outside is better

We're Moving!!!

This spring has been full of transition. The last semester of my Master of Divinity kept me occupied with many things. Taking care of denominational tasks, finishing my last classes, writing my Thesis and attending to family meant a busy spring.

But now that it is all said and done, Meredith and I are excited about transitioning to Monroe, Louisiana. I will be serving at St. Paul's United Methodist Church as the Associate Pastor. I will primarily be working with their contemporary service as well as overseeing their student ministry.

St. Paul's is a great congregation with a history in the community and a flourishing ministry in Monroe. I lived the next town over in college and am familiar with the area. I can't imagine a better situation to be going into as I head back into full time vocational ministry.

I head to annual conference next week and we move directly after that. My Louisiana bones are aching to be back at home. Moving this distance is always interesting, but these last few days in Wilmore will be bittersweet. Meredith and I have made quite a life here. We often joke that we became adults in Kentucky.

So this means the blog might shift a bit. I don't exactly know where that direction will go, but I am excited about another season of life and the holy task of pastoring the people of God.

Playing in the Band: Wesley and discipleship

I have always believed in the power of a community. In my recent book review of A Many Colored Kingdom, I highlighted the idea that a faith community has the ability to enact true social change.  While many mission statements have been written in an attempt to underscore an Acts 2 type of lifestyle, I think we all know to well that this rarely happens. We might get glimpses of the kingdom, but there is always something missing.

In one of those interesting moments where my classwork intersects my own personal thoughts, I have been reading about John Wesley's method of discipleship (it's where the word Methodist comes from), and the expectations of those involved.  This is the type of reading that some students blow off because it is complicated, often repeats itself and generally is seen as a historical hoop to jump through. I have found myself squirming in my chair because I have so many questions, and I think they annoy my classmates.

Below is the pattern of the Wesleyan Bands, small groups dedicated to confession and prayer.

Wesley's Rules for Band-Societies
Drawn up December 25, 1738.

The design of our meeting is, to obey that command of God, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed..

To this end, we intend.

1. To meet once a week, at the least.

2. To come punctually at the hour appointed, without some extraordinary reason.

3. To begin (those of us who are present) exactly at the hour, with singing or prayer.

4. To speak each of us in order, freely and plainly, the true state of our souls, with the faults we have committed in thought, word, or deed, and the temptations we have felt, since our last meeting.

5. To end every meeting with prayer, suited to the state of each person present.

6. To desire some person among us to speak his own state first, and then to ask the rest, in order, as many and as searching questions as may be, concerning their state, sins, and temptations.

Some of the questions proposed to every one before he is admitted among us may he to this effect.

1. Have you the forgiveness of your sins.

2. Have you peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Have you the witness of God's Spirit with your spirit, that you are a child of God.

4. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart.

5. Has no sin, inward or outward, dominion over you.

6. Do you desire to be told of your faults.

7. Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that plain and home.

8. Do you desire that every one of us should tell you, from time to time, whatsoever is in his heart concerning you.

9. Consider! Do you desire we should tell you whatsoever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear, concerning you.

10. Do you desire that, in doing this, we should come as close as possible, that we should cut to the quick, and search your heart to the bottom.

11. Is it your desire and design to be on this, and all other occasions, entirely open, so as to speak everything that is in your heart without exception, without disguise, and without reserve.

Any of the preceding questions may be asked as often as occasion others; the four following at every meeting.

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting.

2. What temptations have you met with.

3. How were you delivered.

4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not.

source housechurch.org

++++

How well do you think this would go over in our own Church culture? The Wesleyan system of a support structure is often said to be the cause of success in the revival.  This came out of a conviction that Mr. Wesley did not want to leave behind the souls that he led to heaven and his view of God as a loving Father, instead of legal language applied to salvation. A judge has no responsibility once someone leaves the courtroom, but a loving Father desires to see his children grow to maturity.  John Wesley's doctrine of God informed his practical views of ministry.

I wanted to ask the question "How do we take care of those who need help with sin?", but I realized that we all need help with sin.  I also thought about asking how does this contrast our current way of helping new believers, but I don't think applies as well, especially since the Wesleyan revival "plucked people of of the devil's hands" and we are facing decline.

So we can just take the question "How does this make us look at ourselves?"

5 tools for seminarians: part 5

This is the last tool for this round, although I have some ideas to make this a regular category.  I saved this last intentionally.  I have shared with you some practical and super practical tips, but I think this one is the most important.

Don't do it alone

This should be a gimme, but far often than not, I see people attempt this season on their own and simply think that this is just another round of schooling. Yes- for most of us, this is a Masters degree and a pretty trying time.  Add to that the pressure of work, family and just keeping everything together and it gets real complicated.

I am in my last year, and it is the first year without many of my good friends that I spent 4 years in school with.  It is rough, and at times over the last month I have hated it...because I am having to navigate it without the strong support group that I have always had. Friends are key in this journey, especially those that are in the same situation you are (married/single, kids/no kids, sharing a similar calling...etc). 

Sometimes it takes making deliberate decisions towards community to really provide the type of support that's needed.  For those that are in a distance education program, I can't imagine what it would be like (If you have spent some time doing this, please let us know in the comments how you find community).

Part of this is involving yourself in the spiritual life of your school.  Attend chapel, and volunteer to serve.  Don't just float around from church to church if you are not currently in ministry, but find a church that could really use your time volunteering.  Have a small group and involve yourself around the neighborhood.

Much of this sounds cliche, but seminary should be a formative season in life...not just a few years of classes and some new books.

Thanks for checking things out this week, and let me know if there is anything else I can do.

5 tools for Seminarians: Part 4

One of the first things I really wanted to do when I came to Asbury was to find the bible that would make the journey with me.  Since I spent several years in Christian retail, I thought this would be easy...but it wasn't.  It took a couple of years to find what I was looking for, and I went through several moves. This is a short list of what I was looking for, and I recommend.

1.  A translation that is both easy to read devotionally, as well as fits the Academic needs of your school.
For me, this meant the NRSV.  I could have also used the NASB (for academics) or the ESV (for the devotional reading side), but I think the NRSV fits both categories great.  Unless your school is adamantly against it, the NRSV is the standard English text inside the academy.  Most articles and books will use it for any English readings.

2.  It had to stand up to abuse.
I am rough on things...shoes, pants, guitar pedals and books.  Something has to be able to take abuse for me to use it every day.  I had used thinline leather bibles before, but I didn't think that they would last not just for seminary, but for years afterwards.  I wanted this to be a resource as well as a document of my seminary journey. 

In my time selling Bibles, I actually began to like hardback books for their sturdiness.  It takes them awhile to get broken in, but once they are I have found them to be really well made.

3. Room for notes.
You can tell from my first tip that I really taking notes and writing in things.  I wanted a Bible that would give me ample space to write in.  At first, I thought the "blank bible" idea would work (I blogged on mine here), but I found it to cumbersome since it was 4 volumes.  It also started falling apart quickly, since it was in my backpack and the actual Bible pages were pretty thin.

Having the space for notes really allows you to track things during lectures, sermons and other times.  As much as I value my Bible software, there is something about having the text in front of you at times, especially in worship.  I also think it is a little easier to find structural relationships and make notes when you have plenty of space.

What I ultimately found was The NRSV Notetaker's Bible.

I was sent it as a book review and ended up keeping it with me ever since then.  My initial impressions are here, but I am really thinking about doing a second review after a couple of years of use.

The reason I include this as a tool is that a good Bible will really allow you to journal your education.  I have a few Bibles that have been with me for seasons, and I now look at them as mementos of that part of time.  My seminary Bible has been a huge tool in my studies, but it has also been a tool of the heart.

5 Tools for the Seminarian: Part 3

We have had a really busy week around Asbury with Holiness Week and the Move conference, so I apologize for missing yesterdays post and being so late today.  Perhaps I should add a sub-tip on learning to juggle a schedule.

But today's tip is one of the more important things to both my academic and devotional/pastoral work.

Get good software and learn how to use it

I use Accordance Bible and I would by lying if I didn't tell you that's what you should buy.  But I realize not everyone that reads this will go out and drop two bills (minimum) on Accordance. The other major options are Bible Works and Logos, but I think Accordance really is the way to go.

I use my software pretty intentionally, because it really expedites any sort of research or preparation.  I will talk about efficiency in sermon and teaching prep not because the time spent in the word isn't deserving of time, but to be able to spend larger amounts of time with specific things that change from project to project (more word studies, or more structural work or theological interpretation).  Correctly setting up my software helps me with this.  I use Highlights for various things, and I keep them permanently color coded.  I also take full advantage of User Notes and have around 15 different files.  These allow me to systematically make notes in the text, as well as link to other resources besides scripture that I have in my software.

I wrote Monday that I have a file of all my reading notes, and I keep this organized in Accordance as well, because it is the easiest to update as well as search.  I just type in the new entries as soon as I finish books.

Accordance also allows me to save workspaces (the various windows and tools I use for a specific project), so if I come back to a topic often, I save the workspace so it can be recalled.  In any software you have, take full advantage of the user functions that are customizable.

I also spent the money to get alot of research resources (such as bible dictionaries, etc) in my software, so I have them right at my finger tips.  This makes writing papers ALOT easier.  The money has to be spent-but I am building a system and library that I will always have with me.  In 10 years if I need to come back to something I wrote a paper on in seminary, I can get back to the work and thought in under a minute.

I think that I can actually do back-end research in about 35% of the time it takes some of my other friends that I have to rely on the library or rarely use their software.  For me, time is worth money.  I also learned this lesson when I was a local pastor and I would routinely find out I was preaching in 8 hrs. It was nice to be able to prepare in a way that was mindful of the time that I had available to me.

 

+++EDIT
Go read my friend Greg's comment.  I will add a subtip here....GET TO KNOW THE LIBRARIANS. These folk can make your life so much easier.  Thanks Greg

5 Tools for the Seminarian: Part 2

While the rest of this series will be "big" in scope...todays tip is really exact.

Dropbox.com

Cloud based storage has changed my seminary writing.  When my aging powerbook started scaring me around 18 months ago, I decided after looking at finances that I really couldn't afford a new laptop.  I have been using Apple products for almost a decade, and I can't imagine working with a PC.  I also started thinking about the logic of carrying $2000 item with me everywhere, and trusting my entire life to be in it. 

I bought a Mac Mini, but decided to still use my old laptop, since it was still working good enough to take notes with (and still is...typing on it right now).  By using Dropbox, I am able to sync all my documents between multiple computers and have access to them through any computer that is online.

Dropbox functions between my computers (laptop, desktop and my computer at work) essentially as a secondary "documents" folder on my hard drive.  I just have to make sure the file is saved, and I can instantly jump to another machine.  It is also nice to have my education backed up.  I had an external hard drive crash this summer, and on it was the first 3 years of my seminary education.  I don't have to worry about that with Dropbox.

Dropbox.com is a really simple free tool that I can't imagine living without now.

5 Tools for the Seminarian

Last week I started my final full semester at Asbury Seminary. It has been a great time, and I don't think I would trade it for anything.  I am taking one class that has never fit well into my schedule, and it is full of first years.  I think back to that time and I sometime wish I could have had a better primer for how to handle school, so this is my attempt to add to the various posts around the interwebs on the subject.  These are the tools that I look back on and realize how much they have saved my life.

This week I will post 5 tools that I have found very helpful in my education. On with the first....

1. A System
You are entering into graduate school combined within a tradition of spiritual formation that has been part of a theological education for centuries.  On one hand, it will be hard and get very complicated.  On the other, if you choose to not take advantage of the deep formational opportunities you will be missing a big part of your education.

With all that said-You need a system. A system that is designed around future memory.  If you get 20 years in the future and realize you have forgotten much of your education and the time around it, you will have wasted untold hours, ideas and money.  This isn't about continuing to study Hebrew participles, but how to categorize everything so it can be recalled.

I write down EVERYTHING, and I primarily think visually..so I keep several notebooks. I have blogged before about how I am addicted to Moleskine notebooks. Lately I have been using the Moleskine Ruled Notebook Soft Cover XLarge for everything work/idea/planning related.  They have a really nice softcover and fit in well in a variety of situations (I think I even mind mapped a sermon and preached from it once). I also use the Moleskine Ruled Cahier Journal Kraft Large for my reading notes. They are the perfect size to slip in a book.  When I fill them up I save them to archive.

Whenever a notebook is full, I take an hour or two and compile an index for it.  That way I have a small record of what is in the book.  I have filled almost 6 notebooks since I started seminary, and every week I have to go back to one to find an idea, since I tend to hash things out on paper first and I usually make lists and charts for many things that don't fit in a word processor easily.

I spend the money on the moleskines because I want them to hold up.  If something is going to live in my backpack or be in constant reach for months I don't want it to self-destruct on me.

I archive everything (especially reading notes) in a single file that I can search.  I am careful to tag things when I am reading, as well as take notes in a manner that will be easily searched.  Since I have been doing this for 5 years, I have learned to take notes for the archive specifically.  Instead of the type of notes you would need for writing a paper, I direct them towards searching...that way I can recall things quickly. I used to have a word doc for this, but I have since imported them into Accordance (which will come up later this week) because I have all of my other research in there.

Since I have a system, I have even noticed that I can recall information and prepare things more efficiently than many of my classmates.  I keep real busy with work, so it is worthwhile for me to have an easy way to get at my information.  I don't do this to cheapen what I am preparing for, but to use my time the best in areas that deserve it.

See you tomorrow

The Last Night....

Tomorrow I start my last semester of "real" classes.  I do have one to take in January, and I am writing a Masters Thesis in the spring, but this is my last full load, last time to juggle a schedule, last time to buy 20+ books, and my last night to prepare for another bustling semester.

Four years ago on a night like this fretting about if I could handle seminary.  I had been reading in advance, making sure I would be on track that first day. I remember being terrified of what I had gotten my family into.

I wish that I had some advice to give out, but I think I will save that for later on in the week.  What I can say is that I have been thankful for the experience, and very glad that I made the decision...it truly has changed my life.

So this won't be the post that I advertise, but I wanted to mark the occasion.

Top 50 Blogs by Divinity Students

This afternoon I found an email notifying me that this site was listed in the Top 50 blogs by Divinity students at Mastersindivinity.org.  Also on the list are a few friends from my goingtoseminary.com days.and  Jeremy Summers ,a good friend from Asbury (who now works at the Wesleyan Church Headquarters).  It is quite an honor to be included in any list.  I am not sure how this list was complied, but it is great to be included on it.  Go Check it out here.

Preaching, Mindmapping, and the Apocalypse of John

Revelation 7:9-17 Mindmap
Originally uploaded by chadbrooks

I have the opportunity to preach from my favorite book of the bible this week, St. John's Apocalypse...or as most people know it Revelation.

Usually when I actually have time to prepare a sermon, I like to do a mind map before I start writing the sermon. It is another way of doing an outline, but it helps me trace a non-linear pattern through the text. It works for folks that are scatter brained like I am.

I have different sorts of annotations that I use, and the scan didn't show some highlighted colors, but this style works well for me. I imagine I could preach from the mind map if I needed, but I am trying to become more of a wordsmith, and that requires doing some writing beforehand.

Revelation is a non-linear book, and I think that in this particular situation mind-mapping works well.  One of the major ways to tie the book together is the Μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον passages (translated as After this I saw/looked in many English translations).  These phrases string together a series of visionary experiences that weren't sequential, but descriptive of an "all at once" experience (seen in 4:1,7:1,7:9.15:, 18:1 and 19:1).  Due to the cycliromatic nature of Revelation and it's ordering-mind mapping allows you to preach from the same style as the visions are portrayed.