UGST

Theology Class = Summer plans?
Summertime is coming up and we all answer the classic pre-summertime question, “So, what are your plans?” Anyone that I tell, “I’m going up to St. Louis to take a theology class on the Apostle Paul” will kind of smile and politely nod, probably thinking what kind of a summer plan is that? Of course, it’s not all that I’m doing (the gloriousness of teacherhood: we get summers off and still get paid), but it’s one of the main things.

There are a series of one-week intensive classes that the Urshan Graduate School of Theology (UGST) offers in January and June dubbed J-Terms. The summer session class that piqued my interest the most was called “The Historical Paul.”

I’m Not a Prophetess in Training
The reason why I want to do this is not because I want to get a doctorate in divinity or anything. I’ve done a lot of self-reflection to try to understand myself what would possess me to want to take a graduate-level theology course (especially a J-Term, which is known to have a notoriously heavy workload). On top of all the prior reading and response papers that have to be done before the class even begins, we have a final 20-pager due after the class. Not to mention that I have to take a road trip to get there.

Cravings
Well, why, then? I chose to go to a large secular university instead of a Bible college and I don’t regret my choice one little bit. But anyone who has been in academia can tell you that behind all of the titles and the degrees and the pomp and circumstance of higher learning there is an emptiness. Sometimes even a Godlessness. And not to down Bible college one whit, but I did not want to end up having to start my undergraduate career all over again after graduation to get an accredited degree in a career field where I’d be able to support myself. But in the end, the truth is that I crave being in an Apostolic educational environment. I crave being in the company of people who are fervent about education and fervent about God and do not believe that the two are in opposition to one another. And honestly, I want a little change of scene. Montgomery has become home, but sometimes you just need to get out of the box. UGST beckoned.

So Far . . .
I’m loving the reading. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration because I have to literally make time to get things done. But I’ve been so enlightened so far by what I’ve read. I’m discovering how cool Paul really was. I mean, the guy was a radical, and he was passionate about things that some may sort of shy away from talking about in modern church circles, namely equality and social justice. I know this may seem nerdy, but I’m really looking forward to the class discussions we’re to have about all of this. I’ve already sent in a couple of the response papers and my future professor wrote back saying they looked good! (If you knew of my obsession with professorial praise, you’d understand.) I’m determined to get it all done. I just can’t be unprepared. Oh, it’s doable. It’s just a matter of doing it.

Spanish word/phrase of the day: los estudios graduados de teología (lohs ay-STOO-dee-ohs grah-doo-AH-dos day tay-oh-loh-HEE-ah) = theological graduate studies

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