I just thought I’d share that I finished my first seminary course a couple weeks ago, and I got the grade in today.  I got an A.  Praise God!

Up next is History of Christianity II (the Reformation through the 20th century), which is an online course.  Also coming up soon is my first on-campus class in Charlotte which will be a week-long intensive course on Apologetics in January.

I got the CD in the mail today for my first class, History of Christianity I.  It’s an online class through the RTS Virtual Campus.  Lots of people have asked me how this is going to work, so let me explain.

I called the registrar on Monday and signed up for the class.  She had this CD sent to me, which I received today.  (side note: the CD was postmarked from Cleveland, TN… it went from Cleveland to Cleveland)  In the meantime, I had obtained my 6 required course textbooks and one “suggested” textbook.  I got most of these from a student that’s already finished the class.  I found him on Facebook. The one book he didn’t have I found on Amazon.

On the CD they sent me is a syllabus, 80 page course outline, and 32 lectures recorded in MP3 format.  Each lecture is around 45 minutes long.  The course is split up into 12 lessons. For each lesson, I read approximately 50-100 pages from one of the course textbooks and listen to 2-3 lectures.  During the lectures, I plan to take notes alongside the outline using Microsoft OneNote.

Grading for this class seems pretty straightforward.  Required is a big 10-15 page research paper (35%), a midterm exam (30%), a final exam (30%), and a 200 word “course application paper” (5%).  My exams will be proctored, probably by somebody at my church.  Apparently the school sends my proctor an e-mail with the exam and I get three hours to complete it.  I’m pretty sure the exams are online.  As for the papers, they just get e-mailed to the school when I submit my final exam.

I’ve got 4 months to complete the course, and I’m going to get started today!

Tonight marked the end of our 10-week “seeker’s course” called Christianity Explored.  What started out as an idea to help get me involved in ministry, while reestablishing something that’s been missing at Bay Presbyterian Church for some years, had turned into a 10-week ministry on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30.  There were over 30 participants, 9 table leaders (including me and Jill), 5 cooks, and one pastor involved.  All this stemmed from a meeting with my pastor sometime late last year.  It’s pretty cool how the Lord uses us in His kingdom plans, and how the Holy Spirit works through us to execute those plans.

So, my wife and I were both table leaders for a small group, and we’re both pretty bummed that it’s over.  I think we have both invested quite a bit emotionally in these people that we’ve gotten to know.  Some of them are right on the brink of having a relationship with Jesus, and I’m so excited for them.  I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all right now, so I’m not sure how to process all these feelings.

On the other hand, we are excited about what the Lord has accomplished in and through us over the last 10 weeks.  After having read the feedback forms, clearly the course was a resounding success.  Our church had even decided to run the course this summer in several host homes, and again this coming fall in a class format.  Praise God!

I have one question… is this feeling of emotional investment likely a sampling of what a life of ministry will be like?  If so, I’ll embrace it with open arms, even though I know there will be disappointments along the way.  If I’m off base, is there any comparison that may be drawn?

So far, my understanding of ministry is that it will likely be an emotional roller coaster.  Perhaps it’ll be much like what I’m feeling right now… bittersweet.