Avoiding discouragement is part of the battle. When the world looks at only using the scientific method and tangible evidence as the sole means of valid decision making, it becomes difficult to convince even believers that what God has designed you...
If you’re like me, you had to make the difficult decision of uprooting and leaving a wonderful church to attend seminary. Others of you have chosen to stay local, have been commissioned by your denomination, or aren’t terribly particular...
During my seminary career I encountered some very different and unfamiliar dynamics both in the classroom and outside the classroom. If you are struggling with feeling insecure at seminary for one reason or another, then perhaps you know what I mean...
God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but my name, LORD, I did not make myself known to them. – Exodus 6:2-3 Trudging through mental mud The seminary journey often...
Although I don’t believe very strongly in the distinction between “Christians bubbles” and “the real world”–the corrupting power of sin is everywhere and so is Jesus’ work of redemption–my peers and I...
Seminary is a whole new animal. Most of the people I know in seminary fall into one of two categories. Either they’re single, moved states for school, and literally everything they’re doing is brand new: church, work, friends, school...
One of the most valuable things I’ve done in my first few weeks at seminary is set up office hours with three of my five professors. Why? One of them bought me a burger! So it’s at least worth $8.25. All joking aside, I’d like to...
If you’re like me, you left good friendships to move away for seminary. Or maybe you’re about to and this blog post could offer you some more concrete hope for making friends once you do move. I’d like to offer you five very...
Do you ever get the feeling that the things your learning are irrelevant, or that things you’ve known for a long time are just getting reinforced? It’s especially painful when you feel you’ve hit an academic rut in seminary...
This semester, I’m reading about 5,000 pages. If you’re in seminary, or considering it, so will you! From what I’ve learned so far–both in my intensive reading program and undergrad and in my seminary classes–here are...
There are a variety of ways to find community on a seminary campus. I certainly don’t mean to offer this writing as the only way. Every day I’ve found people gathered in the community room watching football, or a great show. I watch other seminary...
There is that old time “joke” of calling seminary, “cemeteries.” What is the cause of this notorious designation you ask? I can personally testify to experiencing some of this so called “deadening” as the Bible becomes a piece of literature to...
Confession: I’m a night owl. I can’t do mornings. And yet, there is a long tradition in the Church of beginning your day with devotional meditation with God. I’m working on it. But in the meantime, one of the great ironies is that few things can put...
I write this now after having completed an intensive three-week long course. It was one of those in-between semesters courses that fit a whole semester into a month. The work that would usually be spread over the course of a week was instead crammed...
In one of the first episodes of the U.S. version of The Office (about a paper company), one of the employees is asked why, though he hates his job, he doesn’t quit. He says something like, “Because what would I do with all these useless facts about...
I cannot help but laugh at the timing of my writing of this post. I am sitting here fiddling through a basket of fries from an order of food my husband and I picked up after an exhausting day of arguing and bickering. It reminded me why a need for a...
What is brotherhood? One definition I came across is, “the feeling of kinship with and closeness to a group of people or all people.” I would like to venture to say that brotherhood is necessary in seminary and generally, in life. As a second year...
I am notoriously disorganized and undisciplined. I tend to move from thing to thing only as I am inspired to do so. I am not good at putting limits and structure on myself. And yet, Graduate School is something that demands this. It’s...
Anyone that’s gone to school over the last two decades knows that more and more of schooling involves the web and technology. At first, this was limited to the fact that we had to type our papers instead of hand-writing them. Then, we started...
I’m writing this article so I don’t have to do Greek homework. The worst part is I know I’m procrastinating. Actually, that’s not the worst part… I have put my Greek homework off for the whole week. Now that I have that confessions off my chest, we...
If you’re a seminary student, then chances are you are always looking for ways to increase the effectiveness of your study times. This effectiveness can be played out in multiple ways: through better organization practices, memorization tips, useful...
Organization is an important skill for seminary students. In order to be organized, you will need every tool possible to help you manage your life well. Here is a list of my 13 favorite organization apps for seminary students: Evernote: Let’s be...
How often do we need to pray? What does prayer look like? How can I know I’m doing it right? Often, the interesting aspect of beginning seminary life is not the amount of security you find, but the lack of depth you uncover. It was during my first...
About five years ago, I did my first year of seminary. I took a break after that year and have now returned to a different school to continue. Recently, I stumbled on an old journal entry I wrote on the last day of my first semester. I was a very...
We’ve been talking a lot on this site about various mobile apps and web services you can utilize for seminary, but at the end of the day, many of us still have some sort of desktop, laptop, or some other “real” computer which will...
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about integrity. While many definitions exist, for me it means simply that your private self is somehow integrated with your public self. Sure, there are things you keep private, but it’s not an entirely...
When it comes to the “theological education” aspect of seminaries, there are several different philosophies. One school of thought says that you go to a school that shares your convictions (or is close enough) and you learn that particular...
As part of my two-year Internship process for my seminary, each semester there is a particular Christian Spirituality practice we are to do regularly. We have done the Ignatian Examen and the Daily Office. This semester, we are doing an ancient...
Before I came to Seminary I was a big fish in a little pond. In my hometown I was spiritual for my age, and I was already working at the church. I had no problem in any theological debate, and really, there weren’t many to be had in my small...
There are around 100 new students this year at my seminary who are seeking a Master’s Degree in Divinity. Many of them have concentrations in theology, leadership, apologetics, chaplaincy. So many in fact, that I am the only new M-Div student this...
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