Monday, November 9, 2009

Seminary So Far

Up to this point, I have greatly enjoyed my first semester of seminary classes. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to manage the added time commitment that my classes add on top of my work at BCM, but the only part of my life that has seemed to suffer is my blogging performance. In fact, I have enjoyed some of the increased workload; it seems like I don't waste as much of my life these days. Plus, it helps me sympathize with BCM students who are always struggling with (and complaining about) their school work.

The two classes that I'm taking this semester are Church History and Hebrew; I'll be taking the second half of these classes in the Spring semester as well. Since I've always loved language classes, Hebrew class has seemed very natural and interesting for me. It has definitely been a challenge to start to learn a language that is so different from English, but the kind of challenge that I enjoy. We've already started reading from the book of Ruth, and some of the readings we've done in class from Genesis and the Psalms have been amazing. It is a really rich experience to be able to read these passages in the original language.

My Church History class has been a little tougher for me because the style of learning is different from what I'm used to. We are responsible for a lot of reading (2000 pages!) and writing a research paper by the end of the semester. Since my undergrad degree is in Computer Engineering, I haven't done much research, reading, or writing on a college level. I can definitely say, though, that this is the first time I've ever enjoyed reading a class textbook. Although I can't say I'm looking forward to writing this research paper, I can say that I'm excited about my classes in general and seeing how God helps me grow in my ministry through the experience.