News & Updates

Sometimes, a single day can change everything in an individual’s life. On the morning of one remarkable day, Scotty Robertson headed into the job he’d held for six years, pastoring a West Virginia church. He had no reason to expect this day would be any different. However, by day’s end, Robertson learned he’d been accepted into the M.Div. program at Northern Seminary, and had been invited to interview for a pastoral position in northern Indiana.

Months earlier Robertson had sensed God was leading him to pursue further ministry training. He filled out applications at a couple of other seminaries in addition to Northern and was focused on the discernment process when he received an unexpected phone call from an American Baptist minister in northern Indiana asking if he might be interested in a church ministry position in the region.

“I told him I’d already received acceptance letters from seminaries in Lexington, KY and Boston, MA, so I wasn’t sure how things would work out it I were to move to northern Indiana,” Robertson said. “The pastor asked me if I’d ever considered Northern. I told him I’d actually applied, but wasn’t certain I wanted to attend the school. After I got off the phone with the pastor, I decided to call the school in order to follow up on my application, and perhaps amend it a bit so I’d be a more attractive candidate for the school.”

When he made the call to the school, the woman who answered told him that his original application was before the admissions committee at that very moment. “Three hours later, I received a call from Randy Tumblin, who was then the Director of Enrollment for the school, to tell me that I’d been accepted into the M.Div. program at Northern.” Later that day, he received an invitation to come to northern Indiana to candidate for a preaching position at Mill Creek Baptist Church in Mill Creek, IN. One more thing about that remarkable day for Robertson: That same evening, he attended the rehearsal for his upcoming wedding.

Robertson and wife Jami now live in northern Indiana, and are parents to six year-old twin boys and a brand-new baby girl. He’s enjoyed his time at Northern, and cites his theology courses with Dr. Vincent Bacote and New Testament classes with Dr. Scot McKnight as particularly formative for him. He’s on track to graduate in two years. “After graduation, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in some area of Baptist studies. I’d like to be a part of American Baptist denominational leadership, teach students about Baptist history and polity, or faithfully pastor a local Baptist church.”

No doubt, he’ll discover which direction God is leading him on what might appear to be just another ordinary day.