Economic Stimulus

Right now there is a petition going around for the president to relieve student loan debt as a means of economic stimulus. There are different versions of the same proposal that I've read. Some would have the president wipe away all student loans, some would have various restrictions. Each proposal suggests that wiping out student loan debt would boost the economy because that demographic of professionals would put their money back into the economy rather than spending it on student loans.

I have heard a few arguments against this proposal. I understand where they are coming from. Most of the time one's position is based on their own worldview. This is true in all aspects of life. If you are not currently paying back loans you're more likely to disagree with this stimulus plan.

I put myself through college and now I am in my second year of graduate school. I have always paid my living expenses out of pocket completely. That includes laptop, books, travel, etc. My student loans have been applied to nothing but tuition. Those loans were only paid to the balance after various scholarships. I was never eligible for a grant from the government. My point is - I am also speaking from my own worldview. I admit it.

On the other hand - I have friends who have responded to this stimulus as ones to whom it doesn't apply. They didn't go to school, never had to take out loans, etc. Many of them have replied saying it isn't fair to those who had to pay off their own loans. This is a very good point - and the fact that one would speak to that outside of their own interest is notable.

With that said, there will never be a stimulus plan that is fair to everybody. When "cash for clunkers" was instituted I had just bought a car and worked hard to sell my previous car for $2,000.00 when I could have been given $4,000.00 had I known there would be a stimulus plan called "cash for clunkers" that would be passed a few months later.  I was definitely happy for those who were able to take advantage of it. I felt the same with the $8,000.00 tax credit given to first-time homeowners. I would love if that is when I go to buy my first house but it simply doesn't apply to me. I was happy for my friend who bought a house during that time period.

Some would suggest: That a lot of people would lose their jobs. That large banks would have to let go of thousands of employees because they aren't making money on student loans anymore. I'm no economist but I have no doubt that most bank revenue doesn't come from student loans. There are mortgages, auto loans, retirement plans, fees, ridiculous interest rates, the list goes on and on.

Then there are the companies like Sallie Mae - the lender from whom I took out my student loans. To my knowledge student loans are their primary source of profit. It would be great if these types of companies weren't needed in the first place. If the U.S. cost of tuition weren't far beyond one's ability to pay. Sallie Mae is the company that constantly takes my loans out of deferment, doesn't notify me, then I get a phone call about every 6 months saying I'm 3 months past due on my loans and I own them $xxxx.xx. I tell them I've been in school non-stop for the past 7 years and they should be deferred. The conversation ends with me sending in another in-school deferment request and paying another $xxxx.xx in interest charges for the time period when my loans went out of deferment. The first time this happened I took a serious hit to my credit because they sent it into collections an notified the credit bureaus. I have experienced this organization engaging in unethical business practices non-stop for the past 7 years. The only reason they have deferment requests is because they want an excuse to charge more interest. They could easily go on the National Student Debt website and see that I've been enrolled in full time study and that I was just rewarded another loan from a different lender when I started graduate school for this quarter 2 months ago. Do I really care if those kinds of business are effected because of an economic stimulus plan? No.


So far I've heard a lot of opposition toward this particular stimulus plan. Each time it is a valid point. But it is also a line of thinking that could be applied to any stimulus plan we've ever seen. Speaking from my own perspective I know this would change my life completely. I would be able to put money back into the economy immediately. People would be taking out mortgages and auto loans like crazy now that they are free of the student loan burden. If this isn't the best plan I hope the government will consider moving money to a place that encourages higher education in times of economic hardship.


Here is a link to sign the petition if you are so inclined. 

Seminary

Right now I'm on a break from studying. It gets really tiring. My mind can only work for so long.

Today I woke up early knowing I only have so many hours to get my schoolwork finished. Tomorrow is Sunday - the busiest day of the week. I am teaching confirmation for 2 hours in the morning starting at 8am then I will grab my electric guitar and pedal board and run downstairs for the 3rd service band rehearsal. I would have liked to practice the songs again today but I just didn't have time.

Once I was awake I went across the street to Starbucks and started my schoolwork. At noon I got hungry and went to Subway and back to Starbucks. I came home around 4pm and kept going. I still have 3 assignments due tonight.

I'm realizing that preparing for and doing ministry takes up all my time. It has taken me away from community with others - which is what the Christian life is all about right? I have to ask myself whether I'm living my life the way it was meant to be lived or not. And I'm asking those questions as a full time minister and seminarian. I suppose one of the effects of living 40 miles away from campus is that I don't study with community. I live among those to whom I minister. I immediately think about the apostle, Paul. He constantly went from one place to the next. I wonder what his community was like. I want to find a group to chill with in Pasadena on Monday/Wednesday nights after my class. Just straight kick it. I almost want to say if it's a Bible study I'm not interested - I do enough of that. I'm talking about a group of people who know each other's names, share stories, go places, etc.

When I decided to go to Fuller I knew they didn't do community well. It's like when I visited Austin Seminary and they said you had to live on campus to go there because community was that important. Have we missed something? Fuller (in my opinion) is the absolute best place to study the Bible. But if we learn how to seclude ourselves in doing so are we missing the point?

Learning

Over the past few weeks I have been learning a lot.


First - I moved into a new position at my job. I went from part time to full time - from a few responsibilities to many. There is plenty of learning there.

Second -  I began graduate classes again for the Fall quarter (I can't believe I'm starting my third week)

I'm taking Ethics and Exegetical Method among others. I am using Greek every day and dissecting the New Testament word by word. The exegesis class is incredible. There are countless methods for putting the pieces together. Some say "When I study scripture with a question I only leave with more questions" - Well.. that's not my experience. The more I study the more concrete my belief is. These words are from eye witnesses. When reading the Greek New Testament there is Greek at the top half and these little characters, dots, lines, shapes, etc. at the bottom. They are there to represent all the ancient manuscripts there are to back up the Greek translation. It wasn't made up or just a good story. Jesus was really there in Jerusalem as witnessed by thousands of people. He really did die, come back to life, and speak to countless people afterward.

Third - Last weekend I went to San Diego for a conference. I chose a seminar called "sticky faith" done by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin who are both graduates from Fuller (where I go to grad school). They work for one of the many organizations operated by Fuller called "Fuller Youth Institute." Basically, they do research and turn it into resources for people like me. I appreciate how their research can practically inform ministry. From that seminar I took many things. One of them is the importance of being in community with those who have similar beliefs.

Finally - I just got back from a weekend at a retreat center hearing a speaker lecture on "work." Two things really stuck. He held up a lemon and said "If I squeeze this lemon what will come out?" Of course we replied, "lemon juice." The point is that when we are "squeezed"  what comes out is what has been put in. There is no doubt that hardship comes along for all of us - but if you fill your time with meaningless things that's what will come out when you're "squeezed." Another thing he said was that "time is poised to be wasted." Meaning it will be wasted unless you do something. My goal is to discipline myself to make use of my time learning, being active, helping others, etc. so that when I'm tested those are the things that will come out.

A few weeks ago I got to work and my phone rang. It was the assistant to the head pastor at the church where I work as the Junior High director. The pastor had left for a sabbatical about 2 months before this time and the associate pastor was too busy to preach. She asked if I would be willing to do it.

I thought about it and realized I would only have 2 days that week to prepare if I wanted to give up my weekend. My logic was that one day I'll probably be a person who is asked to speak at different things. Often I will have much less than 2 days to prepare. I wanted to stretch myself and see what God might do and how God might speak through me. I believe God spoke through me that day and even I got something out of it.

Click here to watch.