Course Syllabus

Course title: PT 501 Calling & Cultivation

Course description: A consideration of the elements that constitute a biblical call to the ministry and how
the pastor may cultivate personal piety and godliness in his life.
Course instructor: Pastor Robert Briggs labored in Northern Ireland for eleven and a half years before
moving to northern California to take up pastoral responsibilities at Immanuel Baptist
Church, Sacramento in January 2004. He has a Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) from
Queens University of Belfast. Robert also serves on the governing board of Reformed
Baptist Seminary in Taylors, SC.
Course lecturer: Born in England of Irish and Kurdish parents, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin serves as
Professor of Church History & Biblical Spirituality. Dr. Haykin has a B.A. in
Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1974), a Master of Religion from Wycliffe
College, the University of Toronto (1977), and a Th.D. in Church History from
Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto (1982). Dr. Haykin and his wife Alison
have two grown children, Victoria and Nigel.
Course lecturer: Pastor Jeff Johnson is originally from South Carolina. He grew up in Southern Baptist
churches and ministered for a time in a in a SBC church. He came to embrace the
Reformed faith in the mid-90's and joined Covenant Reformed Baptist Church located
in Easley, SC. After several years of being member, Jeff was installed there as a non-
vocational elder in November 2005. He was ordained as one of the pastors of Grace
Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church in January 2008. Jeff is completing his studies
with Reformed Baptist Seminary and is a candidate for the Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
degree. He and his wife have one child.
Course credit: 2 credit-hours
Course requirements: Student must satisfactorily complete the following course requirements:
(1) Lectures Student must listen to all 22 lectures as well as the two Q&A sessions for Calling &
Cultivation. The student can access the lectures on Virtual Campus.
(1) Reading The student must complete the following assigned reading:
On the call to the ministry
Dabney, Robert L. What is a Call to the Ministry? Pages 22-46 in vol. 2 of
Discussions of Robert L. Dabney. The Banner of Truth Trust, 1982. See
PDF version on Virtual Campus.
Harvey, Dave. Am I Called? The Summons to Pastoral Ministry. Crossway, 2012.
Spurgeon, Charles. The Call to the Ministry in Lectures to My Students.
Zondervan, 1972. PDF version on Virtual Campus.
Total pages: approximately 220 pages
On spiritual cultivation
Spurgeon, Charles. Lectures to My Students. Zondervan, 1971.
The Ministers Self-Watch
The Preachers Private Prayer
The Ministers Ordinary Conversation
The Necessity of Ministerial Progress
Earnestness: Its Marring and Maintenance
The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear
Total pages: approximately 105 pages
Carson, D. A. A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His
Prayers. Baker, 1992.
Tripp, Paul David. Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of
Pastoral Ministry. Crossway, 2012.
Total pages: approximately 500 pages
Grand total pages of required reading: 825 pages
Select bibliography of recommended reading:
Bridges, Charles. The Christian Ministry. Banner of Truth, .
Bridges, Jerry. Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate. NavPress, 2007.
Brooks, Thomas. Precious Remedies Against Satans Devices. The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1990.
Croft, Brian. Test, Train, Affirm, and Send into Ministry: Recovering the Local
Churchs Responsibility in the External Call. Day One Publications, 2010.
Edwards, Jonathan. The Religious Affections. The Banner of Truth Trust, 2001.
Hughes, R. Kent. Disciplines of a Godly Man, rev. ed. Crossway Books, 2001.
Murphy, Thomas. Pastoral Theology. Reprint, Pre-Media E-Launch, 2013.
Packer, J. I. Knowing God. Intervarsity, 1973.
Piper, John. Desiring God. Multnomah Publishers Inc., 1996.
________. When I Dont Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. Crossway, 2004.
Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Navpress, 1991.
________. Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. Navpress, 2001.
The student may be allowed to substitute reading from other works not listed above.
However, he must obtain approval from the course instructor before doing so.
(2) Book Review The student should prepare a book review on Donald Carsons A Call to Spiritual
Reformation. The review should be between 5 to 8 pages in length double-spaced or
between 2,000 and 3,000 words. The review should (1) summarize the book or article,
(2) identify positive contributions, and (3) offer some constructive criticisms (if
necessary). The student should format the review as he would a term paper minus the
table of contents and bibliography.
(3) Final Exam The student will be tested over the lecture material. A study guide will be provided to
make the student aware of what content he will need to know for the exam. When the
student is prepared to take the exam, he should notify the seminary dean or deans
assistant so that the password to the exam on Virtual Campus can be forwarded to the
students proctor.
Course grading:

Reading = 20%; Book Review = 30%; Final Exam = 50%