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Lance Sellon
Seminary education for many people seems like an impossibility. The idea of relocating, leaving a job and uprooting their family seems like an overwhelming task. Asbury Seminary is changing this perception with a revolutionary seminary that has no walls and knows no limits.
As First Lieutenant and Executive Officer of a Cavalry Troop, Lance Sellon was deployed by the US Army Reserve to serve in Kabul, Afghanistan in the spring of 2005 while a student at Asbury’s Florida campus. Lance refused to give up his dream of being a master of divinity student. “I knew…that this deployment wouldn’t stop my pursuit to learn and work toward an M.Div.”
Thanks to Asbury Seminary’s Virtual Campus, he didn’t have to stop. Lance continued his classes while he was deployed in Afghanistan as well as led a men’s Bible study at his unit’s post.
Lance is currently answering a calling to military chaplaincy. He says, “The Army has 40% of the chaplains it needs, and many of those are close to retirement age.” As a master of divinity student through Asbury Theological Seminary’s Extended Learning campus, Lance knows the value of this degree to his future ministry. “I recognize the need for ongoing education and spiritual learning throughout my lifetime. Pursuing an M.Div. accomplishes these needs.”
As Executive Officer, Lance’s responsibilities can be daunting, but he views his presence in Afghanistan as a part of his theological education.
“I have seen things in Afghanistan that have turned my theological world upside down…I am surrounded by a country where conversion to Christianity merits a death sentence.”
For many, living in these inconceivable circumstances may be overwhelming, or even impossible. But in the midst of these dangers and uncertainties, Lance is affirmed of God’s purpose for his journey across the world. “I believe my place as a Christian is to go alongside those into the battlefields of life.”
For students like Lance, Asbury Seminary’s Virtual Campus is a way to take the courses they need, when they need them in order to enrich their faith and hone their skills.