Ryan BurnsOne 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...
Guest AuthorThere 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...
Paul BurkhartConfession: 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...
In one of the first episodes of the U.S. version of The Office, a show set in 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...
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’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...
Mark WardThe High Definition Commentary on James has just been released.Here’s what I like about the idea of the High Definition Commentary, which focuses on the field of “Discourse Grammar”: this field (and this commentary) does for a somewhat unfamiliar...
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...
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 upon an old journal entry I wrote on the last day of my first semester. I was a...
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...
Logos StaffThis post is by Josh Westbury, a scholar-in-residence at Faithlife. Instructions are a vital part of everyday life. Imagine driving to a new place without directions, or baking an intricate dessert without a recipe, or—heaven forbid—having to put...
When it comes to the “theological education” aspect of seminaries, there are several different philosophies. Here are three: 1. Conviction Mindset One school of thought says that you go to a school that shares your convictions (or is close enough)...
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...
Perhaps you have heard repeatedly about the importance of having a mentor during seminary. Perhaps you are at a seminary that requires it. Or perhaps you believe that mentorship is overrated and really isn’t beneficial. Regardless of where you stand...
Joseph SiacuncoIn reading the title of this article you may be thinking that I have the perfect marriage and have maintained a well-balanced life during seminary. Well the truth is that hasn’t been always case and oftentimes struggled with balancing life and...
Jacob CeroneYou could tell I was one of them. The hole-punched cards hanging from a steel ring on my belt loop gave me away. I was an ancient language student. The cards were my flashcards, and I didn’t go anywhere without them: to class, to the student dining...
My mom, an avid reader who often is in the middle of four books at the same time, once passed on some counsel to me: Don’t read good books, only great ones. The advice is both challenging and inherently futile; for how can you know if a book is...
Dating while you are in seminary can be a challenge. It looks different for each couple no doubt, with two people involved there is an endless amount of factors to what your relationship looks like while you are in seminary. Are you both in school...
I’m terrible at organizing. Well, that’s not quite right. I can come up with brilliant systems of organization, but I often just never implement them. This bad habit has followed me throughout my life. It was easier when school consisted of clearly...
This post is by Josh Westbury, a scholar-in-residence at Faithlife. In addition to being a Hall of Fame baseball player, Yogi Berra is perhaps remembered most for his pithy witticisms, affectionately known as “Yogi-isms”. These short sayings often...
John Calvin famously opened up his Institutes with a profound set of lines about the close intimacy between knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves. He did not start with Scripture or hermeneutics, but anthropology. In the Protestant focus...
I do these weekly Study Guides for our church home group leaders. I read a bunch of commentaries on the sermon text, and condense the scholarly thoughts into a 2 page verse-by-verse commentary our leaders can use to help answer people questions if...