The Christian Life School of Theology was founded in 1983 by
Dr. Ronald E. Cottle and has since become the largest ministerial
training institute of its kind in the world (with currently over 30,000
students worldwide). Dr. Cottle's vision was to see theological
education return to the local church and community rather than
sending away their ministers for training; CLST would bring the
training to these ministers, right where they live. He began to seek
out seasoned men and women of God who were expert in a particular
area and convince them to travel and teach what they had come to
know over long years of experience. His question to these potential
instructors was: What subject is burning in your heart: if you could
only teach one thing, what would that be? Thus the instructors who
teach for CLST do not come to simply teach some subject which they
have been assigned.They come to teach what for many of them is a
life message: something which has become for them the central
understanding which God has given them. The result is that each
course "lives" for the instructor in a way that is sometimes rare
in a traditional school. What the student receives is not just
information, but an impartation from each individual instructor.
These courses are taught in an intensive weekend of instruction:
10 hours of lecture, usually on a Thursday night from 7-10PM, Friday
night from 7-10PM, and Saturday 9AM to 1PM. Three weeks prior
to these lectures the student receives a course syllabus and course
textbook. It is intended that the student will look over the syllabus
and read the textbook before the actual class begins.
Courses are presented in six divisions of study: Old Testament,
New Testament, Biblical Theology, Practical Theology, Historical
Theology, and Christian Counseling. Instructors conduct live or
video courses in the local learning center. When 10 courses, each
worth three credit units, are taken at the local learning center
(or through home study), this amounts to 30 credit units, which is
in line with credit received at traditional colleges for a year of study.
Each course taken for credit counts 3 credit hours towards a
Theological Diploma or Degree.
Degrees offered:
Diploma of Theology (Dip.Th.).....................30 Credit Units
Associate of Theology (A.Th.)......................60 Credit Units
Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.)......................126 Credit Units
Master of Theology (M.Th.)........................171 Credit Units
Master of Sacred Studies (M.S.S.)..............216 Credit Units
Doctor of Sacred Studies (D.S.S.)...............261 Credit Units
Doctor of Theology (D.Th.).........................300 Credit Units
Advanced Standing may be given for previous study, degrees
already earned, and prior ministerial experience which has been
achieved before entering CLST (new students are encouraged to
apply for Advanced Standing Credit within the first six months
taking first course).
Christian Life School of Theology
2018 Class Schedule
Raleigh Institute of Biblical Studies
January 18-20 Applied Hermeneutics Dr. William Suttles
February 15-17 Old Testament Theology Dr. Ian Bond
March 15-17 Survey of the New Testament I Dr. Ronald E. Cottle
April 19-21 Survey of the New Testament II Dr. Ronald E. Cottle
May 17-19 God's Eternal Plan Dr. Fuchsia Pickett
June 21-23 Understanding Dreams and Visions Rev. Katrina Wilson
August 16-18 A Study of Faiths and Religions Dr. Stan Fleming
September 20-22 A Theology of Worship Dr. Fuchsia Pickett
October 18-20 Our Glorious Inheritance Dr. Mike Shreve
November 15-17 Seven Basic Principles for Success in the Marketplace
Dr. William Crum
For more information on any of these classes, please call (919) 873-0100
*All classes subject to change
Your deposit ($50) may be made at any time prior
to one month before scheduled date for the class.
You may mail your deposit so long as it
arrives by the cut off date (one month prior to start of class).
Registrations after the cut off date require a full payment of $175
($75 of which is non-refundable if you do not take the course, but you may keep the course materials).
See REGISTRATION
For any questions, please contact our class Registrar at 873-0100, Ext. 1
COST:
$175 per class
See REGISTRATION
One month prior to each scheduled course, a deposit of $50
will be required to secure your book and syllabus for the
upcoming class; the remaining $125 can be paid anytime
up until the day of the class (if you do not take the class,
your deposit will not be refunded but you may keep the book
and syllabus). [Your deposit may be made on-line by credit
card: please note deposits made in this manner require an
additional $5 due to credit card and Pay-Pal fees.]
See REGISTRATION
Registrations after the "Cut-off date": full payment of $175
is required to register for the class. If you register less than 5 days
before the class, it is possible we may not have a book and syllabus
for you by the beginning of the class (as these may arrive after the
start of the class); in this case it will be up to you to make arrangements
to look on with someone else in the class.
When mailing your deposit or registration:
make checks payable to:
Raleigh Institute of Biblical Studies
and mail to:
P.O. Box 91614
Raleigh, NC 27675
We will inform you by e-mail when the course materials arrive and it
will be your responsibility to make arrangements to pick them up if you
desire to have them prior to the start of the class (or you may pick them
up on the day of the class). [Note: we highly recommend that you read
the textbook prior to the beginning of the class although this is not required.]
Grading: All students taking the class for credit will receive
a 100 objective question exam at the conclusion of the class.
This is a take home, open-book exam. Student must
complete exam and return to RIBS within two weeks exams
not returned in a timely fashion will not be accepted.
Exam score sheets are sent to Columbus, GA headquarters
for grading and returned to the local campus in Raleigh
(usually within 2-3 weeks).
Requirements: All students taking class for credit must:
1) read text book, 2) attend all ten hours of lecture
(partial attendance is not allowed), 3) successfully complete
and return take home exam, 4) make a passing grade of at
least 70 (D) on exam (students applying for Diploma of
Theology through a Bachelor of Theology must maintain
a C average; a B average must be maintained for the Master
of Theology and above).
Special notice: if taking class for credit you must attend
all ten hours of lecture and you must arrive on time for
every class session before session begins or otherwise
you must audit the course). Please plan to arrive in
plenty of time before the beginning of the first class
session in order to take care of any business.
Auditing: Classes may be audited (in which case the
final exam is not required). Fee schedule for auditing
students is the same as taking class for credit.
Observers: Any individual who has never attended
a CLST class may inquire about sitting in on one course
as an observer. The purpose of attending as an observer
is to find out if you may want to become a regular student
at CLST (attending as an observer should not be for the
purpose of taking one course you are interested in without
paying the appropriate fees). An observer is expected
to attend all the lectures but is not allowed to ask questions
or take time with the Instructor (as this privilege is reserved
for those taking the course for credit). Someone who attends
as an observer is not registered as a CLST student and must
pay a $50 Observer fee which includes a set of class materials.
If during the weekend (and before the end of the class) the observer
decides they would like to become a registered student and take
the current course for credit, they should notify the Registrar and
be prepared to pay the Admissions Application fee and the Tuition
for the course as a regular student (the $50 already paid as an
observer will be deducted from this amount). You are encouraged
to apply to attend as an Observer as far ahead of the class as
possible. The number of observers allowed in any one class
will be limited. In no case may someone simply show up at
the door on the day of the class and be expected to be admitted
to the class (prior approval is required): please call
873-0100 if you would like to attend a class as an observer.
Taping: Personal recording of courses at RIBS is not allowed.
We do record the CLST classes but this is strictly for in-house
use (we do not sell these recordings). Recordings of the
teachings can be ordered by individuals who have taken the class for
credit or audited on V-CD, or CD-MP3 at a cost of $25 per set.
Your order must be turned in and paid for by the end of the class
(please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery). Note: these sets may not
arrive in time for use in taking the exam but will be for later
personal use and for your own personal library.
Application: Please call 873-0100 to request an application
form for CLST: fill out form completely and return to RIBS
with a $25 one time application fee. [A High School diploma
or equivalent is required (in some cases this may be waived
if there is reason to believe that the student has the competency
to succeed even though they did not graduate from high school).]
Checks should be made payable to: RIBS and mailed to:
Raleigh Institute of Biblical Studies, P.O. Box 91614, Raleigh, NC 27675.
If you have any questions or problems please contact our
Registrar, LaRue Porter, at (919) 873-0100. 