Finals 09

Well, I've pretty much reached the end of my first semester here at LPTS. It's been wonderful! I've met so many awesome people and learned from so many awesome professors. I feel truly blessed to be here, and I hope Amber does too!

I have now finished two of my finals (10 pages for Scripture 1 and an in-class test for Hebrew). I did well in Hebrew, and I feel fairly confident about my Scripture final. I am almost finished with a 6-page paper for Worship, where I attempt to make connections between worship, community ministry, and technology. This paper has shaped up pretty nicely, and I think I could use it as a springboard for further study down the line somewhere. Finally, perhaps the most difficult final is our Faith Seeking Understanding in-class final. We received a list of study questions, but they were really broad and difficult. For instance, "Give your theological understanding of the Holy Spirit." I'm not even sure I know how to articulate that! We are not allowed to use any resources during the writing either. I'm pretty scared about this one!

Looking forward to the Christmas season and seeing family and friends. Hopefully, this will be more restful than frantic! God bless and Merry Christmas!

Planting a Church

I feel like God has really put church planting on Amber's and my mind lately. I'm not even sure how that works and if it's an option financially. But we're both very excited about the idea. So, I'm planning on talking to as many people as possible and reading as much as I can about this. I need to begin building relationships with people who are doing this or have done it recently. A few of the groups that looks promising are the Ecclesia Network and Presbymergent. Pray that God would develop this idea and lead us into the right path.

Amber is now thinking seriously about seminary. She's not sure whether she would like to do the 2-year Master of Arts in Religion and Spirituality or the 3-year Marriage and Family Therapy degree. Pray for her discernment here!

It's hard to believe this semester is almost done! I've enjoyed it greatly, made lots of new friends, and I'm looking forward to a short break.

God bless!