The President’s Message
Educating Servant Leaders
Dear Friends, Students, and Alumni of St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, I count it a great privilege, honor and responsibility to be chosen to carry on the ministry and calling of this institution, building on the foundation of the great men who started carried on this journey, Dr. Gordon Cross, Dr. Forrest Slane, Dr. Wellington Whittlesey, and Dr. Myron Miller. All of the Seminary’s academic degree programs are licensed by the State of Florida’s Commission for Independent Education. The Seminary continues to provide under-graduate and graduate programs with a high quality of instruction, both by means of classroom instruction for those who live in the Tampa Bay area, and internationally by utilizing distance learning technology, while maintaining personalized professor-student interaction.
St. Petersburg Theological Seminary’s trans-denominational stance allows us to offer training to persons of every denomination. By offering courses based on solid biblical scholarship, students are equipped with the tools necessary for ministry in every faith that honors Christ Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
A key distinctive of the Seminary’s curriculum, which has been a vital element since the beginning, is the Judaic studies emphasis and approach to the study of the Bible. Jesus, the disciples, the Apostle Paul, and all of the first adherents of the new faith were, after all, Jews, steeped in the culture, traditions and world view of the older testament. How may our understanding of the language, allusions, and message of the newer testament be enriched by a conscious effort to learn to look at the whole scripture, older and newer testaments, through Jewish eyes?
These efforts are designed to offer those whom the Lord is calling to prepare to serve Him the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential through every part of the curriculum, in every degree program. Our commitment to you is to help you achieve the goal which He has given you to become a well equipped servant-minister in His kingdom.
In His Service,
John D. Guedes, PhD
President
