[Editor’s note: It is a quantum leap from our current pen & pulpit training for our Sunday teams to consider adding Christian higher education into the mix. As C.S. Lewis said, “one beggar tells another beggar where to find bread”.

During Covid, we set two goals before us. First, a complete revamp of the way seminaries prepare candidates for ordination. What worked for Calvin and Zwingli 500 years ago will require a complete overhaul as we move into the 21st century.

The other key pivot is the use of appropriate technologies like Zoom, especially amid the complexity of a post-AI, work-and-learn-from-home environment. What opportunities lie ahead, especially for the missional regencies within the 10–40 window / Indo-Pacific theatre of ops where Jesus’ name is known and loved]

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TESOL note (ESL + provincial formation): This pathway is being curated to support higher-order thinking among ESL communities, with particular attention to the needs and concerns of star-link pastors serving in provincial settings.

• A key applied use-case is equipping pastors to teach English through the 7 Modalities paradigm within tribal communities.
• The framework also supports layered educational scaffolding for juniors in the youth programme, and for young adults.
• This is not presented as a substitute for finishing high school or earning a secular qualification. Instead, the aim is a dual-degree track, certified in both secular and sacred degrees, as complementary.
• The on-ramp begins with the 22 academic units at the foundational level, which can be modularised into a 3-day Zoom training called the General Scholium.
• From this foundation, depending on proficiency and understanding, some students may be able to level up and “go up higher”. </aside>

Leviticus 19:23–25: Multi-year Missional Academy (PhD Prog.)

Algorithm (orchard years):

• Year 1–3: "uncircumcised" fruit = foundational formation and capacity-building
• Year 4: fruit "holy" = CE qualifying + consecrated research proposal
• Year 5+: fruit "for food" = thesis output, defense, and public contribution

Three-tier Tripod Covenant with the Dean’s Office (Dataset Math)

• Foundation (pre-CE): 22 datasets
• Level 7 (MA): +44 datasets (22 datasets × 2 witnesses)
• Level 8 (PhD): +66 datasets (22 datasets × 3 witnesses)

Total datasets across the seminar: 22 + 44 + 66 = 132 datasets

Tripod covenant interpretation (3 legs):

• Leg 1: Formation (personal rule of life, habits, rhythms)
• Leg 2: Scholarship (methods, sources, writing craft)
• Leg 3: Service (church-facing and public contribution)