Northern Seminary, through its Master of Arts in Theology and Mission program, has partnered with The V3 Movement to provide V3 Learning Cohorts for church planters. Students who participate in two years of V3 Learning Cohorts are eligible to receive 9 credits with Northern Seminary. But who is behind these partnerships? Today we get to know Dr. Mike Moore, Director of the MA in Theology and Mission (MATM). What do you do at Northern? I am a recruiter for Northern and a Doctoral Student What is your role with the MATM + V3 cohorts? I coach the cohorts with other V3 coaches. What excites you as ..read more

Northern Seminary, through its Master of Arts in Theology and Mission program, has partnered with The V3 Movement to provide V3 Learning Cohorts for church planters. Students who participate in two years of V3 Learning Cohorts are eligible to receive 9 credits with Northern Seminary. But who is behind these partnerships? Today we get to know Dr. Mike Moore, Director of the MA in Theology and Mission (MATM). What do you do at Northern Seminary? I serve as Dean of Mission Integration and direct our Theology & Mission Program. What is your role with the MATM + V3 cohorts? I design the program ..read more

By William D. Shiell As we celebrate Black History Month this February, I am thrilled to share that four of Northern’s own have pastoral installation services in February and March at historically Black churches in Chicagoland. All have trained at Northern Seminary and are fruit of the good work of the Urban Leadership, Master of Divinity, and Contextual Theology programs. Original Providence Baptist Church in Chicago will install Rev. Daniel E. Jones on February 19. Greater Bible Way Temple in Joliet will install Elder Steffan Allen (class of ’21) as pastor on February 26. Monroe Baptist Chur ..read more

by William D. Shiell Northern Seminary is expanding our mission in 2023 even as we celebrate 110 years of ministry. With students, subscribers, and participants from 40 states and 10 countries training across multiple centers and degree programs, Northern is courageously living into our identity as a multi-denominational seminary for Christian leaders. We believe that Spirit-led innovation is needed for existing churches and new congregations to engage the world with the gospel. As we look to the coming months, we want to ignite the flames of Pentecost and blow the winds of the Spirit in six s ..read more

Dr. William D. Shiell When we look back on 2022, we will mark it as the year that many pastors chose to endure as faithful witnesses of the gospel. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “God has put us, apostles, on display…. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure” (1 Cor. 4:9, 12). This year, Northern Seminary students and alums are living examples of endurance. Our seminary has accompanied them on this journey with relationships, resources, and research. Resilience Through Struggles We began 2022 by examining a fascinating trend. Pastoral le ..read more

What can Northern’s role be in the Spirit’s movement globally? We are not the same Seminary we were seven years ago, nor is the world we live in today the same. We don’t have to decide where God is working and then figure out how to help. Local leaders are already responding to the Spirit’s work. Our role is to offer innovative discipleship tools to help them nurture the tender shoots sprouting up in their contexts. Let me give you one example. In Budapest, Hungary, Northern alumnus Jon Good and his wife Amanda are educating global leaders. But the Goods are not educating Hungarians alone. The ..read more

By William D. Shiell   One of my favorite benedictions comes from Ephesians 3:20. When the pastor sends us in the power of Christ who is “able to do more than we ask or imagine,” sometimes we see his work as we go. We are experiencing a wave of growth, provision, and the Spirit’s power today at Northern.   After graduating our largest back-to-back classes in over 60 years, we welcomed 111 new students this year. We now have 321 enrolled students thanks to a hard-working staff and dedicated faculty; and we’ve grown 73% over seven years. As you’ll read in this newsletter, Li ..read more

Bold preaching arises from the character of the preacher. As I’ve studied the book of Acts, listened to pastors, and reflected on the state of churches, I’ve discovered that more pastors want the kind of courage that the early church exhibited. They don’t want to be abrasive and loud. They want the kind of boldness exhibited in the early church. For instance, when the book of Acts first introduces the early followers of the Way to us, Peter and John preach the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:13). The first believers respond by praying for this boldness. But notice what comes from this trans ..read more

A Mountain of Fire  By William D. Shiell  George Herbert once wrote that country people “need a mountain of fire to kindle them. Sermons are dangerous things; that none goes out of church as he came in, but either better or worse.”1 Herbert’s 17th-century instruction to preachers then is relevant for all churches today. Herbert suggested that good sermons begin with the character of the preacher—the mountain of fire in the life of the preacher—that ignites a blaze into the daily life and community of believers.   This fall at Northern, we are rekindling that blaze in pastor ..read more

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