If you are not Wesleyan, but would also like to live in California, I would strongly recommend Biola (Talbot).
I hope and pray that you seek God's guidance in your journey after IWU.
Post a Comment