Over the last thirteen years as a professor at RTS Charlotte, I have had the opportunity to talk to each graduating class about what they see as our strengths and weaknesses as a campus. The strengths I regularly hear are as follows: top-notch faculty, wonderful campus community, a great location, professors who are also pastors, a robust commitment to Reformed theology, a passion for proclaiming the gospel to the nations, etc.
But, there are also places we need to improve. And time and again, our graduates have offered the same suggestion: we need more biblical counseling. As our students have become pastors, they realize that they needed better preparation regarding how to do biblically-based, Christ-centered, life-changing, pastoral care.
For this reason, I am particularly excited about the recent announcement that RTS Charlotte will be hiring a new professor of counseling, and thus will be launching a new slate of counseling degree programs. Here are the details of the announcement, also available on the RTS webpage here:
(CHARLOTTE, NC) – November 5, 2013 – Dr. Michael Kruger, president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC, is pleased to announce a faculty opening for a professor of counseling. In addition to teaching counseling classes, this individual will be the director for new counseling degree programs at RTS Charlotte. These programs would include an MA in Christian Counseling (MACC), an M.Div. and MACC dual degree, a MATS/BS and MACC dual degree, and an M.Div. with a counseling emphasis.
RTS Charlotte has submitted all appropriate paperwork to the accrediting agencies for these new degree programs (ATS and SACS) and will receive notification regarding their approval in spring 2014.
These new degree programs in counseling will be well-integrated into the rest of the RTS Charlotte curriculum, requiring students to take a significant number of courses in Bible and theology. The programs are primarily designed to prepare students to do counseling in the local church and other ministry contexts (campus ministry, military chaplaincy, etc.). As to our choice of pastoral counseling models, RTS Charlotte’s programs will embody a model of biblically-grounded care and counsel manifested in organizations such as the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF).
The ideal candidate for this new faculty position would have an earned Ph.D. in counseling (or related discipline), would adhere to a reformed Christian worldview (as embodied in the Westminster Standards), and would be available to begin in a full-time capacity between January 1, 2014 and June 1, 2014.
The RTS Charlotte campus has become a national and international training ground for pastors, missionaries, educators, and leaders in the church. It has a beautiful 17 acre campus, ten full-time resident faculty members, a library of 54,000 volumes, and hundreds of alumni serving Christ all over the globe. In addition to the new counseling degree programs, RTS Charlotte offers the Master of Divinity degree, the Master of Arts degree (Biblical or Theological Studies), and the Doctor of Ministry degree. It also hosts the Institute for Reformed Campus Ministry and the Chaplains Ministry Institute, designed to provide additional training for students who plan to work in these specialized areas.
Interested applicants should send a cover letter and comprehensive curriculum vitae to Dr. Richard Belcher, Jr., at [email protected] or mail to:
RTS-Charlotte
Attn: Dr. Richard Belcher, Jr.
2101 Carmel Road
Charlotte, NC 28226.
Please pass this along to anyone who might have an interest!