Paul BurkhartIn 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...
Ryan BurnsI 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...
Faithlife StaffUpdated links and removed dead links from The New Perspective on Paul: Around the Web: On the New Perspective.
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...
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...
In 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...
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’ve written before of my love of the note-taking app Evernote. Today, I want to show some of the slightly deeper highlights to using this app in a seminary or ministry context. Note-Taking (Together?) This may seem obvious, but the best thing...
I’m terrible at organizing. Well, that’s not quite right. I can come up with brilliant systems of organization, but just never implement them. This has followed me throughout my life. It was easier when school consisted of clearly laid-out...
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 on...
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...
I recently found myself looking, back through A.W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy and was reminded just how good of a book it is for seminarians to read every now and then. In a sermon preached by Tozer on God’s Holiness, he tells the...
Our daughter, Emery, was born on February 6th of this year. We’re finishing up our first year of seminary. Naturally my wife and I were the recipients of about as much advice as you can stomach. Everyone seemed to have their two cents, and if every...
We’ve talked before on this site about how seminary has changed. The days where all you need is a Bible, notebook, and a library card are over. There is a whole world of resources available, means to access them, ways to organize your time at...
By Rebecca Dobyns In seminary, Greek is always the subject everyone winces about. I have heard more “I’m sorry”s or “Have fun with that”s about taking Greek than about any other subject, except perhaps Hebrew. Granted, much of it is in jest, and...
Learning theology is one of the main purposes and joys of seminary. But through the course of your education there, you’re likely to have many of your proper theological convictions challenged, shaped, and changed. And yet, even as we’re going...