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 - 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.

Two Cent Tuesday - After You Graduate…

This question is in honor of all this year’s seminary graduates.

Now that the sentimentality is out of the way, let me be clear… I hate this question.

I guess the thing that I hate about the question is that it seems to me that, by asking it, seminary is being reduced to a means to an end. While, for some, I know it is just that… but for me, seminary isn’t that. The fact is that when I decided to come to seminary I was already in vocational ministry and quite happy and content with my position. For me, seminary is not about getting a piece of paper so that I can now go and fulfill God’s calling on my life. Rather, for me, seminary is about being better equipped for the calling I already have. That calling, however, is not on hold while I’m in seminary.

The way that works out in my life is that I am currently involved in a church plant in Orlando and, God willing, I’ll walk my calling out in the context of that church plant. Now, does that mean I’ll be on staff and getting a pay check… maybe, maybe not… but either way, seminary is about equipping me to better steward the ministerial responsibilities God entrusts to my care.

So, sure… what do you plan to do when you graduate… better yet, why haven’t you already started doing it now?

That’s my 2 cents… what’s yours?

Two Cent Tuesday - Summer Classes

Currently I am signed up for 2 summer classes. I thought about doing more, but I realized that I would ultimately be cheating myself if I tried to cram an entire semester into the summer. I’ve found that I retain a LOT less information when it is crammed into a 1 week intensive. So, for the sake of my training and education I have elected to only take two classes. On top of that, I decided to NOT take the classes that I knew I needed to devote more attention to than just one week. Cramming the Pauline Epistles into 1 week just seemed, to me, to not be adequate for my proper wrestling with the content…

So, what about you? Summer classes - the good, the bad, the ugly?

Slacker Saturday

Talk about being a slacker… One measly post this week and it was merely a job ad. Hopefully I can get my act together this week, but I guess only time will tell if I can do that… Until then, since I was a slacker this week, I’ll try to make up for it in one post.

Two Cent Tuesday - Saturday Edition

Saturday is always strange for me because I never know what to expect. On any given Saturday I am as likely to have a project for work, as I am to have school work to do, as I am to have a list of honey-do’s around the house. While I always have something on my plate, I do typically try to spend at least half the day with my wife and kids. I also attempt to get a 30 minute nap in there somewhere. In the end, Saturday is like a half day off for me. Mix that with, typically, a whole day off on Sunday and I am usually ready to go come Monday. So, what’s your Saturday like?

Thrifty Thursday - Saturday Savings

Well, tomorrow is Mother’s Day and my mom happens to be in town tonight. So, in true best-mom-in-the-world fashion, she has offered to watch the kids and give Just a Gal and I a date night. As I was looking online to decide where we should go for dinner, I was reminded of a really great date resource: Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com is a great site that offers you some instant savings on dinner. The gist of the site is that you can buy a gift certificate to a restaurant at a very discounted price. Typically you can get a $10 gift certificate for $3 or a $25 gift certificate for $10. Now, you can only use one per visit, but that is a pretty nice little savings on dinner. Also, if you sign up for an account, they typically send out discount codes towards the end of the month and you can get an even greater discount. Major score on those nights.

One final note… when you buy your gift certifiate and print it out, don’t forget to take it with you! Sad to say I’ve done that more than one! Sheesh.

A link for all you would-be-Ph.D’s

Here is a great post by Sean Michale Lucas on Ministrial Students, Calling, and PhD Studies. It is incredibly insightful and is worth reading for all seminarians. Along with the original post, there is a LENGTHY comment section that I suspect will only get longer once you visit the post. Enjoy.

Two Cent Tuesday - GoingtoSeminary.com v2.0

The semester is almost over and one of my big summer projects is going to be working on the launch of goingtoseminary.com version 2.0.  I have a bunch of ideas I’m wanting to put into place, but before I rush in and commit all this time and energy into it, I wanted to check and see what you all thought.  So, sound off… What do you like about the site?  What do you dislike?  Any ideas for things we should put into 2.0?

Some of the things I’ve been thinking about:

• Minor design tweek (nothing major, just a little change)
• Adding an online forum
• Hiring (yes, as in paying) some other seminarians to help write

Feel free to let me know what you think about those ideas, but more so, feel free to let me know what you think would be a great addition to the site!  Vod or Pod casting? Book reviews? More contests? Less Contest? Social networking? … You name it, I’ll consider it.  Now is your chance… share your two cents!

Two Cent Tuesday - Term Papers

Well, it is about that time in the semester where I’m beginning to realize that I don’t have a lot of time left to get these term papers written. This semester I have two to write: one for Exposition of Hebrews class and one for Hermeneutics class. Thankfully (bitter-sweet) Just a Gal and the kids will be heading out this Thursday for a week with her parents. I plan to move into the Library for those 7 days and crank it out. Both papers are due in about two weeks.

So, what about you? Are you one of those good students who works on his or her paper from day one or are you one who waits till the very last minute?

Also, if there is anyone who thinks they have a really good system for approaching term papers, feel free to shoot me a message with the gist of your system. I think I might take everyone’s advice and write a post that shows different approaches you all use to writing term papers.

Two Cent Tuesday - Are You Involved in a Local Church?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of the local church in the life of the seminarian and plan, God willing, to write some posts on it in the near future. Until then, I’d love to hear about your involvement in a local church. I’ll go ahead and show my cards, in that I believe that serving in a local church is important for all believers, especially seminarians… but more on that later.

Till then, where are you?

Two Cent Tuesday - Dream Vacation Spot?

Well Gang, I’m still on vacation so the magical wordpress robots are pushing this post live to you. While I’m gone, I hope you are enjoying all the guest posts that our contributors are pumping out.  Since it is Two Cent Tuesday and I’m on vacation lets make this one light… where do you wish you could be on vacation right now?

See ya on Thursday.

Two Cent Tuesday - How Holy is Holy Week for You?

I was encouraged this morning as my professor challenged the class to truly participate in Holy Week as a time of reflection and preparation for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Honestly, in the busyness of things, I forgot this was Holy Week.  I wasn’t able to go to the Palm Sunday service due to Little Man and Sweet Pea both being sick, so it just kind of slipped by.  After you vote, feel free to share your thoughts on Holy Week.  Do you participate?  Why or Why not?  If you do, what do you do and what is Holy Week like for you?

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