Still Kicking

The New Normal

Even by my standards, it's been a while since I posted.  As busy as I've been it's probably a good thing that I wasn't in school this semester.  Life just seems to find a way to eat away at any free time you think you might have - it's just a new normal.  That said, I still have that itch and I'm hoping to find a way to get back into formal studies before too long. 

Rest assured, however, I've been working on several things, many of which I hope to be able to share here soon (as my time allows).  Just as a teaser... First, I want to demonstrate how I've put my studies into practice.  Second, I want to share some of my research regarding other online academic opportunities.  Third, I want to share some of my personal reading that I've been plugging away on - lots of good stuff ;).  Forth, I want to get around to cleaning up this blog.  And finally, I'm working on a large project to produce a properly formatted ebook from an out-of-copyright gem.

So I had my little season of feeling sorry for myself (and no, that wasn't a good thing, I know) and I'm still kicking.  I've learned that it's not the education that is important, it's how you use what you know in service to others.  It would sound pretentious of me to spell this out in detail so all I will really say is that it's very humbling, encouraging, and awesome.  And for this, I give God all the glory and praise.    

Anxiety of Unfinished Business

Waiting for Nothing to Do

There is a bit of excitement in the air as three of my boys are getting ready to start attending new schools next week.  While it's a bit hard for them to appreciate the privilege they have to study and learn, they are none-the-less excited about experiencing new things and making new friends.  I suppose it's also calming for us as parents to know that the chaos of summer will soon settle back into predictable schedules and routines.  But I can't seem to shake a haunting feeling of uneasiness - the anxiety of unfinished business.  It's a feeling of being ready to go but finding that I'm rather only waiting for nothing to do.  It stinks.

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty bummed.  I think that is a natural reaction.  Like training hard for a race and then blowing a hamstring a week before the event.  A longing sense of - just didn't get it done.  So I've had my pout and now it's time to begin focusing on - what now?

When I said that my seminary education was never about the degree or the grades, that was either true or it wasn't.  Just because I'm no longer enrolled in a seminary degree program does not preclude me from continuing to study and grow.  Sure, working hard in an accredited degree program has obvious short and long-term advantages, but what if that just isn't an option?  What alternatives are available for someone like me who has the need and desire for theological training, but lacks the time, opportunity, and means to pursue such an endeavor?

Let's explore that idea a little further.  I'm going to scamper off and do a little research to see what I can find.  I'm a bit curious to see what's available and how that compares to what I've experienced.  I'm really not sure what to expect but stay tuned for more as I begin to look into this.     

 

BE201OL - Critical Review

BE201OL - Spring's Unfinished Business

 

In hindsight, it would have been preferable to have written this a month or so ago but as my previous post indicates, I was preoccupied with trying to find a solution to another challenge.  That said, better late than never and as I try to teach my own children, it's important to finish strong - especially in the face of disappointment and adversity.  I'll continue to write here of course, however I haven't quite decided how or what that is going to look like moving forward.  Regardless, it's time to take a look back at BE201OL to reflect on my experience and proffer some advice on how to get the most out of this course.

End of the Road ... For Now

Tough Decisions

Well, if you've been reading you know it's been a struggle for me on many fronts the past few years in pursuit of an MBTS degree.  Despite having a great Spring semester, the financial means to continue in the program remain just beyond my reach.  Tough decisions needed to be made and I simply could not sacrifice my family's needs at the expense of my education.  So it is with a bit of sadness that I share that at this moment, I've reached the end of the road ... for now.

I'll have more to say soon as I reflect on my studies and share more about what I've learned as a result.

Greek Is Really Cool - But Not My Forte

Thankful For Many Things

Well, my audit in Greek is finished and I'm thankful for a lot of things.  I'm thankful for what I've learned, and I'm thankful that it's over ... for now.  Studying Greek was really cool, but it definitely is not my forte.  Had I actually taken the class for credit, I would have received a B in the course which is OK, but well below the goal that I set for myself.  So I had to make a difficult decision

Going into the class I was perhaps a little skeptical of the benefit of learning the language.  Of course, there is the joy of being able to begin reading the Bible in one of the original languages, but would it really make that big of a difference?  A friend of mine had this to say about learning Greek, "The difference between studying the Bible in English versus Greek is like the difference between watching television in black and white versus high definition color."  I think my friend hit the proverbial nail on the head with that analogy.  I can see now how much clearer the pages of Scripture shine with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ when translating from the Greek.  Mind you, I'm under no illusion that I've only begun to scratch the surface of my understanding of the language, but I've seen enough to appreciate the value.

So I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my experience with learning Greek and I'm looking forward to continuing my study of the language, but just not right now.  The time commitment to studying a language is immense.  Even though this was just an audit course for me, I spent far more time on this course than any other course that I've taken at DTS.  This is to be expected, however, I just don't see that I'll have the kind of time necessary this Spring to get the most out of the class.  So I'm going to basically try to keep reviewing what I've already learned and keep my skills sharp so I can develop a solid platform to continue in the near future.  All in all, I have no regrets for stepping up and taking this course.

So, if you're planning on studying Greek at a seminary and you don't have any previous experience with the language or struggle like me with foreign languages, I'd recommend a slightly lower course load during the semester to offset the amount of time you'll need to dedicate to learning Greek.  It's totally worth it, but it's a grind and takes a lot of time, commitment, and discipline.

Protecting the Family

Making the Home Network Safer

Who can forget the iconic sound of a 56k modem as it completed its handshake protocol;  the virtual on-ramp to the digital superhighway known as the internet. It’s amazing to think how much the internet has changed our lives over the past two-plus decades.  But for all the wonderful advancements the internet provides us daily, it also has a dark and dangerous side.  Just under the surface of any search engine through the keystroke pitter-patter of search terms, a vast ocean of pornographic sites set their fishing lines; ready to snag its innocent, curious, naïve, addicted, or defiled victims.

As the father of four young boys racing full speed into or towards their teen years, I’ve struggled with how to protect my kids from this virtual cancer of depravity.  And if I’m being honest, how to protect myself from lure and temptation of an empty pleasure which only leaves me hurting in my shame and guilt; deceptively stealing away from me the joy and sufficiency of God’s grace.  Well, after many days, weeks, and months of trying different solutions, I’ve discovered a way to easily protect my family and my home from this evil and it’s something I feel is worth sharing so read on!

And This is Why We Audit

Epic Faceplant

Greek has been a fickle friend this semester.  Sometimes, I think, "I got this."  And then other times my brain breaks and starts leaking out of the bottom of my shoes.  I just wrapped up my sixth quiz of the semester and I'm still feeling the pain from the epic faceplant I just brilliantly executed.  I managed an impressive 27 out of 98 (although my final score will probably be in the neighborhood of 40).  It's times like this that I remind myself that this is exactly why I choose to audit this course.

I mentioned that I struggle to pick up languages in general, and this is true.  But with this course, I just feel like I'm about two weeks behind in my understanding.  I mean it takes about two weeks for the learning to settle into a firm-ish knowledge.  So while we're just wrapping up chapter 18 in Mounce's "Basics of Biblical Greek", I'm just getting comfortable with chapter 14.  And this is despite studying just about every day.

Point is, it's not so much that the language is difficult.  There is just so much to learn and remember that I find it takes a while to sear into my memory.

I Miss Being Sick

Being Reminded of the Important Things

Even though I’m only auditing a course this semester at DTS, I’m still required to attend chapel sessions.  It seems far too easy sometimes to simply treat this as another tick-in-the-box exercise that is common in academia.  But every now and then, I stumble upon a message that deeply moves me and reminds me of the purpose of my education, and more importantly, my life.  As the kids scampered off to their Saturday morning activities, I watched a service by Michael Easley that struck me in such a way.  But not in the way you might think, I actually reflected on the fact that I miss my pain.  

Getting My Greek On

Auditing Greek

Alright, we're a couple of weeks into this Fall semester where I'm auditing first-semester Greek.  Things are going fine so far but I've already experienced the normal ups and downs of studying a language.  After crushing my first quiz, I got a bit overconfident and was brutally humbled on my second quiz.  But a big exam later this week should really give me a sense of if I'm on the right track or not.

Needless to say, any language course requires a tremendous amount of time and discipline to stay on top of the learning.  So it's been a solid hour or two most days (especially after the second quiz).  Anyway, I'm starting to get a handle on things and I find Koine Greek to be very technical which is just AOK with me.  So I'm sure I'll have more to write next week but now it's time to get back to studying noun and adjective forms! 

ST104OL - Critical Review

ST104OL - Summer's Unfinished Business

 

It took a little while to get over my jetlag after a nice little family holiday in August, but now I'm home and getting back into the groove of a new school year for the kids.  I realized though, that I had a little unfinished business in posting a critical review of my ST104 summer class.  So with the kids tucked neatly into bed this evening, I've got a little time to share some of my thoughts on the course and how things went.

Hanging in There

Decision Update

Just a quick update today.  I've completed all my semester work for ST104OL Soteriology and I'm getting ready to head home for the first time in years to take a little time off.  Before heading out though, I thought I'd share that I've made a decision with the assistance of the kind staff at DTS.  Rather than withdrawing at this time, I'm going to audit a course this Fall to buy myself some time to see if I can make things work moving forward.  Still not sure what's on the horizon, but at least there's still hope.

What will I be auditing?  Well, I can't audit any course that I might end up taking as part of my degree.  So I've decided to go ahead and audit NT101OL New Testament Greek.  Basically, I'm terrible with languages, so I figure this will give me an opportunity to gain some skills I wish I had, without having to stress out over being - right, terrible with languages.  And in case you think I'm being overly hard on myself; I've been living in Poland for ten years now and I still hardly speak a lick of Polish...

Stay tuned, I'll be posting my ST104OL recap shortly after the final grades are posted.  Really couldn't say how I did in the course as much of the final grade rests on the last two assignments I submitted.  I did OK on the final exam with an 88 after answering 3 questions wrong.  I had a facepalm moment as one of the answers I got wrong was from a passage I actually taught on a few weeks back.  I think I mentioned how much I hate taking tests - yeah, it's the little details that getcha.  So look for that debrief in a week or so.

At A Crossroads

The Tough Decisions

As I approach the end of my summer semester in ST104 Soteriology I find myself at a crossroads and faced with a very difficult decision.  If you've followed at all the story of my seminary education at DTS, splotchy as my updates have been, you know that I've endured a lot over the past couple of years.  Life changes, health changes, work changes, and everything in between have made my pursuit of a seminary education challenging to say the least. And now it's time for me to make some difficult decisions.

While my spirit is willing to continue to make the necessary sacrifices to see my studies through, my pockets are empty.  I've just run out of the green needed to pay the bills.  I'm having some conversations to consider my options and I've not given up hope yet, but the truth is, it doesn't look good.  That said, whether I find the means to pay for school and continue or not, I know this effort will not have been in vain.

What I've learned in the short time I've been at DTS has already had a profound impact on my life.  I know this is by God's design and according to His will.  And what I've learned I've also shared, and will continue to do so with those around me; in my church, in my community, and at my work.  While the journey may look different for me soon, it will by no means be over.  I'm sure I'll have more to write on this soon as the picture becomes more clear.

But for now I'll continue to grind through the final weeks of my current course.  You know I was really looking forward to taking this class, and I can tell you that I have not been disappointed.  In the shorter summer schedule it's been a little more challenging, but it's been great and I look forward to sharing a lot more about what I've learned very soon.

This Is My Story

Evangelistic Testimony

I am generally opposed to sharing my work for my classes on this blog.  It's not in any way that I'm ashamed or that I'm trying to hide what I'm doing.  But I do so for two primary reasons; First, many of my assignments have a specific context within my classes which is important to the actual learning.  If I were to post my work, it might somehow spoil the experience of a student and detract from their learning.  Second, obviously, there is always the concern surrounding the temptation of plagiarism.  However, my story is unique to me, so I don't see the harm in sharing it.  With a few minor edits, this is my submission for my PM102OL assignment to write my evangelistic testimony.

 

PM101OL - Critical Review

PM101OL - Highlights and Lowlights

The final grade was posted a couple days ago for PM101OL which means it's time to reflect on how things went in the course.  So I'll offer a critical review of the class and my performance throughout.  As with any endeavor, there were things that were done well, and things that could have been done better.  Without pulling any punches, here are my highlights and lowlights.

PM102OL - Critical Review

PM102OL - Highlights and Lowlights

The final grade was posted a couple days ago for PM102OL which means it's time to reflect on how things went in the course.  So I'll offer a critical review of the class and my performance throughout.  As with any endeavor, there were things that were done well, and things that could have been done better.  Without pulling any punches, here are my highlights and lowlights.

All Over but the Cryin'

Another Semester in the Books

Well, it was a hard sprint to the end of the semester and plenty of Coke Zero was consumed over a number of sleepless nights.  But all projects and papers have been turned in and it's all over by the cryin'.  Right now I'm just waiting on my final grades and then I'll post my course reviews.  This was a tough semester, but I'm generally pleased how everything went.  Stay tuned as I'll be posting more in the coming days.  Now I'm gonna get back to bed...

Controlled Chaos

Too Busy is a Real Thing

With a little more than a month remaining in the semester, I thought it would be good to post an update on how things are going.  The best way I can describe how things are at the moment is controlled chaos.  Between changes at work, family needs, church commitments, and school, I've been crazy busy and I'm learning that there is such a thing as being too busy.  There are battles raging for my time and admittedly, I'm not doing as well on these fronts as I could - but you already know this as this is my first post in over a month.  Today I'll share a bit about this and how I plan to get things back on track in my crazy life!

The Pernicious Road to Wrath

 Evidence of God's Wrath in Society Today

I'm still struggling a little bit with the mechanics of my Spiritual Life class (palm meet forehead), but the course material and lessons are really good.  As I was viewing the course video "The Results of Sin" I was really struck by a point Dr. Anderson made while arguing for the case that one result of sin is that we live under the wrath of God.  What really slapped me in the face was his interpretation of the evidence of this in society today.  I had my first, ohhhhhhh, moment of the semester yesterday.  I'm calling it the pernicious road to wrath and I think it might be interesting to continue to reflect on this today.

Spiritual Life and Evangelism

A Tale of Two Classes

I'm a little over a week into the Spring semester and I thought I'd post a little update on what I'm up to.  This semester I'm taking PM101OL Spiritual Life and PM102OL Evangelism.  What is surprising to me right out of the gate is how differently these courses are structured and it is obvious to me that this semester will very much be a tale of two classes.

How Did I Ever Manage without This?

Zotero: The Bibliographic Lifesaver

One of the biggest benefits of taking RS101OL was a small little piece of advice that was given to us during one of the video lectures: that was about using bibliographic software.  I wasn't really up to learning how to use a new software tool this semester but I decided to give Zotero a try.  After using it for a couple of days I honestly had to ask myself, "How did I ever manage without this?"  Zotero was not only easy to use, for me it was a bibliographic lifesaver.