We’ve rebuilt North Park Theological Seminary’s website with a new purpose: to be a better resource for the pastors and ministry leaders we serve.
Educating current and future ministry leaders remains core to our mission. Another essential role we serve as the seminary of the ECC is ongoing scholarship to serve the pastors of the Evangelical Covenant Church and the broader body of Christ.
We understand the demands on the weekly life of a pastor. I’ve served about three decades as a pastor. Many of our faculty not only hold doctoral degrees but have been engaged in practical ministry in a variety of settings. We know the demands are real: weekly service planning and compressed sermon prep, pastoral care for frayed nerves and failing health, the opportunities for discipleship, and the unrelenting waves of societal issues.
As a pastor, it can feel like a luxury to find time to deeply engage with scriptural commentaries, or search church history for lessons to instruct our times.
We asked, “Can we better connect the gifts of our faculty—those called to study and teach—and the everyday work of pastors and ministry leaders?”
We believe the answer is “yes,” and our new site is a step toward that goal.
Our entire site has moved to a new address, https://seminary.northpark.edu, a home that keeps us unmistakably identified as part of North Park University while giving the seminary a more expansive forum for our mission to equip the church.
Bringing Lina Online
Our alumni across generations know well the bronze statue that sits in front of Nyvall Hall here on our Chicago campus.
Lina Sandell is the Swedish hymnwriter, editor, and poet whose image is a gentle and persistent reminder of ministry that joins head, heart, and hands. There are likely few theological seminaries in the country that honor a woman ministry leader in such a visible way—something our denomination can celebrate. Yet fewer students get to pass Lina on their way to class or a public theology forum.
We chose Lina as the name for our new online forum featuring news and publications of North Park Theological Seminary.
Here we’re bringing together long-standing pastor-scholarly resources, like the Symposium on the Theological interpretation of Scripture and the Covenant Quarterly, with fresh faculty commentary on the pressing issues of our day, such as immigration and Scripture, cultivating Christian hospitality across difficult political divides, or caring for an anxious congregation.
We know our pastors will appreciate the voice of familiar names such as Dr. Max Lee on New Testament, or Dr. Paul de Neui on intercultural mission—while gaining an appreciation for newer faculty, such as Dr. Elizabeth Pierre on pastoral care and counseling, or Dr. Sophia Magallanes Tsang on non-Israelite outsiders in the Old Testament narrative.
Finding Our Future Students
Publishing content with Lina also helps future students know who we are—and who they can become.
Our commitments and values aren’t simply declared but are demonstrated. As Covenanters we have long asked, “How goes your walk?”
North Park Theological Seminary and the Evangelical Covenant Church remain distinctive voices in the world of theological training. We hold steadfastly to the centrality of the Word of God, the necessity of new birth, and all our Covenant affirmations while offering a humble and holistic invitation to spiritual formation—perhaps fleetingvalues in the acrimony of today’s cultural polarization.
Our faculty recently worked to rearticulate our institutional values: Living Gospel, Whole People, Rigorous Humility, Intercultural Community, and Active Hope. These values guide our teaching and scholarship, and we believe they will resonate with the kinds of future pastors and ministry leaders our learning community seeks to attract.
You’ll notice the language of hope woven across the rewritten and reorganized site. The assurance of things hoped for is the kind of faith we seek to cultivate.
What to Check Out
Allow me to point out a few highlights:
- Our new home page (seminary.northpark.edu) reflects the updated colors and design now launched across the full University site (northpark.edu)
- Lina is our new home for NPTS online publishing (labeled “Forum & News” as the new name gains familiarity). You can find content sorted by source (such as Covenant Quarterly articles, or by topic, such as Old Testament). You can subscribe.
- Events—Here you’ll find information about upcoming public events, like “From Stacks to Stories,” a lunch-and-learn series commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Covenant Archives.
- Admissions & Aid—The best place to send prospective students.
- Centers & Resources—A bevy of resources for pastors, including the office of Contextual & Lifelong Learning (CALL), the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction, and archives of the Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture, including our important discussion of Hospitality & Immigration earlier this year.
You’ll also find a new flyout menu to help you navigate easily between familiar resources and newly added sections.
Join Us
I welcome you to explore our updated and expanded online home at seminary.northpark.edu, to check back frequently for new Lina content, or to subscribe to receive monthly digests and stay apprised of upcoming events. Join us as we learn together—for God’s glory and neighbor’s good.
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