Trinity's Concentrations

Consider these comments regarding two of Trinity’s most popular concentrations:

Biblical Counseling

Chair of Biblical Couseling and Concentration Director Jeffery Forrey, Ph.D. jforrey@trinitysem.edu

Biblical Counseling, in a very real sense, has been around since God counseled Adam
in the Garden. It should not surprise us to find a great deal of material in the Bible
regarding the variety of problems of living that people face every day. Unfortunately, to
a great extent, the modern church has failed to utilize this divine resource and its
categories for understanding human nature. This failure has resulted in the clergy
becoming convinced that spiritual problems and psychological problems are wholly
different. The natural consequence of this dichotomy has been clergy who deal with
“spiritual” problems and a professional community that deals with “psychological” problems.

A reformation within the modern church on the issue of counseling began in 1970 with
the publication of Competent to Counsel by Dr. Jay E. Adams. As with the sixteenth
century Protestant Reformation, there has been much debate and much clarification on
the relationship between a biblically-based understanding of human nature and the
non-biblical alternatives in the medical and psychological professions. The development
of Biblical Counseling continues in the writings of David Powlison, Edward Welch,
Howard Eyrich, Wayne Mack, John MacArthur, Paul Tripp, and an ever-growing number
of other writers.

The Trinity programs in Biblical Counseling are designed to equip you in the following
ways: first, to help you develop an understanding of counseling from a biblical and
theological perspective; second, to enable you to develop a personalized approach to
Biblical Counseling; third, to enable you to think critically about the “quilt of counseling”
(as one secular author recently described the discipline); fourth, to help you develop
the skills necessary to carry on a successful ministry of counseling; and fifth, to help
you develop the research and writing skills necessary for you to interact profitably with
developments and trends in the field of counseling.

As a Trinity student you will be able to dialogue with other students and academic
advisors using Trinity’s various web resources, Regional Courses, or Online Courses.
As a participant in any of these educational opportunities, you will find people
throughout the U.S.A. and around the world ready to engage in a discussion about
Biblical Counseling. This adds a new and exciting dimension to the courses in our
non-residency degree program.

Biblical Studies

Chair of Biblical Studies Concentration Director Lars Kierspel, Ph.D. lkierspel@trinitysem.edu

The Biblical Studies program at Trinity focuses on interpreting the books of the Old and New Testaments within their literary, historical, and theological context. Courses are designed to present the meaning of the text that was intended by the original author and understood by the original audience. In addition, interaction with current scholarship and application of the text to the modern world is expected. Students receive sound biblical teaching and acquire the tools to handle the Word of God accurately themselves.

The Bible is the foundation for teaching and life at Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary. The Department of Biblical Studies serves to provide a wide variety of courses that explore the riches of both Old and New Testaments. Through lectures, textbooks, assignments, and other learning strategies, instructors train the students to interpret the biblical literature with respect to its literary, historical, and theological context and to make use of the best resources available for that purpose. The classes are taught by professors who represent a variety of evangelical denominations and who combine their passion for sound biblical scholarship with a desire to “commit you to God and to the word of his grace”(Acts 20:32, NIV).