Peter,

1. I’ve just finished writing a commentary on Colossians and I am amazed by the way that Paul really emphasizes the catholicity of the church as part of his plea for the Colossians to adhere to the gospel rather than to the philosophical mysticism of the teachers. He really urges them to see themselves as part of a wider pan-Roman empire movement.

2. My own institution is Highland Theological College and we are part of the UHI Millennium Institute (soon to be Uni of the Highlands and Islands) which specializes in distance learning much like USQ in Toowoomba. In the lectures that I give I can have 5-10 students attending in class, 2-3 students plugged in live by Video Conference from another UHI campus, and 10-15 students doing the course via distance learning with a learning pack and dedicated web resource.

Institutionalized education is not what Paul had in mind when he told other to “increase in the knowledge of God”. We can clearly see how Paul went about “strengthening” and “establishing” the churches he started. He visted, he taught, he encouraged in ministry those who had come to know Christ in that local community. The Church! There is the answer. Paul established churches, taught leaders, and intern those leaders taught others with a constant eye on moving the Gospel out to the “ends of the earth”. You can rid yourself of this individualized learning by encorporating theological education into the local church. Just as God, through Paul, intended.

And it’s not just the individualization that leads to problems. What about the fact that seminary after seminary turns out “pastors” who have never ministered in the local church, and have never been recognized by thier church leaders as leadership material. Fulltime pastoral ministry is not the individuals choice alone. It is a leading of the spririt and a confirmation by other godly leaders in the local church.

And lastly, where are our Pastor/Elders that should be leading these young men through thier education and spiritual growth in preparation for leadership in the local church? We have seminaries because the local church failed at training it’s young men to lead.

I would encourage you to dig into the scriptures and find out how to raise up men for leadership.