In the Beginning

Yesterday was the first day of school at Amarillo College. Needless to say, for the past week or so it's been a little hectic here at the Bible Chair.

As all teachers know, there are a thousand and one things that just have to be done before you start a new school year. And even when you think you've got all the is dotted and all the ts crossed, a couple more issues always come along at the last minute. As the first day got closer and closer, I knew I had to have everything set. Here's the schedule for Monday:

The Old Testament 9:00-10:15 a.m.
The New Testament 10:30-11:45 a.m.
Intro. to World Religions 1:30-2:45 p.m.

A total of 62 students signed up for those three classes, one of our best enrollments ever. And yesterday, every single student on the roster showed up. In the time I've been teaching, that's never happened before.

So far, the hard work of the last few weeks has paid off. The first day went pretty well. The biggest snag came in the afternoon. Within the last few days, there was a location change for the World Religions class. So students who printed off their schedules early went to the Music Building for class. Students who printed off their schedules later came to the Bible Chair instead.

When I realized what had happened, I told the people at the Bible Chair to stay there, ran to the Music Building to meet the other students, explained to them what was going on, wrote instructions and drew a map on the chalkboard for anyone who arrived late, then walked everyone over to the Bible Chair where we started class a few minutes late. No one got lost, and more than half the students took in a little exercise for good measure.

Tomorrow's schedule will include all of the Monday classes plus a short session on the Gospel of John, from Noon til 12:50. Then, beginning September 3rd, there will be a Thursday evening course in Elementary Biblical Hebrew, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Auditors are welcome to attend any of these classes other than The New Testament, which is completely full.

I like this job, and I'm thankful for it. I think it's going to be a good semester.