As I write this I have successfully completed 24 hours which translates into 8 classes and am in the final days of completing another 3 hours (1 class) on mothers day weekend.
Thus far all is well and I am really enjoying the classes, the learning and the opportunities that have come from it. These opportunities include an on-going teaching opportunity within my local church (Indian Creek Christian Church) where I teach the 2nd week of a three week foundations class, titled "The What Now of Christianity".
In addition I was blessed this past weekend to have the opportunity to preach for the first time at my home church as well. The sermon (actually sermonette based upon the 10 minute time limit) was on Advancing the Kingdom of God. The passages that were used were Zephaniah 1 and 1 Thessalonians 5. If you would like to listen to it you can do so here: http://thecreek.org/assets/1314/2010_april_25_northwing.mp3
All in all, things are going well and according to plan, I have probably another 1 1/2 years to go on the degree and am looking forward to seeing how God is going to have an impact on me, my family and His kingdom through this experience.
Hey all, at this point 2 classes are "in the books" pun intended.... LOL and with 2 A's (well my last one was an A- but that doesn't effect my GPA) I am pretty darn happy. This third class which will be ending this coming weekend (Jan 9-10) was an introduction class and seemed to mostly talk about what it means to be in ministry (all of those things outside of Sunday morning). We talked about minister's finances, integrity, ministering to the mourning, sick, dying. How to officiate a wedding and funeral, what it means to be ordinated, and much much more.
All in all, it has been interesting, although I am perplexed by what is going to be on our final exam, as our professor has stated that it will be over our class notes and since he teaches by telling stories... I have no idea of what will be on it.
Also staring this week is class number 4. This class will be covering decipleship and is unique in that we will have 7 guest speakers in, each from a different church, providing us with 7 viewpoints on what decipleship means within the Christian church. Should be very interesting, however it is on the Tuesday night schedule meaning that each tuesday I will need to be away from my family, which stinks.
Well, two classes are in the books... Although I don't know what my grade was on the 2nd class yet.
As part of this second class “Leadership in Management for Ministry” we were to produce a Life Map. You might ask, what is a life map? A life map is essentially a three-year life plan. Where do you want to be in three years and how are you going to get there.. Why three years? Three years is significant because that was the entire span of Christ’s ministry, three years. When creating these life maps we were to do it creatively as our own, so you guessed it I created a website for it…. LOL… If you would like to review mine please feel free to do so at wagarlifemap.weebly.com.
As for the new class “Intro to vocational ministry” the class going well. It’s a 2-2-2 style meaning that we meet for two consecutive days once a month for three months. The class provides a good general overview of ministry. As an example in our first session we talked about weddings, funerals, hospital visits and counseling.
When I get time, I will post some additional work that I completed in both the 2nd and this current class.
Until then, remember God Loves You!
Well all, after receiveing a A in my first class, fundimentals of biblical preaching, I decided to take on my next class, Leadership in Management at a church. Well, just like that last class this one is quite interesting and fun at the same time... I just wish I could say the same thing about the homework. For this class the following is due on Oct 31, 2008. (1) 15+ page research paper, (4) reading reviews from 4 books we had to read, (1) new ministry paper, and (1) life map exercise. So far (halfway through class) I have completed the (1) new ministry paper, and have started (1 of 4) of the book reviews.. Let's just say I need to get my butt in gear in order to finish strong.
But since I have completed the new ministry paper, and keeping with my wanting to share my seminary experience with everyone here, I have attached a copy of it below. Feel free to read it and let me know what you think.
| NextGenerationKnights.pdf | |
| File Size: | 17 kb |
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Well, I just received my feedback from my prof on my sermon that I post in my previous blog entry.. He had some great points about how it could have been improved and I plan to make some, if not all of those changes before I actually use this in-front of a congregation. Included in his packet of information back to me was my overall grade in the class as well.... Are you ready?
I got an A!!!! YES! Wahoooooo... Hey I'm pretty exceited since I was a 3.1 average student in college and prior to this class I haven't had any formal bible school. Now it's onto the next class which is Leadership and Management for Ministry...
Okay all, I have completed all my work for this first class and my last requirement, and individual sermon manuscript, was dropped into the mail yesterday. As you are reading through this, please remember that it is not a term paper and because of this is not written using that structure. Instead this is to be spoken (from memory) so it has been written for the ear. Some sentences may be run-ons or some others fragments, but based on the learning's of this class that is exactly how this document should read. So read, learn and be challenged but never forget that YOU ARE TALENTED - NOW USE IT
| Youve_got_talent_-_now_use_it.pdf | |
| File Size: | 30 kb |
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Well, I just completed the third class session and wow was it terrifying and wonderful at the same time. You see due to the number of participants in the class, we had to write and present group sermons, which turned out to be one of the most difficult yet rewarding opportunities that I have had. I will post the sermon here later and you can read it for yourselves. The scripture we decided to preach on was Hebrews 10:1-10, the title being "Jesus, The Bull Stops Here. We found out after class that we received a perfect score.. YEAH!!
Another exciting part of the weekend was when we received our 2nd book review back. Apparently, Dr. Boltinghouse liked what I wrote as I also received a perfect score on it. YEAH!
So everything is now done, except for 1 last sermon manuscript which i need to right. I have decided to write it on Matthew 4:1-11, the Temptation of Jesus. Once it's done, I'll post it here for all of you to enjoy!
Well, I have completed another day of class which once again was exciting and educational. We received our first paper back, which i was anxious about, but let you heart not be troubled, I received a 14 out of possible 15 (93%) on it.. YEAH!!
Now we'll just need to wait and see what Dr. Boltinghouse thinks about y second one.
In preparation for my second session of my first Seminary class, which meets this Friday and Saturday, I read through and wrote a paper on the second of three text books. This book titled "Invitation to Biblical Preaching" was written by Donald Sunukjian. For a complete book review please open the file below.
| Invitation To Biblical Preaching - Book Review.pdf | |
| File Size: | 71 kb |
| File Type: | |
Well, I survived my session of my first class in Seminary.. Now that my not seem like a big deal but after bing out of school for 10 years, I had no idea what to expect and if you know me I expect the worst...
Well, it wasn't bad, the class itself was very interesting, the prof seems very fair and keeps the class clipping right along. There are a total of 14 students in the class and I am 1 of 3 that currently do not work in a church and 1 of 2 that have a secular college background... What does all of this mean? I am in class with a bunch of preachers kids and those that are more knowledgable than me in the Bible, it can be quite intimidating. Nonetheless, I am excited to see what the next class and book has in store for me and as with the previous book, I will be posting my book review right here on the site.
Until then, God Bless!