Weekly Email: February 23, 2026
In this week’s email:
Student Tip: Facing Death and Focusing Your Priorities
Program News: Curious about studying on-campus? Preview Day is April 17
Student Tip: Resetting Your Priorities
In late December 2025, Ben Sasse announced that he had been diagnosed with stage-four metastatic pancreatic cancer. He called it a “death sentence.”
Sasse is a Christian and also served as a former senator and university president. Recently, he has spoken about what life looks like after his cancer diagnosis in several different podcast. This past week I listened to his episode with Michael Horton and Dan Bryant on the Know What You Believe podcast.
Sasse was on that episode to talk about what it is like to stare death in the face. It was sobering, clarifying, and a good reminder that “acknowleding mortality is just fundamental wisdom…these bodies are decaying and it is not supposed to be this way, we will have glorified bodies.” We await the glorious day, when the trumpet will sound, and we’ll be raised to new life. Our hope is in Christ, hisresurrection giving us confidence and anticipation of our resurrection. The things that so often matter to us in this world will soon dissolve as we look forward to the new heavens and new earth.
That reset is helpful for your personal life, and it is also helpful for why you are in school.
Seminary is deeply intertwined with ministry and the work of the gospel. You are equipping yourself where you’re at, in your current ministry context, for a lifelong of faitfulness. A master’s degree is never ultimate.
Your MDiv can be a credential, and it is okay if that is part of why you are pursuing a degree. Credentials do matter in the real world as they can open doors and signal preparation.
But ultimately, if that’s your main goal, you’re missing out on the real purpose God has you here today.
You are equipping yourself to dig deeper in the things of God, to keep eternal matters in view, so that you can communicate, teach, lead, disciple, counsel, and evangelize with clarity and steadiness in a world that desperately needs Christ.
Those late nights and early mornings are not mainly for a grade. The sacrifice of family time is not mainly for more information. The financial weight is not mainly for a line on a resume. This is part of how God builds men and women who learn to minister the gospel to themselves first, and then to others.
As you start this Monday off, take a little time to sit, to pray, to focus your mind and your heart, and to examine this question: Am I treating seminary as ultimate, or as a servant of something ultimate?
Program News: Southern Seminary Preview Day on April 17
Studying online does not close the door on finishing your degree on campus. For some of you, the biggest barrier is not academics, it is uncertainty. You may have wondered what life in Louisville might look like, or you have never been to campus, so it is hard to picture the next step.
On April 17, we are hosting our annual Spring Preview Day, and it is built for students like you. You will tour campus, connect face-to-face with faculty, and join a Q&A with Dr. Mohler. Registration is normally $25, and we cover two nights of lodging plus all your meals on Preview Day.
Use the code SBTSWAIVED to waive the registration fee.
If you have been thinking about a move or even just curious to know what that might look like, Preview Day helps you replace guesses with firsthand clarity.
And if you have been thinking beyond your master’s degree, it is also a helpful place to hear more about doctoral study options and what the next steps could look like.
If you know someone considering seminary, invite them to come with you and experience Southern in person.
