Author Archive

  • 6
    Academic and Devotional Reading: A False Distinction!?!
    I am assuming that if you were given any advice upon entering seminary, this phrase may have come out: “guard your devotional time with the Lord!” I am not writing to suggest that this is poor advice by any means. It is great advice! Yet, I am wondering whether or not our notion of “devotional time” is too narrow? Are we not constantly communing...
    by Stephen Hess at October 11th, 2009 at 07:10 pm
  • 2
    An Ethic of Reading
    Sitting in my first Covenant Theology class of seminary, Dr. Williams, in addition to speaking about the course, provided one of the most important “nuggets” of wisdom that I will ever receive during my theological training. He briefly, yet powerfully, spoke about an “ethic of reading.” He explained that many of us in Reformed circles, especially...
    by Stephen Hess at September 8th, 2009 at 06:09 pm
  • 0
    The Sojourning Seminarian
    I am employing the word “sojourn” in a very intentional way as I reflect on my current status as an individual who has traveled a long way to attend seminary. To be certain, I have physically moved quite a distance in the past five years in pursuing education. I essentially spent the first eighteen years of my life on Aquidneck Island, in Southeastern Rhode...
    by Stephen Hess at August 31st, 2009 at 01:08 am
  • 1
    When Parents Are Involved
    DISCLAIMER: I am not sure that this post will have much personal application to anyone not going into seminary right after college, or if it will have much application to anyone for that matter. However, it is part of my story and will shed light on what “going to seminary” means for me personally. Maybe your comments will provide me with some godly wisdom. HERE...
    by Stephen Hess at August 21st, 2009 at 01:08 am
  • 2
    Godliness is of Value in Every Way
    As I began discerning a call to seminary, 1 Timothy 4:6-16 came up early and often. Early in the discernment process, when I read that passage, I ended up focusing my attention on parts of verse 6, “you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.” Early on, this verse encapsulated...
    by Stephen Hess at June 15th, 2009 at 03:06 am
  • 6
    God-Honoring Reluctance
    This post was written by Stephen Hess, a Rhode Island native and recent graduate of the University of Richmond, Virginia. Stephen will be heading off to St. Louis in August for the 4-year M.Div program at Covenant Theological Seminary. About a month ago, I came across an Acts 29 Network Boot Camp message from Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, entitled,...
    by Stephen Hess at May 25th, 2009 at 03:05 am