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Graduate Profiles

Meet Some of Our Graduates

Scott Autry, MDiv

Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of the risen Christ!

My name is Scott Autry. I live in Covington, GA with my beautiful (and infinitely patient) wife Stephanie and our three children, Titus (8), Shepherd (3), and Gabby (1). I began my studies with CBTS in the Fall of 2012 and completed a Master of Divinity in the Fall of 2018. I am a member of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Jackson, GA.

I learned of CBTS through a podcast by Dr. James White called The Dividing Line. He made mention that the seminary was a Reformed Baptist seminary and offered distance education for those who could not leave their local context. He spoke highly of Dr. Waldron and the professors. These facts alone made me curious enough to reach out. After a short exchange with CBTS, and the necessary paperwork, I began distance learning while working as a full-time VP of Operations at a small financial firm.

“The education that I received from CBTS was both rigorous and warm…My preaching has improved, my discernment has sharpened, my library is now bulging with solid resources, and my heart is full.”

The education that I received from CBTS was both rigorous and warm. It was both erudite and practical. It was challenging, yet so very rewarding. In short, it was informed scholarship with a pastoral heart. I never sensed an imbalance from the seminary in holding forth these two categories to me as a student. Every class reflected this epitaph. My preaching has improved, my discernment has sharpened, my library is now bulging with solid resources, and my heart is full.

Further, CBTS has given me such a rich platform for theological education that it has elicited, as a matter of serious prayer, the possibility of future Ph.D. work in Systematic Theology. I would have never entertained such an idea had I thought my training would leave me at a disadvantage for rigorous future study.

Reflecting on the time I spent at the seminary brings much joy and a sense of bitter-sweet closure. I simply do not regret one late night book reading, one quiz, one test, or one class. I cannot think of an unfavorable time in my entire program. For the called man, you will find no better place, no better people, no better man at the helm than Dr. Sam Waldron and all involved at CBTS.

All glory be to God the Father; All glory be to God the Son; All glory be to God the Spirit; Great Jehovah, Three in One!

Your partner in the gospel,

Scott Autry

Pastor Ben Carlson, MDiv

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

My name is Ben Carlson. I live in Owensboro, KY, with my wife and three (soon to be four) children. On July 1, 2013, I moved to Owensboro, KY, in order to start the Master of Divinity program at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. In February 2018, I finished my studies at the seminary and received my degree. I now serve as a pastor at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY, with two of the greatest men I have had the pleasure to know: Dr. Sam Waldron and Joe Wilson.

There are many reasons why I thank God for CBTS, and there are many reasons why I think men aspiring to the ministry should prayerfully consider becoming students at CBTS. Here are several of them:

At CBTS, you are taught what it means to be a confessional Reformed Baptist. Every class must conform to the teachings contained in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, and every professor subscribes to it. Each assigned book is the cream of the crop and gold-standard of Reformed theology. When you leave this institution, you will not receive a Master of Confusion but instead will be a trained scribe for the kingdom of heaven.

At CBTS, you are taught by the leading Baptist theologians of our era. Each professor holds an advanced degree in his field of study, and most have written books on their area of expertise. It is safe to say that these men are trustworthy and know what they are talking about.

At CBTS, you are given the opportunity to learn sound, wholesome theology at a price you can afford. This seminary works extremely hard to give every student the best bang for his buck. Tuition is purposely kept at a minimum so those who need theological education the most can receive it without becoming a beggar to the rich or a slave to the lender.

AT CBTS, you can be a student while working a part-time or even a full-time job. Besides the modular classes, each course is taught in the evening to ensure that those who are in the workplace during the day can be in the classroom at night. Because this was so, I could provide for my family while also preparing to be a minister in God’s church. Work and school complemented, instead of competed against, each other.

“Seminary students should be the best churchmen, and CBTS exists to make sure that those who are being trained to powerfully stand behind pulpits are also being trained to joyfully sit in pews. I am thankful that during my time as a student, I was expected and encouraged more than anything else to long and faint for the courts of the Lord.”

At CBTS, you can experience the vital union of seminary studies with church life. Seminary students should be the best churchmen, and CBTS exists to make sure that those who are being trained to powerfully stand behind pulpits are also being trained to joyfully sit in pews. I am thankful that during my time as a student, I was expected and encouraged more than anything else to long and faint for the courts of the Lord.

At CBTS, you are taught primarily by pastor-professors (yes, in that order). I am extremely grateful not only for the standard of academic excellence in every class but for professors who also love and serve the church of Jesus Christ. As a student, I was struck by the level of commitment these men had to their local churches. It was evident that the great and glorious truths they were expounding had a profound effect upon their devotion to Christ’s treasured people. Their example has left a lasting imprint upon my soul.

God has been so good to a miserable wretch like me. Not only has He saved my soul from utter ruin, but He has appointed me as an undershepherd of His chosen flock. It is a miracle of miracles that Christ would shape and fashion me in this way. And it was a great kindness for Christ to lead me to CBTS so I could receive the proper theological training to devote my life to seeing His elect people saved, sanctified, and safe in glory. It is my hope and prayer that if God is directing your heart to the Christian ministry, CBTS would be the training grounds for you!

Ben Carlson serves as Pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY.

Burtons Family

Pastor Paul Burton, MAPS

Hello Friends,

My name is Paul Burton.  Along with my wife Tracy, and our two daughters, Ellie (7) and Reagan (11), we serve the Lord and the people of God at Christ Fellowship Church in Edinburgh, Indiana.  I have been the vocational pastor at the church for the past three years.

I am thrilled to get the opportunity to tell you a little bit about my experience with CBTS.  I discovered the school by way of an internet search for “reformed seminary online.”  That’s how I learned about the school—no referral, just google.  I liked what I saw.  So, I enrolled and started taking classes.  The first course I participated in was an introduction to systematic theology and I remember exactly what I was thinking as Dr. Waldron progressed through the lectures.  I wondered where this person had been all my life.

“It was refreshing to hear such a straightforward, soul-nourishing, intellectually satisfying presentation of the truths of God’s Word. Every subsequent class has been fruitful. The reading, the lectures, even the tests are full of robust theological content. And, in true Puritan form, every morsel of information is practical and full of application. No knowledge for the sake of knowledge here. No useless information here.”

It was refreshing to hear such a straightforward, soul-nourishing, intellectually satisfying presentation of the truths of God’s Word.  Every subsequent class has been fruitful.  The reading, the lectures, even the tests are full of robust theological content.  And, in true Puritan form, every morsel of information is practical and full of application.  No knowledge for the sake of knowledge here.  No useless information here.

It is difficult for me to quantify the impact of CBTS upon my life and ministry.  The theology that has been developed in my own heart and mind has an ongoing, incalculable influence upon the way I lead my family, the way I study God’s Word, and the way I minister to God’s people.  It’s also difficult for me to discuss CBTS in cold terminology as an institution.  The school is not just a building or a campus.  The heart of the school is the people who have dedicated their lives to making CBTS a reality, as well as the host church, Grace Reformed Baptist Church.  I am indebted to the professors of CBTS who have shared their lives of study with me in order to teach me and help me develop into a more fruitful servant of the Lord.  I am forever grateful to the Lord for His grace and providence, by which He led me to CBTS.

In our Lord’s service,

Paul Burton

Paul Burton serves as Pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in Edinburgh, IN

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