Message from Nick Carter, President
Welcome to Andover Newton!
What an interesting time! 2007-2008 is the 200th anniversary of our founding as the nation’s oldest graduate school of theology. The model created here has become the standard for just about every seminary in America. But that’s not the interesting part.
What’s truly interesting is that we are now convinced almost all of the assumptions upon which that first model was designed are in the midst of being swept away. The church is undergoing radical change. Our concepts of leadership, mission, denomination, access, diversity and so much more are all being dramatically redefined in the face of societal and global upheaval. Other than the Gospel itself, everything is under examination and open for reinvention.
That means that Andover Newton is in the middle of a great time of change. We’ve gone back to the laboratory and are asking each other the fundamental question: What insights and skills are essential for transformative ministry in the 21st century? Just as our fore parents had the courage to explore new ways of preparing people to respond to God’s call, so too must we have that courage. We have come to realize that our legacy is not the model, but the adventuresome spirit that created the model.
So to prospective students we say this: think carefully about coming here. There is a lot of change going on. We have not abandoned the enduring truths of the Gospel and the lessons tradition teaches, but we are committed to exploring new frontiers of church leadership and service. If you want to be a part of this exciting effort to prepare a new generation of impactful moral and spiritual leaders then Andover Newton may just be the place you are looking for.
We are a diverse campus with more than 35 denominations represented and a fairly wide range of theological points of view (including rabbinical students from Hebrew College next door). Not everyone here will be like you, think like you or worship like you. There will be times, in and out of class, when you will encounter others with whom you disagree (and they with you). This diversity is something we like. We like it because we believe that it will make you think, be more intellectually agile, and develop in you the skills to help navigate the borderlands of difference.
This campus reality is part of our emerging curriculum. The students and the faculty find it challenging and often without easy answers. But all agree that this is where they want to be and what they need to be doing. These are the right questions – even if we haven’t got all the answers yet – and it is exciting to be a part of something so substantive and so relevant. And our recent graduates come back to say that it is this diversity and joint discovery of their faith that has best prepared them to lead the life of service to which they have been called.
Come and find out for yourself.
Nick Carter
Updated January 31, 2008
