47 years.

The world's population will double in 47 years. Each new person born into the world will add his or her own contribution to the world's vast store of knowledge. With the passing of each year, stored information grows at a rate of 30%—the byproduct of an unthinkably-large world population busily writing, researching, and recording the thoughts of each succeeding generation.

At the outset of the 21st century, we have more to think about today than ever before in the history of man. Scientific discoveries, advances in technology, progress in faster and safer transportation and agricultural productivity all increase the quality of life for mankind. But much of this new store of added knowledge is absolutely destructive. With each year, our critical climate gives birth to a wide range of difficult philosophical and theological propositions. Questions in churches—ranging from issues about God's foreknowledge to bioethics—present a far more challenging and complex pastoral climate than the climate that existed even 30 years ago.

In such a climate as this, more than ever before, church leaders need to be prepared for the road ahead. As a "surgeon of the soul," a pastor needs to be emminently qualified to use the Sword of the Spirit to cut through the fog of diverse worldviews and help the people in the pew sort through the confusion they find themselves in through the ever-increasing number of media outlets. As a shepherd who lovingly guards the sheep he was called to protect, a pastor must not rush in ill-equipped and unprepared, but patiently and diligently plan for the challenge ahead. Shepherds of today's flocks need more preparation than ever before to protect the sheep the Chief Shepherd has entrusted to their care.

Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary has been designed from the ground up to prepare tomorrow's leaders for this task. Seminary provides a safe place to ask questions and find answers about God, His Word, and the society in which we live. When leaders are asked the tough questions our society is producing---at a rate of growth unparalleled at any other time in human history---seminary gives those leaders the foundation for constructing effective and timely answers.