Our Commitments

i-bq8nDx5-L

BSK serves the Church by helping in the formation of Christians for serving and building up the body of Christ. To this end…

  • we provide advanced theological studies for those called of God to ministry—full-time or part-time, ordained or laity; and
  • we resource churches for discerning and equipping in mission and ministry.

BSK is committed to theological education affirming the God-given gifts of each student and grounded in spiritual, moral, and intellectual formation in the Christian life. This includes…

  • the nurture of personal faith within community by reading and receiving the word together, eating together, and praying together;
  • the cultivation of virtuous lives rooted in Christian habits and practices;
  • honest intellectual engagement in the face of difficult questions of faith, reflecting scholarly discipline, humility, and a tolerance for ambiguity and diversity in thought; and
  • encouragement in the discernment of spiritual gifts and the nurture of pastoral imagination.

At BSK, we are committed to God’s calling…

  • to bear witness to Jesus Christ in relationship with persons from diverse cultures both in our communities and throughout the world;
  • to seek the unity of the church for which Christ prayed and to embrace the work and witness of the larger Christian community in a spirit of cooperation, respect, and acceptance; and
  • to pursue and practice together peace, justice, reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, patience, and hope, the virtues of Jesus’ beloved community.

At BSK, we draw upon the breadth and depth of the whole Christian tradition to undergird our common life and Christian formation. As Baptists, we especially value…

  • the authority of Scripture, through which God’s truth found in Jesus Christ is revealed to us and transforms us;
  • the priesthood of all believers, who practice the Christian faith within the community of God’s people as priests to one another;
  • the freedom and responsibility of each congregation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern the mind of Christ and to order its common life accordingly;
  • the freedom and responsibility of each individual to follow his or her conscience under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in covenant with fellow believers to discern the mind of Christ;
  • dissent both as freedom from coercion in all religious matters through the separation of church and state and as a gift given and received within the covenant community; and
  • partnership in mission and ministry with fellow believers, in our case especially with the churches of the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

The Baptist Seminary of Kentucky Difference

 

What makes BSK different from neighboring seminaries, divinity schools, and/or Bible colleges?

  • We value Christian tradition highly, but we are skeptical of dogmatic and authoritarian claims to represent that tradition and God’s truth.
  • We seek answers sufficient for living out our faith, but where Christian perspectives differ on what it means to be faithful in interpreting Scripture and in living out the good news of God in Christ, we seek discernment through deliberation and respectful dialogue with diverse communities.
  • We recognize that our understanding is ultimately partial and incomplete and that complete knowledge remains shrouded in mystery; therefore, we strive to practice humility and charity as we listen together for the leading of the Spirit.
  • We advocate for and support women in all roles of ministry, and we maintain an openness on a variety of biblical and theological issues.
  • As faculty and students, our primary commitment is to exercise together scholarly gifts and vocation as stewards of the mysteries in service to God’s church.