Every year, I give a report of the work of the Talbot School of Theology to the trustees of Biola University. This year I think it might also be helpful to share some of that report with you, as it has been a remarkable year at the Talbot School of Theology.

We have seen significant growth, welcomed new faculty, launched a second seminary campus, expanded our work in cities and church networks across the country, and received an extraordinarily encouraging reaffirmation of our accreditation.

I’m grateful for where God has brought Talbot, and I’m increasingly convinced that this is an important moment for us to lean into our mission. And we are fully intent on preparing men and women for gospel-centered ministry in the church and around the world.

A Remarkable Accreditation Reaffirmation

One of the most significant developments of the past year was Talbot’s reaffirmation of accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools.

The result could hardly have been more encouraging. Our accreditation was reaffirmed for ten years, and the visiting team offered unusually strong commendations of Talbot and our work. ATS subsequently asked permission to use material from our report as an example for other schools.

The accreditation process involves enormous amounts of work that most people never see. And our faculty, staff, administrators, and colleagues across Biola contributed countless hours to our wonderfully successful outcome.

I am deeply grateful for their work and for the affirmation it received.

Talbot Seminary Phoenix

Of course, one of the biggest developments of the year was the launch of Talbot Seminary Phoenix.

Bringing Phoenix Seminary into Talbot required an extraordinary, university-wide effort on a very compressed timeline. People across Biola stepped forward to solve problems, welcome students and faculty, integrate systems, and make it possible for students to continue their theological education with as little disruption as possible. The result is that Talbot is now operating as a seminary with a significant presence in both Southern California and Phoenix.

Phoenix also contributed immediately to Talbot's growth. But Phoenix has been about more than adding students. We believe Arizona represents an extraordinary opportunity for theological education. We are building relationships with churches, pastors, donors and ministry networks throughout the region. And we expect Phoenix to be a primary area of Talbot's growth in the years ahead.

Continued Enrollment Growth

Talbot’s larger enrollment picture is encouraging as well.

Our graduate student headcount grew from 1,524 students last year to almost 1,700 this year, an increase of approximately 10 percent. Graduate credit hours are also approximately 10 percent higher than last fall.

Phoenix certainly contributed substantially to that growth. But it is worth noting that Talbot's graduate programs outside Phoenix also experienced year-over-year growth. Our undergraduate program has also shown several years of strong incoming classes, with continued overall growth.

In a challenging environment for theological education nationally, we do not take any of this for granted.

Strengthening Talbot's Leadership

We also completed the leadership reorganization that I discussed publicly last year.

Tim Pickavance now serves as Academic Dean, bringing considerable experience and the trust of our faculty to that role. Doug Geringer serves as Administrative Dean. Our leadership structure now also includes associate deans overseeing our undergraduate, graduate/seminary, and global work. John Goodrich has joined Talbot as Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Division. Jamie Sanchez is our Associate Dean of Talbot Global. Ryan Petersen is our dean of Talbot Graduate. Finally, Matthew Bingham is our Assistant Dean and leader of our Phoenix campus.

This structure is intentional. As Talbot becomes larger, more geographically distributed, and increasingly engaged with churches and ministry networks around the world, we need leadership structures capable of supporting that mission.

One encouraging result of the past several months has been seeing our leaders step into greater responsibility. That became especially important during my own unexpected medical challenges this summer. I have been deeply grateful for the way our leadership team, faculty and staff have stepped forward and continued moving the school forward.

An Exceptional Group of New Faculty

Talbot has also welcomed an unusually strong group of faculty.

The addition of Phoenix brought several respected scholars into the Talbot community, including Matthew Bingham, who serves as campus dean in Phoenix, along with Steven Duby, Grant Flynn and Michael Thigpen.

In Southern California, we have also welcomed new faculty including Euntaek "David" Shin, David Rathel, Jennifer “Jenny” Shin, and John Goodrich.

These scholars strengthen Talbot across theology, biblical studies, ministry and other disciplines. Even more importantly, they share our commitment to rigorous scholarship in the service of Christ and his church.

We continue to recruit additional faculty as Talbot grows, including positions connected with Phoenix and several other areas of the school.

Talbot Embedded: Taking Seminary to Students

One of our central strategic initiatives continues to be Talbot Embedded.

For several years we have been operating under a straightforward assumption: not every student who needs theological education can uproot his or her family and move to Southern California. We know in many cases we must bring Talbot to the places where ministry leaders already live and serve.

We initiated this strategy before receiving our major Lilly Endowment grant, and Lilly's generous support has enabled us to accelerate it significantly.

We have launched cohorts in San Diego and Seattle, as well as a cohort in partnership with the Aspire Network, where Talbot now serves as their seminary partner.

We are also developing additional opportunities in the greater Southern California region, from Orange County to Ventura County, along with Las Vegas and Honolulu. Not to mention the additional conversations that are also underway in cities and regions around the country.

Not every exploratory conversation will become a Talbot location, and that is intentional and good. We are committed to faithful innovation. Innovation requires trying things, learning quickly, and investing most heavily where strong partnerships emerge.

So our direction is clear: we intend to meet ministry leaders where they are.

From Locations to Networks

The Talbot Embedded strategy is expanding our geographic influence, but it’s also expanding through new partnerships with denominations, church networks and ministry movements. We’re constantly in talks about how Talbot might provide theological education within any number of existing church and ministry ecosystems.

Our partnership with Aspire is one example of this focus. As the Talbot Embedded name describes, these kinds of partnerships can provide pastors and ministry leaders with a Talbot education while they remain deeply rooted in the churches and ministry networks where they already serve.

I am increasingly convinced that Talbot is uniquely positioned to grow as a kind of “village green of evangelicalism.” Along these lines, we are also exploring ways for particular evangelical traditions to provide additional formation in their own theology, history, polity and ministry practices, all while students complete their primary theological education at Talbot.

Talbot has strong theological convictions. And within those convictions, we want to be a place where the breadth of orthodox evangelicalism can gather, learn, prepare leaders and serve the church together.

Investing in the Future

Much of this growth has been made possible through extraordinary generosity.

Lilly Endowment's investment has enabled us to accelerate Talbot Embedded, support strategic faculty positions, expand theological education into new communities, and experiment with models that would otherwise have taken years to develop.

At the same time, we are being very intentional about the sustainability of our institution. Grant funding can enable innovation, but organizations get into the danger zone when they build permanent structures that aren’t self-supporting when that funding ends.

So we intend to use outside investments to launch and grow programs while steadily moving those programs toward long-term financial sustainability.

The Opportunity Before Us

Theological education is changing rapidly.

In the traditional model, most ministry leaders relocated to a residential seminary campus for three or four years. And this model will continue to serve some students well. We remain deeply committed to the transformational experience of studying in community with outstanding faculty.

We also know that residential education can’t be our only model.

Students are both increasingly online and often deeply embedded in local ministry. We don’t want to uproot those who are called to stay where they are. Many pastors need theological education without leaving their churches. Denominations and networks are looking for trusted partners. Churches want seminaries that understand ministry on the ground.

Talbot has an opportunity to respond to those realities without compromising theological conviction or academic excellence.

That means strengthening our campuses, expanding online education and embedding theological education in churches and ministry networks. And it means continuing to recruit outstanding faculty who love the church as much as they love the academy.

We believe those commitments belong together.

Looking Ahead

My own role is changing along with Talbot.

With our new leadership structure in place, I expect to spend substantially more of my time developing relationships with churches and ministry networks, recruiting students, building partnerships and raising the resources necessary to sustain Talbot's mission.

My health challenges this summer have obviously required some adjustment to how quickly I can resume parts of that work. I remain very grateful for the prayers and encouragement of so many people across the Biola and Talbot community.

I am also profoundly grateful for the leaders around me who have stepped forward during these months.

In fact, one of the unexpected gifts of this difficult personal season is seeing in real time that Talbot is not dependent upon one person. We have an extraordinary faculty, a strong leadership team, committed staff, generous supporters, and thousands of students and alumni serving Christ around the world.

There is significant momentum around Talbot right now.

Our responsibility is to steward it well.

We want to remain deeply rooted in Scripture, firmly committed to the gospel, academically serious, connected to the local church, and increasingly accessible to the men and women God is calling into ministry.

That is the Talbot we are building.

And I am grateful to be part of it.