Two Cent Tuesday - Seminary Forum

During the last redesign of Going to Seminary I installed a seminary forum. I thought it was going to be a great idea. Seminarians from all over the globe could come to one spot and have discussions and dialogues (and an occasional monologue) about things related to seminary. I created a section for seminarians to bounce paper ideas off one another, discuss jobs, talk about family issues, and a place to help those considering seminary to ask questions. Well… the forum has been less than active. So, today’s two cent Tuesday question is “should we dump the forum?”

If you’re answer is yes, then I’ll give it the ax. If it is “no” then get over there and start using it. Whatever you decide I’ll do at the end of the week.

Cheers!
_ryan

Two Cent Tuesday - How important is Blogging?

It’s been a while since we had a Two-cent Tuesday. Time for some interaction here — chime in!

Is it midterms yet at your seminary? Here at Multnomah we’re stepping into that season, wading into the deeper waters of papers and projects and exams.

When life gets busy like this, what priority do you place on blogging?

(Answer according to your true practice, not how it should be in your life.)

Two Cent Tuesday - Who Would You Interview?

Well, it has been a while since we launched our first Going to Seminary interview. We were honored to start with such a great professor and theologian like John Frame, however, that did set the bar pretty high for us. That said, I’ve been thinking about who we should interview next. So, for today’s poll I thought I’d let you determine our next interview. Now, I’m not going to guarantee that I can land the interview, but I can promise that I will give it a really good try. So, that said, if you could interview anyone about going to seminary, who would you interview?

Again, I will attempt to land an interview with the top vote getter, so if you really want the interview… then blog it up and get the votes! Also, I started the list with a few names, but the poll is open so you can add your own people as well.

Two Cent Tuesday - Staying Organized

We have a huge variety of technological aids at our dispense to help keep us organized.  From PDAs to Blackberrys to online calendars, our lives can be organized at the tip of our fingers.  I’ve never gotten into those methods.  In fact, I don’t even use those small agenda books can you throw in your backpack.  I try–I always buy one at the beginning of the year, but give up on it by mid-January.  I prefer keeping things organized in my head.  That method has only failed me once (if you would like to know that story you can take me out for breakfast sometime and I’ll tell you about it).

Still, I need to have things organized.  If there is clutter around the house, I get stressed out (just ask my wife).  Things need to be in place, and I operate by keeping a routine.  And especially as you get farther in your studies, the balancing act becomes more and more difficult and you need to have a way to keep your life organized.  I’m working on getting better with writing things down, but I want to know how you do it.  What are some of your methods of keeping everything organized?  Do you have an efficient system that you think would help us?

Two Cent Tuesday - Bible of Choice?

I spent most of last week working to launch a new website (www.best-bible.org).  The site is designed to help people understand the differences between Bible translations and offer some resource suggestions, like Bible software, Bible mobile applications, and other Bible resources.  Since the project was pretty big and I didn’t have time to build the site and write all the material, I hired a freelance writer to help me out.  Not only did she do an amazing job, but her articles on all the different Bible translations were actually quite helpful to me… I mean, I could give you a rough idea as to what each translation was all about, but now I feel like I have a much better understanding.  So, if you’ve ever wanted to know what the different translations were all about, go check out the site.  Also, keep it in the back of your head for the next time someone asks you why we have so many different bible translations.

So, as I was finishing up the site I thought, “hey, this would be a great Two Cent Tuesday question.”  So, here ya go, “what is your bible translation of choice… AKA, what is the best bible?”

Also, if you visit the site, please leave a review under the Bible you use as it will  help future visitors… oh, and link love is always appreciated!

Two Cent Tuesday - Blogs We Love

I recently trimmed down my google reader account from 100+ blogs to 70 blogs.  It is amazing how much great (and less than great) information is out there.  At times I wonder what our church fathers and mothers would think about blogs… Think about Gutenberg. You think he’d be a blogger?  And I wonder if Luther would have used a hammer and nail to post the 95 thesis or if he would have just gone out and bought www.hammer-and-nail.com or www.95thesis.com, installed wordpress, and gone to writing.

Whatever the case may be, blogging and the internet have (understatement) changed the way we communicate with the world.  So, in those lines I wanted to find out who your favorite bloggers are.  So, today’s Two Cent Tuesday question is “what is your favorite blog?”  Feel free to vote for one that is on the list or add your own.  No bonus points if you vote for GTS, though it will warm my heart.  Also, no narcissism here and voting for yourself.

Also, feel free to talk about this one in the comments… are blogs good/bad, what are some of your runner up’s for the vote, what church father/mother do yu wish had a blog?  Have fun with it.

Two Cent Tuesday - Influential Factors

I was thinking yesterday about the process I went through that lead me to seminary.  It was a long  and drawn out process (here are some excerpts).  While there were MANY factors that influenced my decision to attend seminary, for me the Bible was most influential.  The more I read Paul’s explanations to Timothy and Titus about the role of the Elders in the church, I continually felt as if I fell short in the area of doctrine.  I knew I was called to vocational ministry and that I’d be spending the next 60 +/- years doing it… so I thought that an investment of 3 or 4 years was well worth it for me, my family, and those God would entrust into my care.

So, how about you… what was the most influential factor for you?  No right or wrong answers here… I’m just wondering.

Two Cent Tuesday - Going on Vacation?

So, I’m sitting in the airport with my wife and we’re getting ready to head home from a short mini vacation. We knew that we could use some time away, just the two of us, after such a crazy 6 (actually 12) months. So, I arranged for my mom to come watch the kids and we were cleared to take off. The destination was a toss up for us. It was between going to the beach and soaking up the rays or flying up to Richmond and spending time with our friends we’d been missing. In the end, the friends ended up winning out and I’m really glad. It was so great to go and spend time with those people who mean so much too me… yeah, maybe it wasn’t as relaxing as 3 days on the beach, but it was refreshing to our souls.

So, as we sit hoping to get on this flight (flying standby) how about you? You heading anywhere this summer? Are vacations a time to relax for you or just a time to cram as much activity into your trip as possible?

Two Cent Tuesday - To Twitter or Not to Twitter

It would seem that Twitter is the new cool thing these days. You can’t get very far on the blog-o-sphere without people talking about twitter. Pastors twitter, Missiologists twitters, Professional Bloggers Twitter, Moms Twitter (not mine, of course…) Twitter is everywhere…

Up until now I’ve stayed away from Twitter because, seriously, do I really have time for another distraction? However, I’ve been thinking about it more and more, so today I wanted to hear from all of you out there. Do you Twitter? If so, why? and, more importantly, should I Twitter and why?

The post is open, what is your two cents?

Two Cent Tuesday - Spiritual Disciplines

Fellow GtS writer, Jeff Patterson and I have been talking about Spirituality. It seems today everyone is spiritual. I remember reading an article in which atheists were describing themselves as spiritual. Jeff and I were talking specifically about the Spiritual Life which got me to thinking about Don Whitney’s ministry devoted to the Spiritual Disciplines. Dr. Whitney has written a couple of books dealing with the spiritual disciplines. The first was Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (read a chapter here). The second was Spiritual Disciplines Within the Christian Church (read a chapter here). He followed both of these up with Simplify Your Spiritual Life which I recommend to be read as a devotional (read about 30 of the chapters here). There are a few other books, but you get the idea.

That got me wondering what others think about the Spiritual Disciplines. I have been told that they are nothing less than legalism and I have been told they are like the key that unlocks hidden treasures in one’s walk with God. Dr. Whitney says that the Disciplines must be practiced for the right reasons. If they are not, they will become drudgery. Here is what he says on page 17 of his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life:

Godliness is the goal of the Disciplines, and when we remember this, the Spiritual Disciplines become a delight instead of drudgery.

Personally, I have found most of them to be a delight. The ones I have found to be drudgery, I simply do not do. So, what do you think about the Spiritual Disciplines? We would love to have your two cents.

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