Thursday, November 20, 2008

A Book Meme

I was tagged by IWU professor, Ken Schenck, for a book meme. This is a new thing for me but it's kind of like a chain letter for blogs. Only there there is no terrible life threatening consequence if you don't follow through with it, I hope. I'm assuming the point is to just get the word about other people's blogs. So I'm supposed to pick up the nearest book, turn to page 123, find the fifth sentence, and post the three sentences after it. So here goes, on my desk is a book called, Islam by Caesar E. Farah. The first two sentences are a quote from the Koran.

"Say, my prayers, my offerings, my life and my death are for God, Lord of the Worlds Who has no partner with Him. This I have been ordered (to believe), and I am the first to submit (unto Him.)"
It is also argued that belief in predestination prevents fortune or misfortune to sway the believer from the "right path."

Okay, now I have to tag five other bloggers. So, Red Rover, Red Rover, send Mark Wilson, Larry Wilson, John Drury, Ryan Budde, and Andy Rowell right over!

There I did it, now I'll have good luck for a long, long time!!

I'm a bad blogger, but I am still alive

I wanted to take a few moments to update my blog. I have not blogged for two reasons: I've been too lazy and I'm a wimp. I've preached to a thousand people before sang for way over five thousand and felt completely comfortable. But in those settings no one was giving me feedback. If I blog anything that is substantial people might disagree and I've been a wimp about that. I'm seriously going to try and change that. I'm going to start blogging for two reasons: I want to sharpen my writing and it is good discipline. Now, that isn't going to happen today, I have a load of papers to finish, but soon.

Here's where I am in life: I will be halfway through my second full year in seminary in a few weeks. I'm still enjoying it but antsy to be done too. As it stand right and if it all goes according to plan I will be finished with the MDiv except for one class by the end of this summer. I have to take that class on campus because it is an exegesis class and Gordon Conwell won't except anyone else's Bible classes in transfer. They are snooty like that. So rather than waste a whole semester on one class or take more electives just for the fun of it, I'm going to pick up a Master's of Theology degree in preaching. That's a one year academic degree. So if that works out I'll be able to leave here with two master's degrees in three years on campus. We'll see what happens though.

Kate is doing great in pre-school and loves it. She goes three days a week for four hours. It's right on campus so I have fun walking down and picking her up every day. Sharie is still working hard with our graphic design company, Maxim Design Group. She is a truly exceptional woman and I still don't know how I was able to snag her. It's a God thing, gotta be!

About the future: I just don't know. I can see myself going back to the local church. I miss preaching a bunch and I miss being a part of people's lives as a pastor. Sharie and I knew all along that my time at seminary will have been a blessing and benefit to me whether or not I end up teaching anywhere. My plan all along was that I would go on to doctoral work after being here. I don't know if I will or not. That world of academics, especially at the PhD level, is a strange one. I might lose my mind in that world. I want to focus on preaching and most PhD programs don't take preaching seriously as an academic pursuit. But I am starting to formulate some ideas about what I could focus on for a doctorate. I want to do something that will benefit my denomination, the Wesleyan Church. Please pray that God will guide us in the months ahead. I'll need to start working towards where I will go next this summer.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Light at the end of the tunnel

Well, it's almost the end of the semester. I have to do two major papers, two minor ones, and take two finals. A lot of work but doable. This school year has challenged me more than I thought it would. One of the biggest challenges was simply adjusting to being in school full time. This is a different life, especially when you have a family that comes first.

Greek has continued to be very difficult. I have discovered though that I am simply a slow Greek learner. My professor told me that there are two kinds of Greek strugglers. The first kind simply take a little longer to sink in, the second kind just won't get it, no matter what. The concepts that are so hard for me to get seem to get easier over time. I am encouraged by that. I may even take intermediate Greek if I can fit it into my schedule.

I have become a teaching fellow for the Semlink program. That means I am over the five classes in the online program that cover the ministry of the church. The classes are: Spiritual Formation for Ministry, Educational Ministry of the Church, Pastoral Counseling, Family and Marriage Counseling, and The Theology of Effective Youth Ministry. I am enjoying that immensely and feel like I am doing some good with the practical ministry experience I bring to the table. This is what I prayed for before I came to seminary.

I'll post more later, just wanted to add to this and prove that I'm still here.