I thought this poster by Pierre Bourgeault was really funny. I always knew Santa had an ulterior motive! lol … Unfortunately, I think it really reflects the spirit of modern day Christmas.
Advent Conspiracy challenges Uncle San with this short vid.
What’s Going on With Me
I haven’t post a blog entry for awhile but that doesn’t mean that I’ve lost interest in blogging. I have several topics I want to write about, but I thought for now I would give a snapshot of what’s going on in my life.
The sovereign will of God is mysterious, yet when I look back, His plan is incredible. During the past couple of years, I planned to continue my theological education at least through the M.Div. level and hopefully through the PhD. level. After finishing my MA at BJU, I really desired to go to another seminary this fall and continue in an M.Div. program. I checked into several seminaries but for whatever reasons I practically could not attend at least not now. Since I’m single and I don’t possess any marketable job skills, I’m limited to going somewhere I have a connection. I definitely wanted to leave Greenville for different reasons, so realistically I was limited to one seminary, Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Virginia Beach, VA.
I have a couple of really close friends in Virginia Beach whom I love dearly, but the biggest problem I had, among other things, was that I really wasn’t sure about the quality of education at Central. I would love to go to the same theological seminary as my friends, but I don’t think that should be the primary factor for choosing a theological seminary which was basically the primary reason I would go to Central. Since I don’t really know the profs at Central, my chief impressions of the seminary come from the several people I know who attend or had attended the seminary. After much pray, two visits, and much discussion with various people, I was still unsure about committing the next two or three years in Virginia Beach. This left me in a sort of bind for several months because realistically I had no other immediate options for seminary. Finally, I decided to go to Virginia Beach after all because at least I would be with my good friends and become involved in a good local church and hopefully finish out an M.Div. in a couple of years and then move on.
My parents, whose advice I greatly value, suggested that maybe I should learn a skill that would be useful in future cross-cultural ministry and also learn a skill that was a marketable job. After I graduated from BJU this last May, I really thought about this advice and concluded that I could best use my time these next couple of years acquiring such a skill especially since I have the time and opportunity. In the last couple of weeks, I have applied for the associate of nursing program at Greenville Technical College. I’m still waiting for them to process all my paperwork, but hopefully I can start my studies to become a Registered Nurse at Greenville Tech the Spring of 2009. The RN program at Greenville Tech is a two year program, so afterwards I hope to continue my theological education or possibly launch into a foreign cross-cultural ministry.
I’m looking forward academically to studying something besides theology. I love studying theology, but right now I need theology to become a personal, relational pursuit rather than an primarily academic pursuit (not that the two are necessarily exclusive). I’m also excited about the possibility of really becoming involved in a local church in Greenville. Right now, I’m working full-time at the BJU Press printshop and preparing to teach in and travel to Asia this July. In regards to this blog, I hope to write a couple of book reviews including a review of Bob Kauflin’s new book, Worship Matters.
All I can say is that God leads in mysterious and unimaginable ways. Soli Deo gloria.
