I finished up the Fall 2010 semester at ATS with straight As; first time ever in seminary to do that! I had a somewhat different run of classes this semester. One was a class on the development of sacramental liturgy that I found to be informative. For this class we got to visit churches of several different denominations (Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, etc.) as well as studying ancient liturgy and tracing its development through the Reformation into contemporary times. Another class dealt with the idea of aesthetics within theology; I found this class to be very engaging and thought-provoking. The idea that a faith system has an aesthetic element has been somewhat ignored as of late, but I believe that viewing faith in terms of beauty can be compelling and beneficial. Great class. I also took a course that dealt with themes of literature and analysis of these themes in terms of worldview and ethics. For this course, I wrote a story and then analyzed it with the tools given during the semester. Certainly a fun exercise. (If you would like a copy of the story, let me know. I'd be happy to send one.) This semester ran a bit out of my normal field of study; I usually study early church history and Biblical literature instead of ethics, philosophy, systematics, and late church history. However, the change of pace was nice.
This semester, I quit Starbucks. There was no negative situation; I just wanted to work closer to campus. With Starbucks, my round-trip commute was a touch more than 30 miles. God opened some doors and I was able to get a student worker job inside the library at the school. I landed in the cataloging department. For the most part, my job involves uploading audio files of chapel services into a digital repository so that people can access the services online. Then I file the physical copies (CDs and cassettes) into storage. It's somewhat tedious, but it's nice to work in an office environment. It's a fantastic job; fun people and a great atmosphere. I love it.
I came back to T-Town over Christmas break and was able to see some family and friends. Unfortunately, some physical problems manifested and I spent the week after Christmas in a good deal of pain. (Had to cancel a lot of good times with people; I'm sorry.) Dr. Dad really came through and patched me up so that I could return to school for the January mini-mester.
And so return I did, and I'm currently taking a January intensive of Intermediate Hebrew. The professor is one Lawson Stone, who just happened to be on the translation committee for Joshua and Judges in the New Living Bible. (Yes, these are the people I study under. Fan-tastic.) Thus far, the class has been very challenging because my Hebrew is quite rusty. However, the payoff has been wonderful. Brad Young of ORU once said something to the effect of: "Reading the Bible in anything but the original language is like trying to kiss a girl through a sheet." I would have to agree with him; looking at the text in the original is a wonderful way to get past the Sunday-school flannelgraph understandings of Scripture that roam around out there. The Hebrew OT especially contains a raw intensity that is often sanitized out of modern translations. I am grateful for the opportunity to examine the text under one who is a scholastic giant in his own right.
At this point, more and more people ask: "So when do you graduate? What happens next?" I am only able to answer one of these questions at the moment. I graduate in May of this year.
I have no idea what happens next.
Currently, I am waiting to hear back from the University of Toronto (Wycliffe) and Marquette regarding applications to their Ph.D. programs. Hopefully, I won't have to wait much longer. One option certainly is to continue my studies, which I do want to do. Another possibility, made all the more attractive because of recent health issues, would be to take some time off, get a job, get out of debt, and build up my CV in order to be a better doctoral candidate in the future. Maybe that would be here in Kentucky; maybe that would be back home in Tulsa. Can't say. After I graduate, I would be qualified for a graduate-assistantship position in my field of study, perhaps an adjunct professor; I also would be able to serve well as a teaching pastor within a church setting. Due to my personality and skill set, I could also function well within administrative settings. We'll just have to see what happens with the Ph.D. applications and go from there. Another option would be to get another Master's here at ATS. Just gotta wait and see what happens with these applications.
Gotta say, I have a fantastic posse of family and friends; thank you all for your support, help, and prayers over the past few months and into this year. I love you all and I am very grateful for you.
