Thoughts from Dave

Hi Everyone!  I realize it has been forever since I have written on the blog.  In the next few weeks I hope to share many thoughts as I look back on my first year in seminary.  It has been an incredible year in so many ways.  These next blog entries will be as much for me as they are for you as I take time to reflect on our experiences these last ten months.  Overall God has proved faithful and we have learned a lot!

GRADES!

The goal of coming to Seminary was learning a lot and getting a degree.  A Masters of Divinity degree to be exact.  I am happy to report that I am on track to complete this goal.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to focus solely on my studies.  Anita and I have been blessed by God and by so many of our friends and family who have allowed God to use them.  Because of this it was financially possible for me to use this year to focus on my family and see them through this year of transition and then to focus on taking as many classes as I could.  During this year I have read countless pages and have learned so much.  I continue to be impressed with the knowledge and passion that the professors at North Park possess and I have strived to soak up as much of it as I can!

This fall I took fifteen credits which amounted to five classes.  Here is a summary of each of them:

Spiritual Journey 

Was a one credit pass/fail class which I passed!  It was taught be a very wise retired prof.  He was from Nebraska so I was surprised that he possessed so much knowledge!  After each lecture we had small groups to discuss the lecture.  In my small group is where I first met Oscar (he and his wife Lina) are our good friends from Sweden) and Julio who is from Columbia.

Greek 

I had a great teacher for Greek who made the class fun, interesting, and applicable.  The first semester wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be.  I made it through with an A minus.

Christian Heritage I

This history class met every Tuesday night for three hours.  Let's just say I hope to never take a night class again!  In the fall semester we looked at the Church from the time of the early Church until the Reformation.  It was interesting to me to see the development of our faith to what it is today.  Many of our creeds and confessions came from the Church working hard to correct and defeat the many heresies that inflitrate the church.  We should be thankful to all the people who devoted their lives to the study and teaching of the Gospel and to the many hundreds who gave their very lives in defense of the Gospel.  I managed to pull and A minus in the course.

Christian Theology

Probably my favorite class in the fall semester.  Our professor led us in some very interesting class discussions as we worked through the different areas of theology.  Our professor was careful to lay out what beliefs were unbiblical and what different people believed within each area that was Biblical.  It was then up to us to read, study, and decide what we believed.  It was a very challenging and thought provoking class.  I received a B plus in the course.

Communicating the Faith In A Contemporary World

I really enjoyed this class as again our class time was filled with many interesting discussions.  We looked at how evangelism has been done in the past, in the present, and how it will be done in the future.  It was a good opportunity to look at our world and our culture and discuss how to be present God's word to our world today.  I pulled an A in this course.

My fall GPA was a 3.670 which I was very pleased with.  When I was in undergrad I quickly learned which books I had to read and which ones I could get by without reading.  This year was the first time in my academic career where I read and enjoyed reading every book that was assigned.  Again I really appreciated being able to have the time to really dig and in and learn as much as I possibly could.  Having come from a lengthy ministry experience I found it very easy to see how the knowledge I was gaining would eventually be put to use in a ministry experience!

The spring semester was a different animal.  The fall semester was really slow paced whereas the spring semester quickly launched into high gear and never really let up.  One of the main reasons was that I tackled 18 credits instead of the 13 I had in the fall.  Here's a synopsis of how it went.

Ten Commandments

A great class taught by our Theology Prof and our Old Testament Prof.  We looked at how the ten commandments were given after the Israelites were saved from Israel and were offered to the Israelites as a charter of freedom.  Grace always proceeds the law, it does now and it was the same in the Old Testament.  The pattern is reflected in Christ willingly dying for us on the cross to save us and then offering us a new way to live if we choose to follow him.  Grace always proceeds law.  I got a B plus in this class.

Interpreting Old Testament I

In this class we looked at Genesis through II Kings.  I really enjoyed our professor and I learned much about the Hebrew people and the Old Testament in general.  In this class I received a B.

Religions and Cultures

In this class discussed all the major religions of the world.  I was able to attend a Jewish Synagogue and a Buddhist Temple.  These experiences were very interesting and somewhat surprising.  I never would have imagined that a service at a Buddhist Temple would have been structured very much like a Church Service you or I might attend.  While their theology as much different they had a piano prelude, sang hymns, had a sermon, did responsive readings, and gave announcements.  I was a very western service and was very interesting to be a part of.  I got an A in this class.

Introduction to Preaching

In this class we had a most interesting prof and I'll leave it at that.  I enjoyed really looking at preaching, what it is, and how to do it effectively.  Much of the class was spent in listening to classmates sermons and then giving two of my own.  After each sermon we offered feedback to each other which was a great experience.  I am working harder at s-l-o-w-i-n-g down when I preach.  In this class I received a B.

Christian Heritage II

We still met every Tuesday night, did I mention that I hope to not do that again?  This semester we started at the reformation and went up to present day.  I received an A minus in the spring semester as well.

Greek II

Greek definitely got harder this semester.  Our whole class paid a price for having a month off during Christmas time!  Most of us were scrambling from the beginning of the spring semester as we quickly found out the first semester was just a warm up!  Down with Greek Verbs!!  They are not much fun!  I scrambled through and pulled out an A minus for the class.

So the Spring semester ended with a 3.447 GPA and I was happy to escape with that!  

This summer I have taken an amazing Eschatology (end times) Class and I will take six credits of Hebrew in six weeks starting July 6th.  So in one year I will have finished 40 credits!  I believe the whole degree is approximately 95 credits!  It is safe to say that I am well on my way to completing my degree.  Again I really want to thank you for all your prayers, financial support, letters, and visits.  It has meant so much and with out it this year would not have been possible!