Fall, In Line

It’s hard to imagine that I’m already buying books for the fall semester. Don’t get me wrong, I have come to thoroughly enjoy, and, even get excited about, buying books (endless thanks to God for the opportunity and the means!). What is hard to fathom, however, is that I am about to start my second year in seminary. I concur with James that we “are a mist that appears for a little time and then [we] vanish.”

Be it as it may, what I am interested to know right now is what classes you are all taking this fall? What books are listed for these courses? Is there a professor that you are looking forward to having this fall that you haven’t had yet, or perhaps have had and get to have again? Are there events happening this fall that you are looking forward to? As you prepare to begin classes soon, what are you most excited about as it relates to your over-all seminary experience?

As would be fitting, I will share some of my answers to the above questions.

I am taking 15 hours worth of classes. I am enrolled in New Testament 1, Pastoral Care, Marriage and Family Counseling, Greek 1, and Christian Theology (Intro). For these classes, there is a total of 11 mandatory books. Some of them include; Paul J. Achtemeier, Introducing the New Testament: It’s Literature and Theology; Henry Cloud, Boundaries in Marriage; Wayne Oats, The Christian Pastor; Helmut Thielicke; A Little Exercise for Young Theologians; and Jonathan R. Wilson, A Primer for Christian Doctrine. I think when it’s all said and done, I’ll end up spending a little under $200 on books. Not a bad for 11 books (and yes, I did buy a couple extra books that are not for class).

This fall, I will have to opportunity to have Campbell Divinity’s New Testament and Greek professor, Dr. Andy Wakefield. I don’t know about other seminaries, but at Campbell, Dr. Wakefield is one of those professors that other professors refer to quite often; specifically, when they wish to make theology practical. Professor Wakefield is famous around our parts for frequently asking the simple question—“So what?” So, when other professors share some kind of doctrinal material, they may say something like, “And, just as Dr. Wakefield says, ‘So what?’” Hopefully this fall I’ll get in on the conversation when he asks our class.

It’s hard to pin-point what I’m excited about when I think about starting this semester. Maybe it’s the books I get to read and/or the papers I’ll get to write (I know, I must be strange because I actually enjoy writing papers). I may be excited because our Divinity School and University gets to worship the Lord in our brand-new chapel. It very well could be the fact that I get to see some classmates that I haven’t seen since May. Perhaps at this point it’s obvious—I’m excited about all these things (and more I’m sure!).

What about you?