About the Academy
The education you’d expect if a research institute decided to teach, not just publish.
Who We Are
Study To Serve Academy is the education division of the International Theology and Ministry Research Association (ITMERI), a non-denominational research institute dedicated to testing theology, ministry practice, and Christian movements against Scripture rather than tradition, popularity, or institutional loyalty.
Where the Association researches, Study To Serve Academy teaches. Every course, article, and study resource we publish exists to carry that same research the last mile — out of academic papers and technical reports, and into the hands of pastors, ministry leaders, students, and everyday believers who need it in a form they can actually use.
We exist because research that never reaches a pastor or a congregation has served no one.
Our Foundation: The Research Behind the Curriculum
Study To Serve Academy does not develop curriculum in isolation. Every course we build is grounded in ITMERI‘s own research — rigorous, documented, and reviewed against the same standards the Association applies to every project it undertakes:
- Scripture as the final court of appeal — every claim we teach is measured against the text itself, not against how it has traditionally been interpreted, preached, or practiced.
- Non-denominational neutrality — we hold no institutional loyalty to any denomination, movement, or tradition, including our own history and preferences.
- Text before tradition, always in that order — we distinguish clearly between what Scripture states and what has simply accumulated around it.
- Courage without cruelty — we address difficult and contentious subjects directly, but we investigate movements and practices, not personalities to be attacked.
This is what makes Study To Serve Academy different from a typical online course library: behind every lesson sits a research process, not just an opinion.
What We Offer
Study To Serve Academy translates ITMERI‘s research into formats built for actual use, in the classroom, the small group, and the study:
- Courses — structured, self-paced learning for pastors, ministry leaders, and students, covering theology, ministry practice, and the discernment skills needed to evaluate both.
- Education articles — accessible, well-sourced writing that brings the Institute’s findings to a general readership without diluting the underlying research.
- Study resources — reading guides, discussion questions, and reference material designed for small-group and classroom use.
Our flagship example is The Inverted Gospel, an eleven-volume research project authored by Dr Grant D Muhl tracing the doctrinal and vocabulary shifts inside the modern Charismatic, Pentecostal, and New Apostolic Reformation movements. Several of its volumes — including a dedicated practical guide to biblical interpretation and a pastor’s field guide for congregational review — were written specifically to function as curriculum, and are woven directly into our course offerings.
Our Approach to Teaching
The Association‘s voice guides how we teach as much as how we research. We aim to sound like a careful physician explaining a diagnosis — precise, willing to name a hard truth, and never colder than the truth requires. We do not aim to sound like a prosecutor building a case, a denomination defending its own tradition, or a watchdog cataloguing who got it wrong.
Concretely, that means:
- We cite our sources and show our reasoning, rather than asserting conclusions from authority alone.
- We distinguish clearly between diagnosing a pattern and attacking a person, congregation, or tradition.
- We aim every course at equipping and restoring, not at winning an argument or scoring a point.
- We remain open to correction — our conclusions are documented and reviewable, not final or infallible.
Leadership
Dr Grant D Muhl — Executive Director, Study To Serve Academy; Head of Research & Curriculum Development, ITMERI
Grant D Muhl leads both the Association’s research program and its educational arm, ensuring that what the Association discovers and what the Academy teaches remain a single, continuous body of work rather than two separate efforts. He is the author of The Inverted Gospel, ITMERI’s flagship eleven-volume research project, and oversees the translation of that and other Association research into the courses and articles published through Study To Serve Academy.
A Note on Independence
Study To Serve Academy shares ITMERI’s institutional independence. We are not funded or directed by any denomination, and no church body holds veto power over what we teach — including groups either the Association or its staff may have historical ties to. We believe this independence is a safeguard of our integrity, not an inconvenience, and it applies equally to our research and to everything we teach from it.
A Note on Funding
Study To Serve Academy
Study To Serve Academy derives all of its funding from course sales and donations. As a division of the International Theology and Ministry Research Association (ITMERI) our financial reporting is done as part of the Association’s financial reporting.
Personal and Corporate donations are always welcome, as they help fulfill our aims and ministry objectives.
The education division of the International Theology and Ministry Research Association