Church relationships

The Seminary’s students currently serve approximately 80 congregations in central Kentucky, a sign of the unusually close relationship between the Seminary and congregations which has characterized this school throughout its history. The Seminary enjoys official connection with 11 regions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

As part of its ecumenical commitment and tradition, the Seminary educates students from a wide array of Christian communions. Among these communions, are the following denominational organizations with which the Seminary has formal relationships:

Roman Catholic Church
The Seminary offers two Master of Arts programs geared to the needs of Catholic students and planned in consultation with the Office of Catholic Education of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington. The M. A. program has a specialized curriculum for students who are preparing for religious education. The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies prepares Roman Catholics for lay ministry at a diocesan or parish level.

Presbyterian Church (USA)
Lexington Theological Seminary has a strong working relationship with the Committee on the Preparation for Ministry of the Presbytery of Transylvania. Courses on Presbyterian theology, worship, polity, and history are offered on a regular basis.

Commitment to well-rounded ministry

The Seminary attempts to integrate theological study, ministerial practice, and personal faith formation. Ideally, every course contributes directly to the formation for ministry and the practice of ministry. Likewise, every field experience provides opportunity for theological reflection and for relating one’s own leadership to that of the church in other times and places.

Theological Formation. Education for ministry requires the study of scripture and its interpretation, the study of the history and theological traditions of the universal church, and the development of the ability to relate the gospel to issues of contemporary society. The Seminary is committed to preparing leaders who are able to think critically and creatively about the Christian faith.

Pastoral Formation. Education for ministry also requires that students unite their own unique qualities as persons with specific pastoral and leadership skills, including preaching, leadership in worship, counseling, teaching, administration, and promotion of social change consistent with the gospel. Supervised field education, required of all Master of Divinity students, provides opportunities to think theologically about ministry, to develop qualities of leadership, and to deepen pastoral identity.

Spiritual Formation. Preparation for ministry occurs not only through course work and field education but through participation in a seminary community of regular worship and fellowship. Spiritual discipline, ethical responsibility, and sensitivity to the global human situation are emphasized.

In short, the Seminary’s intention is to graduate persons who:

• live in trustful, joyful awareness of God’s love for all creation;
• have deepened their love of God, strengthened their commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and grown more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit;
• affirm that their ministry takes place within a particular tradition as well as within the church in all times and places;
• seek to discern the work of God in the problems and possibilities of a rapidly-changing, pluralistic world;
• understand that ministry involves who one is as well as what one does; are able to think clearly, communicate effectively, and act compassionately as leaders in the church;
• and strive, in all things, to give glory not to themselves but to God.

Ecumenical Tradition

Lexington Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). While maintaining a spirit that is deeply ecumenical, the Seminary enjoys a special relationship with and responsibility to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Indeed, the Disciples commitment to Christian unity is both the historical source and present guarantor of the Seminary’s continuing ecumenical tradition. Therefore, a particular concern for Disciples’ heritage and future vitality is expressed through course offerings, continuing education events, and faculty publications as well as in the regular involvement of the Seminary community in the local, regional and general manifestations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The Seminary takes pride that generations of Disciples leaders have received their theological education in its halls. At the same time Lexington Theological Seminary thankfully embraces in its students, faculty, staff, and trustees a wide variety of denominations and theological perspectives.

This ecumenical identity is also expressed through participation in the Theological Education Association of Mid-America (TEAM-A), a consortium of five graduate theological schools affiliated with five different denominations. The academic program offers support for students to study abroad and invites international scholars to be a part of the faculty. The Seminary believes that the dialogue created by such diversity greatly enhances the preparation of leadership for the church. Being ecumenical also means that the Seminary is oriented toward God’s whole world, an orientation signified by concern for racial, sexual, and cultural inclusiveness in the Seminary’s community and curriculum.

Field Education program

Field Education provides supervised learning experiences in Christian ministry. The goal is to help students become “practical theologians,” which is the ability to think theologically about the work of ministry.

Congregations and church-related agencies serve as partners with the Seminary in providing practical learning experiences through supervised ministry positions. The Seminary facilitates students finding positions in these congregations and agencies. Most positions are within a 60-mile radius of the Seminary.

Students may serve in a field ministry position during their entire seminary experience. However, three semesters of field supervision are required of all students enrolled in the M.Div. program. Please see our description of field education at LTS for more information.

Heritage of producing leaders for the Church

Alumni/ae of Lexington Theological Seminary have served churches throughout the United States and in numerous other countries. Graduates of the Seminary have also held leadership positions such as General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and have served as heads of many of that Church’s general units. Many of the Disciples’ regional ministers are former students of this institution. Members of the Seminary’s faculty and administration have served as leaders of national and world ecumenical organizations.

Lexington environment

The Seminary is enriched by its Lexington location, site of the Kentucky Council of Churches and the Regional Office of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kentucky. Lexington is also the center of one of the nation’s highest concentrations of Disciples congregations and is an area of great historical importance for that Church. Historic Cane Ridge Preservation Project is located in neighboring Bourbon County.

Lexington, a city of approximately 250,000 residents, offers the beauty of tree-lined streets, wide boulevards, shopping opportunities, and a generous offering of music and theatre. The city is set within a countryside that is world famous for the beauty of the rolling green pastures of its horse farms accented by plank and stone fences. Students also benefit from the proximity of the Seminary to the University of Kentucky with its library, concerts, lectures, and other activities.

Seminary Community Life

Lexington Theological Seminary is a residential campus of approximately 60 apartments, townhouses, and efficiencies which contributes to a strong sense of community. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to gather for worship, special programs or informal fellowship. Community life takes place on a six and one-half acre campus with the library, administration/classroom building, chapel, fellowship hall, and housing units. The white-columned Georgian architecture is set against large green lawns and trees.

Sensitivity to public issues

Members of the Seminary community have been deeply involved in movements for racial integration, fair housing, and alleviating problems of the homeless in the Lexington area. Others have contributed to national discussions on such matters as peace and the welfare of children. These concerns are regularly addressed in course work, special projects, and Seminary convocations.

Relationships with other organizations

Theological Education Association of Mid-America (TEAM-A). This association of graduate theological schools is composed of Asbury Theological Seminary, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Saint Meinrad School of Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Lexington Theological Seminary.

There are nearly 200 members of TEAM-A’s combined faculties, representing expertise in many different disciplines. A special January inter-term allows students to attend another TEAM-A seminary on a full-time basis for three weeks, taking one course and sharing in another school’s tradition.

Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center (AMERC)

AMERC, a consortium of 40 seminaries, provides academic study for the preparation of church leaders who wish to serve in the Appalachian region. Seminars funded by AMERC are conducted by member schools of the consortium. Courses focus on religious history and social issues of Appalachia, with attention given to models and strategies for small church ministry in the rural setting.

University of Kentucky

Advanced work in Clinical Pastoral Education is available at the University of Kentucky’s A. B. Chandler Medical Center. This work leads to greater expertise in counseling and may qualify as credit toward certification as a chaplain by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.

A double-competence program in ministry and social work with the University of Kentucky College of Social Work allows students to earn the Master of Divinity or Master of Arts degree from the Seminary and the Master of Social Work degree from the University of Kentucky in less time than it would take to earn the degrees separately.

An agreement with the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging allows Seminary students to earn a certificate in gerontology.