“Entrust [these things] to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). These are the words uttered by the apostle Paul to the younger minister of the gospel, Timothy, as the elder was preparing to depart as one who had run the race and kept the faith. Among those things we see the apostle accomplish in his ministry is the training of other men for the work of ministry, and what we see in this commission by him in 2 Tim 2:2 is that it is something that is to continue into the generations of those who follow him.
All three of us at Baptist Dogmatics are engaged, to varying degrees, in the work of theological education as those who are also ministers of the gospel. We believe that the work of “entrusting” is not something to be left to those who are simply capable in theological discourse; it is to be done by those who have first had the gospel and gospel ministry entrusted to them. We admit that there are a variety of ways to do this work, that sometimes cultural, financial, and political constraints restrict the “manner of entrusting” in different ways. However, we also recognize that the model of a seminary, a collection of ministers particularly skilled in specific areas of theological inquiry, is not only the “particular cultural manner” of theologically training men for ministry but even a preferred manner. We believe that it is preferred because it benefits from the collective knowledge, wisdom, and experience of several men (unlike a mere apprenticeship) while also offering freedom to teach theology in its proper faithful, doxological, and ecclesial mode (unlike, or against the grain of, theological training in other formats, such as the university). We also recognize that not all men are able to contribute to the same extent, but that some are particularly skilled, and that those who are should use their skills in equipping partners (i.e., aspirants) in gospel ministry.
In light of these convictions, we enjoy participating in teaching systematic theology (a shared discipline for the three of us) at places like The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) (Kyle, Daniel, and Drew), Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS) (Daniel and Drew), and International Reformed Baptist Seminary (IRBS) (Daniel and Drew). Each of these institutions is committed to the model of the pastor-theologian, which shows itself in two ways. The first is that pastors should be contributing to the theological literature published for the broader church, an idea that we see in such examples as Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Owen, Charnock, Gill, and Backus. The institutions we participate in train students who will be able to participate in this sort of work, and the professors themselves aim at studying and producing this kind of work. The second way the model of a pastor-theologian shows itself is in the idea that those who train aspirants for the ministry are engaged in the ministry themselves and committed to theological rigor, so that those who are trained for the ministry are likewise committed to a theologically informed ministry. The Lord said that the fields are white, and that we should pray for him to provide laborers for the harvest (Matt 9:38; Lk 10:2). We (the three of us) are committed to adding our labors to our prayers by seeking to instruct those whom the Lord provides so that they might be able to teach others also.
While Kyle has been able to be engaged in this work full-time, even while serving as a pastor (first at Highland Park First Baptist Church and now at Kenwood Baptist Church alongside several men), Daniel and Drew have largely done their teaching as the occasion and opportunity arise. As of July 1, 2025, however, Daniel has been given the opportunity to devote more of his attention to study, instruction, research, and writing due to being brought onto IRBS with full-time support. This will include more opportunities to teach and more time to study for theological instruction and writing. Of course, his commitment remains tied to the service of the church (catholic and local), so this is not an alternative to being involved in the life of the local church. To share something of the uniqueness of this opportunity and moment, it will be helpful to share a brief introduction to IRBS.
In the 1990s, when Reformed Baptists were becoming more clearly committed to their confessional alignment with the practice of associationalism, an opportunity also arose to be able to start training men in a seminary setting for ministry in Reformed Baptist churches. Westminster Seminary in Escondido, CA invited Reformed Baptists to start a certificate program that worked in tandem with the standard Master of Divinity, so long as Reformed Baptists could provide a man who was academically qualified to lead it. Twenty-six years ago, therefore, the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies began under the direction of Dr. James M. Renihan. Students would earn their M.Div. at WSCal, but taking some of the alternative classes through the Institute qualified the students for an additional certificate.
In the late 2010s, the Institute moved to Texas to establish itself as a standalone residential seminary. Located in the Dallas metro, it was easily accessible for pastor-theologian professors to fly in to teach. Moreover, and quite importantly, it is situated in the context of an association of churches (Texas Area Association). But then 2020. Of course, 2020 really affected education at large, and this seminary that was aiming at prioritizing residential education was in a situation where online methods of content delivery were necessary. This school, just a couple of years in operation as a standalone institution, had to make adjustments, and those adjustments resulted in students being able to join in from around the world. The “Institute” became “International,” and teaching sites were established in Canada, the UK, and Australia.
While the Seminary has made use of these opportunities to train men around the world for ministry in Reformed Baptist churches, those involved are still praying and working toward a strong residential institution. Part of moving toward a strong residential program entails having faculty on the ground, and one step toward this goal has been bringing Daniel onto the faculty full-time. For the time being, the circumstances allow Daniel to remain in Pennsylvania (though he and his wife are in the membership process at Providence Reformed Baptist Church in Martinsburg, WV, forty minutes south of their home), but at some point in the future, a desire is to see Daniel and, the Lord providing, others move to the physical location so as to minister in churches and train men in classrooms.
If you desire to see men trained for the ministry, and if you are committed to the doctrines confessed by Baptists since 1677, pray that the Lord will strengthen this endeavor, that he would provide wisdom and insight to those who are leading and teaching, and that he would provide men who will teach and who will attend. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest” (Lk 10:2) and, when he does, pray for those of us who work to “entrust [these things] to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).