My Heart Is With Them

I don't know John Dobbs. Not really. But sometimes it feels like I do.

I don't remember when I first came across his blog, Out Here Hope Remains. But I do remember that I really liked the title. Since then, I have gone there to read and identify with the thoughts and feelings of this guy who, by all accounts and my own impression, is a really fine Gulf Coast preacher. It's no accident that John is in the short list of blogs that I've managed to get into the sidebar here at Frankly Speaking.

I mention him today because of something you may already know. Yesterday, his dear son John Robert, only 18 years old, died in an accident. I can only imagine the emotional place where John and his wife and their family are right now. It brings tears to my eyes just to think of it.

Would you please mention them in your prayers today?

Dear God, you know that I can say nothing that will ease the pain that is beyond words. But you are called the God of all comfort. So I ask you in the name of your beloved Son to comfort and to help all the family of John Robert Dobbs, also a beloved son.

Biblical Language Requirements at Churches of Christ Graduate Schools

Is there a connection between studying biblical languages and serving faithfully as a preacher? I'd like to know what you think about this. A little background, institutional and personal.

There's an old assumption behind the traditional curriculum at those institutions entrusted with the task of training future ministers for the church; seminaries, divinity schools, graduate schools of religion and the like. The assumption goes like this: It's very important for the minister to be able to read, with no more than the help of a lexicon, the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament.

Although that sentiment squares with my own prejudice, I have no way of knowing whether "in real life" that requirement necessarily leads to a better, more-fruitful ministry of the Word. Because those kinds of standards were held up for me, and because I have since cleared them, I like to think that the training was worthwhile. I would be willing to say that in my bones I know that it is worthwhile and important. For example, when comparing different translations of the Bible, it's helpful to be able to look over the shoulders of the translators and have some idea if they did a good, mediocre, or poor job of rendering the Word of God in English.

My caveat is that I have nothing like social-scientific, empirical evidence to back up what I think and feel. In terms that people in the Churches of Christ can appreciate, I have no way of knowing if being able to parse a participle of the Greek verb baptizo makes one more likely to baptize others. (I know, I know, getting into water isn't the ultimate standard of discipleship).

What do you think, or what have you experienced regarding the connections between the study of biblical languages and the ministry of the Word?

By the way, I quickly surveyed most of the graduate schools of Bible connected with Churches of Christ. I wanted to know what the language requirements were for the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) a three-year professional degree which has long been the standard academic requirement for ordination in many mainline Protestant churches. In the following unscientific table, I start with the highest level of requirement and work my way down. Here's what I found out.

1. Pepperdine requires a year and a half of both Hebrew and Greek. Harding Graduate School requires two years of Greek, one year of Hebrew.

2. Freed-Hardeman requires a year and a half of Greek and one year of Hebrew.

3. Abilene Christian, and David Lipscomb require one year of both Hebrew and Greek.

4. Lubbock Christian requires one semester (a half year) of "Introduction to Hebrew Study Tools," and one semester (a half year) of "Introduction to Greek Study Tools."

Among those sets of requirements, which ones should be raised, lowered, or kept where they are? Why?

- - - - - - -

For what it's worth, for the Associate of Arts in Religion, Amarillo College requires one year of language study. Among the languages that one may choose are several modern ones (Spanish or German, for example) but also New Testament Greek. In the future, we hope to begin offering one year of Biblical Hebrew. Then, we plan to change the requirement so that Religion majors will have to study at least one of the two main biblical languages for one year in order to satisfy the requirements for the degree.

And the winner is . . .

Two posts ago, I asked what sounded especially good to you from a list of courses being offered this summer. Several of you spoke up. Thanks. I really enjoyed hearing what you thought. I don't know if it was a "Great minds think alike" thing, or what. But to a one, your comments matched up with what I'd been turning over in my mind too. Anyway, I've decided to take the course "Foremothers in Faith: Women in the Hebrew Scriptures," taught by Dr. Carolyn Sharp. Here are some reasons, in no particular order:

First, the class taught by Christopher Beeley, "Pastoral Ministry in the Classical Tradition," is the one I took last summer. It was a great course. And I didn't flunk.

Second, over the years I've become more and more of an Old Testament person. And this course is about women in the OT. Oh, and I like women too.

Third, Dr. Sharp has already posted a reading list and daily schedule for her class. I like it when an instructor has a plan and a destination in mind.

Fourth, my sense is that the important women of the Bible haven't always gotten the attention they deserve in Christian teaching and preaching. I'm all for the transition from "Faith of our fathers" to "Faith of our parents."

Fifth, it's safe to say that there will be some card-carrying feminists in the class. I've discovered that I'm much more "Christian" in how I think about and how I treat a certain perspective if I actually know someone else who espouses it. (I know, the word "spouse" is in there, which could be all kinds of fun).

Don't you think the world would be
more of what God wants it to be
if more people who don't agree
would just spend a few days together?

I do. Next summer: Spelunking with Osama bin Laden!

Marvin Morrell (1923-2008)

Marvin Morrell spoke up in class last Wednesday night. We were in John 15, where Jesus tells his disciples, I am the vine, you are the branches. Every branch, Jesus said, is expected to bear fruit.

We had turned to Galatians 5, which speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. Marvin noted a similar but shorter passage in Ephesians. That was Marvin: attentive and thoughtful, positive and giving. I remembered that about Marvin when, last Friday, we heard that he had suddenly died. What a shock. What a loss.

Marvin was a leader, one of my elders at the San Jacinto Church of Christ. He exuded love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. To say that he was a good man just doesn't cut it. He was a Christ-like man who had lived such a true life for so long that everyone who knew him had the same opinion of him. He will be missed.

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.' "Yes,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them'." --Revelation 14:13

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The following comes from the obituary that appears in today's (Monday) edition of the Amarillo Globe-News:

Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in San Jacinto Church of Christ with Glen Walton, Brett McCasland and Dale Dennis officiating. Burial will be in Memory Gardens Cemetery by Schooler Funeral Home.

Marvin was born July 26, 1923, in Wellington, Kan. He lived in Amarillo for 48 years where he was employed by Santa Fe Railway as a right-of-way agent until his retirement in 1983. As a young man he served in the U.S. Navy as a yeoman second class during World War II.

On Feb. 19, 1947, he married Estalene Virginia Floyd. This marriage was blessed with three daughters.

Marvin was a devoted member and elder at San Jacinto Church of Christ and was very involved as a mentor to the prison ministry. He was an avid golfer and fisherman and loved woodworking projects that his children and grandchildren requested.

Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Linda Perkins and husband Charles of Abilene, Debra Risley and husband Ed of Cheyenne, Okla., and Patti Conner and husband Daryl of Lubbock; a sister, Dorothy Lauterbach of Wellington, Kan.; seven grandchildren and their spouses; and four great-grandsons.

The family suggests memorials be in lieu of flowers to Amarillo College Bible Chair, 2501 S. Jackon, Amarillo, TX 79109, or Key to the Kingdom, 4124 Business Park Drive, Amarillo, TX 79110.

Which One Would You Pick?

It's Finals Week at Amarillo College. Monday morning, the Introduction to World Religions class took their final. Monday evening, it was The New Testament final. Tuesday afternoon: Life of Paul.

I don't think I'll give the Elementary Biblical Hebrew class a test. But if I did they'd pass with the proverbial flying colors. About a dozen students were there for the start back in September. Now they're down to five. I'm so proud of them. Rhonda, Dayna, Mark, Sam, and Trent have come so far. And they're determined to keep going with me through the summer. They know that once we start working with poetry, it's going to be an uphill climb. But they're ready for the challenge. What a fantastic group.

- - - - - - -

In early June, I'll be traveling to New England. My work provides for a week's worth of professional development, and I'm going to take advantage of that.

Each year, Yale Divinity School (shown in the photo) and the Institute of Sacred Music host a Summer Term that features week-long courses. To be specific, seven different courses are being offered during the Monday-Friday that I plan to be there. If you were going to one of them, which one would you pick, and why? Here's the list of courses and teachers:

At YDS

1. Foremothers in Faith: Women in the Hebrew Scriptures, Carolyn Sharp

2. Pastoral Ministry in the Classical Tradition, Christopher Beeley

3. Judaism in the Time of Jesus, Jeremy Hultin

4. Pastoral Care with Those Suffering from Depression, Jan Holton

At Yale Institute of Sacred Music

5. Reel Presence: Explorations in Liturgy and Film, Teresa Berger

6. A Fresh Look at Hymn Playing: Several Approaches to Enlivening Congregational Song, Bruce Neswick (clearly not planned with conservative Campbellites in mind!)

7. We Are Now One Body: Global Song, Patrick Evans

So these are the options. Any of them looks especially interesting to you?

The Ascension of Jesus Christ, 4

"It may be said that there is no incident in the life of Jesus . . . . so essential as the Ascension." --William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 315.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

2. As head of his church, Jesus ascended so that he could be present with all of his church at all times by the Holy Spirit.

At the end of his time on earth Jesus told his followers, I will be with you always even until the end of the world. Earlier, in Matthew 18, he promised his followers that any time two or three of them were gathered in his name, ironing out their differences, he would be there with them.

Of course, Jesus could never do that in the flesh, as one of us. Though ironic, the Scriptures teach that it was only by ascending to the presence of the Father that the Lord Jesus could be present with all of his people at all times. And he is with us, by means of the Holy Spirit who was sent to live in the heart of every Christian.

In John 14:16-18, Jesus said: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

But not only is Jesus with his church by the Holy Spirit, from his exalted position he serves and supports all of his people everywhere. One example of Christ's current service to his church is his provision of human leadership for the body so that each member will be prepared to do the will of God. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 4:10-12:

He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

In Acts 1:1-2, Luke tells Theophilus that in the previous volume, the Gospel of Luke, he had written about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven. The implication is clear. When Jesus ascended, he was not finished doing and teaching. Indeed, the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe (Eph. 4:10), had just gotten started in His great work of leading and instructing the church.

The Ascension of Jesus Christ, 3

The New Testament tells us that forty days after his resurrection, Jesus was taken up into heaven (Mark, Luke, Acts). Throughout the NT, this event is regarded not merely as something than happened. More than that, the ascension points to a present reality full of meaning for the people of God until the second appearing of his Son. What exactly is that significance?

1. Acting as our great high priest, Jesus Christ ascended in order to intercede in behalf of his people.

G. C. Brewer was one of the great preachers of the early twentieth century. A sharp thinker and riveting speaker, Brewer did a lot to shape the Churches of Christ of the previous generation.

Several years ago, I heard about one of Brewer's sermon illustrations, the one he used when speaking about 1 John 1:7. The verse says, But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us of all sin.

After he quoted that verse, Brewer would then say, "You can remember that in the old automobiles, if the windshield wipers were moving, it was because you were moving them yourself. There was a knob on the dashboard. When the windshield had to be cleared, you reached up and turned the knob back and forth so that the blades would do their work. Now it's different," said Brewer. "Now, whenever it begins to rain, you simply lift a lever or flip a switch and the motorized windshield wipers move continuously until you turn them off again."

Then he made his point: "The newer, motorized windshield wipers are something like the blood of Jesus Christ in our lives. When you first become a Christian, the blood of Christ washes away your sins. But try as you might, you don't stop sinning. You need to be made clean again and again. And what this passage promises to us is that, as long as we walk in the light, the blood keeps on cleansing. It is not a one-time action. It is a continuous action for the Lord's faithful people."

Brewer was right. That is the truth of 1 John 1:7. What he might have gone on to say is that the truth of 1 John 1:7 is tied to what is said in 2:1: My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

The blood of Christ keeps on cleansing. The reason that the blood keeps cleansing is because we have an advocate with the Father. And we have an advocate with the Father because following his work on earth, Jesus ascended to be in the exalted presence of God.

In Romans 8:33-34, Paul refers to Christ's intercession in our behalf: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

In Hebrews 7:23-25, a different writer says the same thing: Now there have been many priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Christians are redeemed. But we are nonetheless redeemed sinners. We have an on-going struggle with sin. Some days we do quite well in our fight. Other days, not well at all.

But when we do sin, so long as we are walking in the light as he is in the light, our sins are continually washed away. That's happening, says the New Testament, because in the presence of a holy God, the son is interceding in our behalf, defending those for whom he died. The ascension of Jesus Christ is a vital reality. Because he was resurrected and ascended to the place of highest honor, Jesus intercedes in our behalf in the presence of God the Father.

Jeremiah Wright at the National Press Club

I interrupt the series on the Ascension, just to ask what other people see and hear. I woke up early this morning and saw a few extended segments of Jeremiah Wright's speech to a gathering of the NAACP. This morning, I watched C-Span as Wright addressed the National Press Club. The Question and Answer session is still going on as I'm typing these words. So far, I have two reactions:

I thought his speech to the Press Club, full of important historical notes and self-definition, was good. When you listen to something more than a ten-second sound bite, you realize that if nothing else Wright is a gifted, knowledgeable orator.

However, in the Q & A session, I thought some of his responses were so feisty and aggressive, they had the effect of undercutting his previous rhetoric of reconciliation. He clearly thought of some of the questions as unfair. Maybe they were. I just thought that his body language and gestures were inconsistent with some of the good and gracious words he had said a few moments earlier. Some of his answers seemed calculated to whip up the responses of the many people there who were not members of the press, but were supporters.

Did anyone else see or hear the NAACP speech or the one this morning to the NPC? What did you think? To what extent will Wright continue to have an impact on the Obama campaign? What do you think?

The Ascension of Jesus Christ, 2

In the previous post, I hinted that believers like myself, who don't have much experience with the Christian calendar, may not have heard much about the ascension of Jesus. For us, there wasn't an annual Ascension Day to mark the time, raise the question, and speak of the meaning of Christ's exaltation.

I should clarify that I think it's alright that in groups like my own Churches of Christ we don't observe Ascension Day. But I want to add that it would not be alright if we were to neglect the Bible's teaching about the ascension and it's current significance. Have we neglected this doctrine?

Restoration Serials Index is an index of articles and lectures from dozens of journals, magazines, and lectureships connected with the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. It indexes everything from the Spiritual Sword to New Wineskins magazine, everything from the Memphis School of Preaching Lectures to the Lectures at Pepperdine University. I don't know how far back the indexing began. As I remember, the earliest printed versions go back to the 1970s. At any rate, I often use RSI to find out what people have talked about, what they are talking about, and where, among the Churches of Christ. RSI allows you to search by keyword, subject, author, or title. You can also limit your search to a certain periodical or lectureship. It's a great resource that probably isn't used as much as it should be. I spent a few minutes at RSI doing some comparisons, and here's what I found.

A subject search under "elders" rendered 1239 hits.

The term "music" gave me 923 hits.

"Deacons" 116

"False teachers" 180

And what of the "Ascension"? 28 hits. . . .

For what it's worth, virtually all of those 28 references were to serial publications that most of our people would call "conservative" or "traditional." A search for "ascension" in Wineskins renders 0 hits. New Wineskins, 0. Pepperdine Lectures, 0. Integrity, 0. Leaven, 0. Restoration Review, 0. No, not all of those publish more than once a year. And not all of them have existed the entire time that RSI has been indexing. However, by comparison, searching for "ascension" under Gospel Advocate brings up 7 hits.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

According to the Scriptures the exaltation of Jesus is a matter of great importance, not simply because it happened, but because of what it means for Christians until that time when Jesus comes again. It's not something that my people have thought about very much. And that's one of the reasons why I want to write these posts.

The best place to begin thinking about the ascension of Christ is with the New Testament's most basic assertions about it. Whenever we read the story of Jesus in the Gospels and Acts, a featured part is the resurrected Christ being taken up into glory:

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied them. (Mark 16:19-20, textual questions aside)

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:50-53)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:8-11)

Clearly, the ascension of Jesus is a significant part of the accounts, especially those written by Luke. But there's more.

Not only do the Scriptures tell us about this event, but whenever the whole gospel story is told in what might be called "short form," the ascension is frequently a part of the thumbnail sketch, as though it were a key part of all that God is doing through Jesus. Perhaps the best example of this is found in 1 Timothy 3:16, where Paul offers up this piece of poetry:

Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
Another example is found in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Notice that in this verse, just two phrases are used to describe the work of Christ. The first points back to the crucifixion: After he provided purification for sins. The second refers to the exaltation of Christ: he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

To sum up, the New Testament reports to us the story of Jesus ascending into heaven to be with the Father (Mark, Luke, Acts). In addition, it is not unusual to find the NT letters reflecting on this event as though it were a major plank in the teaching about Christ. More than that, the NT regards the ascension not merely as an historical fact, but as a present reality full of significance for us until Jesus comes again.

So what exactly is that significance? What is the up-to-the-minute meaning of the ascension? More in the next post. But up to this point, what are your thoughts?

The Ascension of Jesus Christ, 1

According to the calendar used by most Christians, Thursday, May 1st will be the fortieth day following Easter. Acts 1:3 says that, after his suffering, Jesus appeared to the apostles giving many convincing proofs and speaking about the kingdom of God over a period of forty days. So this year, May 1st is "Ascension Day." (In some churches, the Ascension is celebrated on the Sunday following the fortieth day, which falls on May 4th of this year).

As we get closer to that day, I plan to post a few things about the ascension of the Lord Jesus. But today, a few personal reflections about holy days and the Christian calendar.

I didn't grow up hearing about or observing anything like Ascension Day. And that's the case for most everyone who, like me, has life-long connections to the Churches of Christ. In the church culture of my youth, if someone had referred to Ascension Day it would have been only to remark, "Scripture nowhere tells us that we should observe a religious holiday by that name. It's not scriptural." End of discussion.

And you can bet I got the message. I can still remember that during a months-long stint of fill-in preaching, at age 19, I was quite proud that on Easter Sunday I had spoken about "Noah, a Preacher of Righteousness."

But coming into my adult years, I began to look at some of these things differently. I came to think that such radical rejection of the huge majority of the Christian world had set us up for all sorts of alienation and inconsistency and just plain old weirdness. Maybe you've noticed that in some churches, having a Halloween party, mimicking the demonic, and scaring the wits out of children counts as "fellowship," while celebrating with Scripture the birth of Jesus is for some reason to be strictly avoided. That's begun to reverse itself over the last few years. But in recent memory what I've described is the way it was.

Now, people who know me know that I love and treasure my religious heritage, the legacy that is mine among the Churches of Christ. I'm blessed to be a washed-in-the-blood Christian. And I'm happy to be a dyed-in-the-wool "Campbellite." My group has so many great and godly people. And I love them. But that doesn't mean that I never get a little jealous of Christian groups who live and worship down the street from me. (How many white preachers have dreamed of preaching to a black church?) And I'll admit it. I have sometimes peeked into their backyards.

I first discovered a bit of the Christian calendar during the years I was attending an ecumenical divinity school. I was introduced back then to the common lectionary (an organized list of weekly Scripture readings), which I began to use in my preaching, mainly to keep it more balanced, and to have a ready-made plan that included options. One of the first things I realized was that, even if the adults in the Churches of Christ were opposed to the Christian calendar, their children were secretly "observing" it. Take a look at the Bible school curriculum used for the children in your church. What you'll likely see is that it follows the common lectionary, which is more less linked to the Christian calendar (especially Christmas and Easter).

This was ironic to me. I mean, it's not a stretch to say that in some congregations of the Churches of Christ, the song leader might be considered "too liberal" if he leads "Joy to the World" or "Away in the Manger" within a few weeks of Christmas. June, being six months separated, is the safest time. However, over in the educational wing of many of those same congregations, on the Sunday before Christmas the text for the children's class will be one of the infancy narratives. (Although many members of Churches of Christ might be loath to admit it, my theory is that the curriculum and hymnody that we've mostly borrowed from older, bigger Protestant groups has done a lot to keep our theology in line).

When I was first discovering the lectionary and the calendar, I secretly regretted that they had been excluded from the faith of my fathers. And, although I still have little experience with the calendar, I just suspect that there's something about the spiritual and religious rhythm of its annual cycle that, in its own peculiar way, moors the faith of those who follow it. I can still remember how I envied Dietrich Bonhoeffer on his way to the gallows. Imprisoned, with hardly any connection to the outside, he was able to maintain a sense of holy time by marking the Christian dates he knew so well. How appropriate.

In one of my favorite hymns, "Father of Mercies," we sing to God: "The rolling seasons, as they move, proclaim to all Thy constant care." Might that be true of a Christian calendar as well as the natural cycle? I know, something like the calendar shouldn't be forced on a congregation that doesn't know or want it. But on the other hand, Romans 14 also leaves it open to the individual to observe special days if he wants. The only requirement is, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind" (v. 5). This time of year, I want to focus on the Ascension of Jesus Christ.

Thoughts? Observations? Questions?

We Need the Word of God

. . . we shall never learn so much and be so perfect that need for the Word of God will not remain. For the devil never rests. Thus exhortation and the use of God's Word are needed everywhere. It is a living and powerful Word. But we snore and are lazy. It is the Word of life. But we are in death every day. And because we are never without sins and the danger of death, we should never cease to ruminate on the Word.

Martin Luther, Luther's Works, vol. 30, The Catholic Epistles (Saint Louis: Concordia, 1967), p. 219.

A New Blog for the "Life of Paul" Class

As soon as I started college teaching, I wanted to try out using blogs in order to enhance my courses. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

During the first three semesters or so what I found out was, forget the blog idea, I was having a hard time keeping my head above water just doing the basics: creating syllabi, reading textbooks, writing tests, putting together power points. When I first started those were added to what teachers normally do: meeting with students, answering their email, grading tests, going over term papers. Oh, and I was also a student in a course for new college teachers, and was the faculty sponsor for the Kappa Chi club.

I don't regret any of the work, but it was tiring. And, no, giving up "Frankly Speaking" in order to free up more time for a course blog was simply not an option. By then, this place was known to a handful of family and friends and cyber acquaintances. At this intersection, I met up with a few people who "got" me, which is a big part of why I've continued to blog here.

Anyway, especially during that first year, I felt overwhelmed. From that experience, I can tell you that if someone teaches a solid, glad-you-signed-up college course, two things are probably true: (1) They've been at it for a while (2) They're still working hard to make the course content and presentation even better. By the first point, I don't mean to say that the classes of new teachers are bound to be mediocre at best. I do mean to say that if a first-year teacher's class sessions are really good, he or she is working hard. But I digress.

A few weeks ago I finally started my first course blog. I'll be using it through the end of this semester for my "Life of Paul" class. Up to this point, we've surveyed all of the New Testament material: the relevant sections of Acts and all of Paul's letters. We've also looked at some of the post-biblical material that pertains to Paul: passages from Clement of Rome, the Muratorian Fragment, Eusebius, etc.

So during these last few weeks of the semester, we're shifting over to something more like a topical seminar: so far, we've taken up "women in ministry." I'm having the students read and report on a speech by N. T. Wright and, on the other side, an open letter to egalitarians by Wayne Grudem. I think from here we're going on to something like "Paul and the Law." We'll see.

Here's the course blog for "Life of Paul." And here's the link to the course syllabus.

Thoughts? Suggestions for topics? Experiences from those who've used blogs in teaching?