Archive for the ‘School News’ Category

Posted on December 7, 2011 - by King's Evangelical Divinity School

Make a New Year Resolution With a Difference

We’re fast moving into the Christmas holiday season (how did it get here so fast?) and with it New Year. By the end of December millions of us will be contemplating our New Year’s resolutions for early January. For many people the start of a brand new year is simply an opportunity to put the excesses of the Christmas season behind them (more diets are started – and end – in January than at any other time of the year). But for others 1 January represents something a little more serious: an opportunity for a fresh start, a time to wipe the slate clean and move on, the start date for ditching a particular habit, or else the ideal time to do or try something new.

Of course, one can draw a line under the past, kick a habit, or take up something new at any time of the year… there’s no need whatsoever to revolve life changes around the somewhat abstract concept of New Year. Yet given how the work, school and family yearly cycles tend to operate, together with how society seems to invest so much into the concept of a fresh start at New Year, it is difficult not to see 1st January as an opportunity to make those desired changes. The problem is, many New Year resolutions rarely make it to the end of the month. The long dismal winter ahead (at least here in the northern reaches of the globe), the abrupt introduction of an ascetic lifestyle following a month of feasting, unrealistic resolutions, and the cold light of (wintry) day all combine to make us fail at the first hurdle.

So this coming New Year why not make a decision to do something realistic, worthwhile and beneficial in early January, rather than a well-meaning resolution which will fall by the wayside within a week or two? Apparently New Year’s decisions which seem to succeed most are the proactive kind, the ones in which people set about engaging a new interest, learn a new skill, or make a decision to study. Thus, the New Year offers an excellent opportunity for those who have contemplated studying the Bible in greater depth, those wanting to study Theology for whatever reason, or perhaps individuals who feel a vocational calling to ministry but have never done anything about it. So this holiday season why not give serious thought to studying Theology at King’s in  early January? Moreover, unlike most schools and colleges, our flexible distance learning programmes permit you to begin studying straight away – this very January – rather than having to wait until next September. Applications received during December will be processed in time for an early January start for new students, well before the post-season blues have had a chance to set it.

We offer a Bachelor of Theology with a strong focus on biblical interpretation, a Master of Arts in Evangelical Theology, and a Graduate Diploma in Theology for those already holding a degree in another subject, all validated by the University of Chester. We also offer our own Knowing Your Bible short courses for those seeking a deeper knowledge of the Bible without the study commitments of our validated courses. So whatever your reason for studying the Bible and Theology – whether part-time or full-time ministry, future teaching or higher studies in Theology, to become more effective in lay ministry, or else purely out of personal interest and spiritual development – consider making a New Year’s resolution with a difference this December.