What is the PSI, and how is it different from the Seminary
Certification Program?
The Pastoral Studies Institute was founded
to serve our synod by guiding and assisting men to pursue the best path for
their pre-seminary and seminary training. With its founding, another way has
been opened for non-traditional students to prepare themselves to enter Wisconsin
Lutheran Seminary besides the Seminary Certification program that is being
administered by Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. The Seminary
Certification program is a fully-accredited, residential, academic program
offered at our college of ministry. The PSI, on the other hand, delivers
to the student's home preseminary courses in a modified "distance learning" format. Both the PSI of Mequon and the “Sem-Cert” program of New Ulm only offer
courses that prepare a person to attend the seminary fulltime in Mequon. The PSI
has no plans at this time to offer any of our seminary courses via distance
learning.
Who qualifies for the PSI “distance learning” courses?
Individuals qualify who have special circumstances in their lives.
Special circumstances include the following: 1) they are older men; 2) they have
families to support; 3) they currently live in a situation that would make
relocation to New Ulm a significant hardship for them; 4) they are presently
engaged in active, congregational/church ministry; 5) they are from a diverse
cultural background. Whether or not someone qualifies is a matter that is
determined through a process of interview and discussion.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the PSI
program?
First, consider the disadvantages. The PSI/Distance learning
route is not easier, shorter, or cheaper. Language learning is a challenge when
a person studies for the most part on his own. He doesn’t have the daily
encouragement of his teacher and classmates to keep him going. It takes a lot of
hard work and a high degree of commitment on the part of a student to succeed. A
good share of our preseminary credits are language related.
Current fees are set at $165/per credit. This is similar to MLC, but unlike MLC, there is no financial aid the PSI can offer at this time. Besides the financial resources required, the PSI director would also have to determine that your pastor--or some other pastor in your vicinity--would be willing and able to devote a significant share of his time to “shepherd” you through the courses.
There are 42 credits in the basic PSI preseminary course of study. In addition to these, a student will be expected to have completed the Congregational Evangelist Program. Three years would be a conservative estimate of the length of time it would take to complete PSI preseminary studies. A lot depends on the amount of time an individual is able to spend on his studies. For many, the Seminary Certification route at New Ulm, Minnesota would be quicker.
If, however, the PSI director would accept you as a student, a plan would be designed just for you which would indicate a) the number of courses you'd need to take; b) who would likely be serving as your teaching mentor while you were taking them, and c) the sequence in which you would be taking them. This plan (called an ISP for "Individualized Study Plan") would give you a better idea of how long the process would take for you.
PSI applicants should also understand that they miss some other important “intangibles.” Pastoral ministry is about relationships, and that includes relationships with fellow pastors. At Martin Luther College, a person has the opportunity to build the kind of relationships that last a lifetime. Besides this, students at MLC have the opportunity not simply to learn subject matter, but to study with professors who are modelers and confessors of the faith they are teaching. Studying at a confessional residential college is far more than simply a matter of learning subjects. It is an opportunity to be imprinted by the character of godly men.
Can’t a person enjoy some of these same things by working together with his pastor? Of course! Still, going the distance learning route means a person is not going to have quite the same richness of experience as the student who attends MLC. On the other hand, there are also obvious advantages for the one pursuing the PSI program. He can begin the program without having to move to New Ulm. He can continue serving in his own congregation, and in every case, someone taking part in the PSI program is expected to be actively involved in his congregation's ministry.
Now consider the advantages. Since he can keep working at his job, the economic dislocation may be less drastic in the beginning. A man with a family can keep them in place while he prepares himself for the seminary. Children don't have to leave their schools, their friends, and their familiar surroundings. Wives, too, need not feel the immediate burden of being the family's primary breadwinner during the preseminary years, a burden that they often carry if the man elects to attend MLC. For Canadians , there may be other financial advantages (given the rate of exchange) paying their preseminary costs in a Canadian rather than in a United States context.
Then there is also the matter of culture shock, which may be experienced
by people of diverse cultures if they attend MLC. Since PSI students must
eventually attend classes fulltime at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, this cannot
be entirely avoided. But it can be postponed. Before electing to apply to the
PSI, a prospective student would be well-advised to talk things over with men
presently at the seminary who have had firsthand experience with both of these
programs. They would be willing to answer specific questions about the pros and
cons of each. The pastoral ministry is a high calling! May the Lord bless you
as you consider whether or not to serve your Lord by pursuing it further. Call
me, or send me an email giving me some opportune
times to call you. I would
be glad to answer any further questions you might have.
For More Information about PSI contact:
E. Allen Sorum
Director, Pastoral Studies Institute
(262) 242-8153
sorume@wls.wels.net