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.