Interested in Getting a Biblical Counseling Degree without Moving? Now You Can Do It @RTSCharlotte

This past week, I spoke at the TGC Women’s conference in Indianapolis.  I did three sessions on a number of different topics, but the highlight was the RTS-sponsored lunch conversation where Melissa and I discussed why theology matters for women.

Afterwards, I was asked repeatedly about which degree program would be helpful for women wanting to go to seminary.  Although all our programs are great, I think the RTS Charlotte Master of Arts in Christian Counseling degree (MACC) is a wonderful option.

What makes the MACC degree distinctive is that half of the 66 credit hours are in Bible and theology.  Thus, MACC students not only know how to counsel, they know the crucial content of their counseling.

And here’s the big news:  we recently announced that we are now offering the MACC degree in an new Summer/Winter format.  This means that students can now get the MACC degree over the course of four years without having to relocate.

Let me say that again.  You can get the MACC without moving.

But, here’s the thing that makes the Charlotte program unique: our counseling classes are not taken online.  They are all residential classes right here in Charlotte.  They are simply done in intensive formats during the winter and summer.

Given that counseling is inherently a relational exercise, we think it is a bit counter-intuitive to get a counseling degree by only plugging in the head phones and looking at a computer screen.  Instead, counseling is best taught and learned in a face-to-face environment where students can interact with each other and with the professors.

So, we are excited to see how this new Summer/Winter MACC program can allow people to get a degree without  moving, but at the same time preserving the important face-to-face, relational aspects of counseling.

In addition, Charlotte’s biblical counseling degree has a number of other distinctives:

• Committed to the gospel message and the sufficiency of God’s Word as the basis of all counseling
• Our program shares the same biblical perspective on the counseling task as modeled in organizations like the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) and the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC).
• Phenomenal visiting faculty including Ed Welch, Rod Mays, Jeremy Pierre, Heath Lambert, Deepak Reju, and Bob Kellemen
• More than half the MACC curriculum is Bible and Theology, laying a critical foundation for counseling
• A director, Jim Newheiser, with over 25 years of counseling experience
• Located in beautiful city of Charlotte on a gorgeous 17 acre campus

To read more about the new program, see here.  The formal press release is here.

Hope to see you in a counseling class soon!