Having grown up in Southern California my whole life, the only two theological seminaries that I knew about were Talbot and Fuller. My father actually graduated from Talbot in the early 80's and not so coincidentally, most of my spiritual/pastoral influences just so happened to be Talbot graduates. Furthermore, everyone around me characterized Talbot as the "conservative" school and Fuller as the "liberal" school. Although I had no idea what those terms actually meant, let me assure you that in my worldview, conservative meant "the good guys," and liberal meant "the bad guys."
After receiving my calling into ministry during the early part of my undergraduate years, I soon began to contemplate where I ought to go for my seminary education. Whereas in my earlier years where literally all of my spiritual mentors were Talbot grads, I began to meet some incredible spiritual figureheads that had attended Fuller (imagine that!!). It was during these years where I truly began to research and consider which seminary would be the best for me. I made the requisite calls and made campus/classroom visits to both schools. More importantly, I began to interview and challenge every single person I met that had either attended, or was currently attending, either school.
Through this process, I began to gain a stronger understanding of each seminary. I came to realize that both seminaries had a lot to offer. Here is a brief synopsis/evaluation of my impression for both schools prior to making my choice:
a) Talbot has a very practical program for seminarians ie future pastors. Their program is designed specifically to be as applicable as possible for pastors in the ministry field. Additionally, the Talbot faculty as a whole is very committed to being involved in the lives of their students. It is more than likely that each student at Talbot would leave with at least one mentor figure from the Talbot faculty.
b) Fuller is a very diverse program and is very academic in nature. The seminary education is excellent and challenging. A close mentor that had graduated from Fuller offered this explanation, "If you want to learn WHAT to think, go to Talbot. If you want to learn HOW to think, go to Fuller."
Ultimately, I chose Fuller because I realized I had most likely learned almost all there is to know from Talbot because of the many influences I had growing up. I chose Fuller because I wanted to be spiritually stretched and challenged beyond my encapsulating comfort zones. Although I still feel that I would have had an excellent experience at Talbot, I believe I made the right choice in coming to Fuller. During this past year, I have been amazed by our unity and commitment to worshipping one God, even in the midst of such a denominationally diverse student body. The faculty at Fuller has been amazing. I am so appreciative to see so many of our renowned professors making a commitment to spend time with students outside of the classroom. Theologically/spiritually, I have been beyond challenged. To put it simply, we truly worship an amazing and gigantic God. God is bigger than any of our minds can fathom. Indeed, He transcends denominational lines and He is even bigger then the theology that we often try to box him in with. As a whole, Fuller recognizes this and is committed to pursuing and worshipping a God this great.
godspeed
