Greetings and God's blessings to you all. I know I did a terrible job of keeping up with this blog over break. However, while I was in Nebraska, deer hunting was the number one priority. Then while I was in Adair, my parents still live in the stone ages and do not have the internet. So it made it kind of hard to write to you all. Plus, I enjoyed shutting my brain off for two weeks, although it is hurting a little right now trying to turn it back on.
Before I get into the new quarter, I just want to say I had an amazing break. Like I said I spent one week in Nebraska deer hunting and got one little buck that I thought was a doe. I had a few shots at some pretty nice bucks, however, they were all on the run and I am not yet that good of a shot with rifle and scope. I did enjoy being back in the creeks and stands and just enjoying the wonderful gift of nature the Good Lord has given us. I also got to see quite a few friends, although not as many as I would have liked. I plan to make a schedule a head of time for Christmas break to make sure I see more people. Then I came home to Iowa for the second week. I spent some time with friends, again not as much as I would have liked, and caught up on my relaxing and sleeping in. I watched quite a few movies and was over all just a lazy bum. I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in, moving to the couch to watch a movie, and being completely unproductive.
Thanksgiving was spent at home with my Ma and Pa. Mom cooked a turkey and the sides while Dad and I hung a few Christmas lights. It was an enjoyable day with a small portion of the family. Then Friday (my birthday) I had an AMAZING day. I took off early and went to Omaha where I met JoAnna. We then went to Lincoln to watch our Huskers beat up those silly Hawkeyes. We had awesome seats. We were ten rows up from the west end zone and it was the closest I had ever sat at a Huskers game. The game was a blast, and I am so excited for what may be the best rivalry in football history. I then spent the rest of the day and that night with JoAnna and her friends in Lincoln and Omaha. It was just a really fun birthday. With such a good birthday so close to Thanksgiving, I really had to stop and realize how much the Good Lord has blessed and spoiled me. I have an amazing family who loves me, awesome friends, so many I can't even see them all when I go back, and just a wonderful life. I cannot say thanks enough to Him who not only gives me His salvation and eternal life, but also every good thing that's in my life too.
Sunday I went to church and then packed up the car and headed back down south. I safely made it to the seminary and had the task of finding room in my tiny dorm room for all the winter clothes I brought back with me. However, my creativity managed and it all found a place to call home for the next couple months.
On Monday classes started again. Monday's, Wednesday's, and Thursday's I only have one class at 8 in the morning. However, Tuesday's and Friday's I am in class from 8 A.M. until 3:30 P.M. I think I am going to really enjoy most of my classes. I have one I am worried about simply because I can barely understand the professor's accent. Monday's class was Biblical Hermeneutics. We started discussing how and why language can be the number one obstacle for us as pastors. The one exercise we worked through that was kind of fun and challenging was this: You are approached by the government with this challenge. They had buried radioactive waste in the desert. It will remain radioactive for 10,000 years. You are in charge of making sure that no matter what happens in the next 10,000 years the civilians living in this area (including the possibility of alien life form) will not be harmed by the radioactive waste. So the challenge is how or what do you use that will be understood by all of human kind and all other possible life forms that there is a dangerous material there. Our groups that discussed this challenge came up with all kinds of answers from titanium plates with every known language on it to booby trapped treasure beside it to distract the new civilians. It was just a fun exercise. I think it will be a fun class learning how to properly choose the exact terms and language that portray the same meaning to our hearers that we want to portray to them. The professor seems to be a really good and passionate guy too.
Today, I had all of my four other classes, starting with Worship, followed by Confessions, then Theology of Missions, and finally Lutheran Reformation. I have Worship class with the Dean of Chapel, and he is very passionate and intentional about worship services and liturgy. I know he has a huge knowledge bank on this subject, and I am excited to learn from him.
Confessions had a great introduction session. The professor admitted he fell in love with Confessions when he took the class as an M-Div. student. He started explaining why we learn confessions before we dive into the exegetical classes (the classes that focus on Scripture, its meanings and definitions). He said we all have "lenses" or "filters" that we use when we read the Bible. We cannot help but already have them and use them from our life's experiences. So we learn confessions first to hopefully help us see what the Lutheran "filters" are, and hopefully if we agree with those set "filters", then we can read the Bible using them. One example he used was a puzzle. As we read the Bible, we are trying to put together the puzzle of our faith and beliefs. The confessions are the puzzle box cover that gives us a picture of what the puzzle should hopefully look like. It is not the puzzle itself, and it does not replace or become more important than the puzzle, but is simply an aid to the puzzle. Just as confessions do not replace or should not be held higher than Scripture, but are simply an aid while reading Scripture. He then began to talk about how culture has shaped Jesus over history. This was very fascinating and I am not going to type it all out, but would be more than happy to discuss it with any of you anytime.
Theology of Missions is the class where I have a hard time understanding the professor. He is from India and has a very unique way of speaking. Also the class was right after lunch, so I had a very full stomach since lunch was extra good today. Plus all the class rooms are a hundred degrees since they have the heat on full blast and it’s not really that cold out yet. The final knockout punch was the fact that he did not turn the lights on in the classroom. I guess he must of thought the windows were enough light. So a dark warm classroom while I sat there with a full stomach is not the ideal situation for a class where you really have to focus to understand what the professor is saying. I never fell asleep, but I do not think I got very much out of the syllabus, which the only thing we covered today.
Lutheran Reformation was the final class of the day. The professor for this class is a very unique guy. I had heard a lot of discouraging comments about him; however, I think I will actually enjoy his class. He has a very unique way of lecturing with several side speeches and comments and a very dry but corky sense of humor. I think it will be a good class to end the days I have four classes. Plus I do think he will teach us some interesting stories and facts that text books do not take the time to include.
Then after classes I bought my books and then had to work this evening. So far it has been a good two days of classes. It is really nice knowing I only have three weeks of classes and then another two week break for Christmas.
My thought for the day comes from Confessions. One thing we talked about in our discussion of how culture shapes our view of Jesus is how Americans who admire so highly their celebrities view Jesus. It is easy to see both on T.V. with shows like Entertainment Tonight, and in magazines like People or Us Weekly, that Americans cannot get enough of their celebrities. But what is it we really want to know about those celebrities? Their personal lives right, including both the good and the bad, with everything from their kids, fashion, and religion to the scandals and affairs. Well we Americans who want to know everything about all of these celebrities’ personal lives are looking to know the same thing about Jesus. We want to know about His personal life, all the gossip both good and bad. We focus on this so much more than the reason He came to earth. We tend to overlook the reason He took flesh, was born of a virgin, lived teaching and preaching His Father's Word, and then died and rose again. However, if we overlook the “what” and the “why”, only wanting to know the “who”, we are missing the whole message of the Gospel. I am not trying to say it is a bad thing to want to know Jesus the man, but we also need to know Jesus the Triune God. When we know this Jesus, then we know of our sins, our deserving Hell and death, God's plan of salvation, God's forgiveness, and God's eternal life. This is the Gospel message and I do not know why anyone in any culture would ever want to over look that. All praise be to Him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for a wonderful break, a wonderful Thanksgiving to remind me all that You do for me, a wonderful birthday, and a safe return to the seminary. I ask that You be with me this quarter and help me to grow in my faith and education as I form into the pastor You want me to be. I ask that You would bless all Your children with the graciousness and kindness that You have always blessed me with. Help this Advent season be a time of preparing our hearts for the coming of Your Son, our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.
