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About the Hazelip School of Theology

The learning community you choose is as important as the degree you earn.

Frank Guertin

A good theological education certainly involves analysis of important ideas from the Biblical witness, critical thinking about what is happening around us and opportunities to practice the skills necessary for effective pastoral work. You can find many programs across the country that do a great job in enhancing those abilities. 

At the Hazelip School of Theology, you will surely gain similar learning. But you will also become a member of our particular learning community, a group of diverse people with their own peculiar ways of doing theology together in service to the Kingdom. As I visit with our graduates across the years, it is often the community experience that they remember the most, long after a degree is finished.

As you consider studying here, go ahead and gain a sense of what we value as faculty by reading things like our student-centered outcomes listed below. But more importantly, please know we are committed to you as a graduate student. We want you to flourish in your calling and ministry and to gain the educational resources you need to experience the growth you desire in yourself and others you have influence with. And while you are with us, you will teach us how to be better theological educators as you participate in this good work in this good place. 

Frank Guertin
Director of the Hazelip School of Theology

Key things to know about Lipscomb’s Hazelip School of Theology

  • Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools
  • Offers the Master of Christian Ministry (MACM), Master of Theological Studies (MTS), Master of Pastoral Studies (MAPS), Master of Divinity (M.Div.), & Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.)
  • Taught by faculty with life experience in congregational ministry
  • Online and alternative class formats that fit busy lifestyles
  • Faith-affirming learning that engages the important questions of contemporary society

Mission

The mission of the Hazelip School of Theology is to support learning that integrates intellectual formation, pastoral leadership, and character development. We believe these three areas must interact richly in the seminary experience so that our students are well prepared to live out their calling in whatever context they serve.

In light of this vision, the seminary experience at Hazelip focuses on these student-centered outcomes:

  • A robust theological imagination rooted deeply in Scripture and shaped by the broad Christian tradition
  • Formational habits that support a life of ministry
  • Organization-building skills sustained by Christian understandings of leadership
  • Relationship-building skills that nurture forms of authentic community
  • Reflective habits which illuminate the complexities of people-centered ministry

No matter what degree program students pursue at Hazelip, they can expect to grow in these abilities. The integrity of our academic offerings is measured by how prepared our students are for the challenges of today's ministry.

Hazelip instructors take advantage of multiple venues for learning. Students engage in traditional classroom settings, online platforms, and on-site contexts so that they can practically and creatively engage the complex realities of Christian ministry. Students at Hazelip benefit from formative conversations with spiritual directors, coaches, and ministry mentors alongside teaching faculty.

The first graduate Bible degree at Lipscomb was offered in 1983. In 2005, the university named the graduate theology department in honor of former Lipscomb President Harold Hazelip. In 2010, the school was admitted into the Association of Theological Schools as a full member.  

The Churches of Christ continue to be a primary constituency for the Hazelip School of Theology. About half of our students come from this heritage. The students at Hazelip also represent a broader range of Christian traditions which reflects the Christian diversity in Middle Tennessee. Thus our key theological commitments reflect an awareness of our own history as well as other voices within our learning community.

Accreditation

The Hazelip School of Theology at Lipscomb University is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and the following degree programs are approved:

Master of Arts in Christian Ministry
Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies
Master of Divinity

Master of Theological Studies
Doctor of Ministry

The Commission contact information is:

The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools
in the United States and Canada
10 Summit Park Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275 USA

Telephone: 412.788.6505
Fax:  412.788.6510

Website: www.ats.edu