There is no shortage of innovation in education today.
There would probably be no “Dr. Serrano” without these innovations. I took my first college course by way of correspondence back when I was a private first-class in the US Army. My first Bible college diploma? Earned via distance education. In fact, I earned all of my degrees through online, asynchronous learning. I even remember back in 2005 being in an undergraduate cohort where our courses were accelerated to FOUR WEEKS.
Accelerated pathways. Flexible delivery models. Online platforms. Mobile-first platforms. Micro-credentials. Many of these developments have expanded access and removed barriers that once kept capable leaders on the margins. That matters deeply, especially for adult learners, pastors, military service members, and global leaders who cannot step away from calling or context to pursue education.
At Manna University, we are grateful for that progress. We benefit from it. We build within it. But innovation alone does not guarantee formation.
The tension we live in is not speed versus depth. It is how speed and depth relate to one another. The real question is not whether biblical higher education can move quickly. It is whether it can move quickly without becoming thin.
Throughout this month, I have written about listening, authority, and the quiet work God does beneath visible leadership. All three point to the same reality: leadership that lasts is not formed accidentally, and it is rarely formed instantly. Formation requires intention, integration, and time, even when delivery is efficient.
Theological education is no exception.
From a learning perspective, research consistently shows that durable formation requires more than exposure to content. Information can be delivered rapidly. Integration cannot. Wisdom emerges when knowledge is given time to interact with experience, reflection, and practice. When learning moves faster than integration, leaders may know more without becoming more.
This is not a failure of flexibility. It is a reminder of its limits.
At Manna University, we believe education should be accessible and responsive to real-world constraints. Many of our students are already leading. They are balancing ministry, family, work, and service. Speed matters. Flexibility matters.
Scripture gives us a helpful picture of what this kind of formation looks like.
Scripture describes Ezra as a scribe skilled in the Law of the Lord, but what stands out most is not his knowledge alone. Ezra 7 tells us that he had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, to live it, and to teach it. Study, obedience, and instruction were not separate stages of his life. They were integrated practices.
I believe that for Ezra, learning God’s ways was not just about information acquisition. He studied deeply, lived faithfully, and taught responsibly. That sequence matters.
Over the years, I have come to see that biblical higher education works best when it mirrors that pattern. Teaching is more than transferring content. It is the cultivation of appetite, discipline, and discernment that leads to life change. Knowledge that is not embodied eventually collapses under pressure.
For me, this has meant treating formation as a daily practice rather than a professional requirement. Regular engagement with the Bible. Ongoing learning across disciplines. Attention to physical health and emotional regulation. Trusted voices who can speak honestly about effectiveness and blind spots. None of these practices slow leadership down. They make leadership more sustainable.
Ezra’s life reminds us that depth is not opposed to action. His effectiveness flowed from disciplined rhythms that kept him anchored even as he led significant reform and restoration.
This is the vision of formation we aim for at Manna University. Not leaders who move slowly, but leaders who move wisely. Not leaders who avoid innovation, but leaders whose innovation is grounded in obedience, discernment, and lived integrity.
Depth and speed are not enemies. Depth makes speed trustworthy.
In a world that demands immediate results, theological education must have the courage to ask what kind of leaders those results are producing. At Manna University, we are committed to formation that honors both the urgency of the Gospel and endurance.
The challenge before biblical higher education is not choosing between innovation and formation. It is refusing to separate them. Speed shapes access, but formation shapes leaders. At Manna University, we design programs with both in view, not because depth is nostalgic, but because formation is cumulative. What is rushed through education will eventually have to be relearned in leadership. We would rather build leaders who are ready when responsibility arrives than impress people with how quickly credentials can be earned.
Dr. Carlo A. Serrano, President