Seedbed Grand Opening
Asbury Theological Seminary Announces the Launch of Seedbed
Asbury Theological Seminary has launched a new and innovative website. Seedbed launched on January 6, 2012 after a ceremony of celebration on the Kentucky campus. President Timothy Tennent said, “We’re really excited about it. We believe this is going to change the way we learn, and the way we talk about information that we value in the church.”Seedbed is a digital publishing platform that serves the community by providing Wesleyan oriented bible studies, books, articles, sermons, and videos. The creator and visionary behind the site is Asbury Seminary’s Vice President for Community Formation, J.D. Walt. He says, “To share the gospel means to publish good news. This is Seedbed's sole aspiration. We want to gather up our richest theology, our clearest thinking, our best creativity and our sharpest technology and sow extravagantly for a great awakening.”
More than 50 members of the seminary’s staff and administration gathered to show support just before Seedbed went live. Together the group asked for God’s blessing over Seedbed and planted apple seeds to symbolize a fruitful harvest. Heartfelt and encouraging remarks were made by Jay Mansur, the Vice President For Seminary Advancement and Communications, Thomas Tumblin, the Dean of the Beeson International Center, and J.D. Walt.
Walt says the idea for the website spawned from the meaning of the term “seminary,” which actually means seedbed. “I grew up on a farm and the connection between God and agriculture always intrigued me. God farms.” What began as just an idea seven years ago has now grown into a unique opportunity to serve the church in a technology-driven age. Dr. Tennent explains, “An iPad, iPhone, or a kindle are now platforms for learning. In church people always said, ‘don’t bring your phone,’ but now your phone is your bible… The way resourcing now comes to us is very different that it used to be.” The website not only fills the need for Wesleyan resources for the church, but it also delivers it in a relevant way. “We’re trying to find a way to interact with people on their iPad. How can we bring things to them and deliver it right where they are? Seedbed is the way we do this,” explains Dr. Tennent.
Seedbed features the feed and the store. On the feed, people will find engaging and enriching articles and videos posted daily. The feed will have articles that tackle cultural issues, pieces offering ministry tips, engaging videos, and free eBooks. In the store, people can purchase bible studies, books and sermons. Seedbed launched with 10 resources including The Preaching Works of J. Ellsworth Kalas and This We Believe! By Dr. Tennent. To celebrate the launch, everything in the store is 50% off through January 13th.
Check it out at asburyseedbed.com.
