A year in review

Well, apparently I can say I've finished a year of grad school. That makes me feel old. So what does a year of grad school entail?

#1. Balanced Living.
I have no fear for myself in living a balanced lifestyle. Because if I can do that in grad school, I'm pretty sure I can do it anywhere. Movie nights? check. Frequent playing of games? check. Still getting good grades? check. Still love Jesus? check. I think I wrote those in the exact opposite order they should go in ... In any case, I do worry about those around me. Mostly if they are deciding to be pastors. If they choose to be academics and PhD's then by all means, lock-up in the library and solve the historical crises of the world (are there really such things?). But if we are called to the church, then the question becomes, what is the church while we are here at seminary? And that is a lot to consider. We have our field education placements, and our involvement with Sunday worship if we aren't in field ed. But if we place our focus there, we've tended to our 'church' needs just as the general world does. My Sunday/weekly ritual of spiritual involvement. If this is truly a seminary in which we are living into the call to be God's people, God's hands and feet, then potentially it should be the most enriching, edifying, and corporately empowering place in the world. Yes it's a grad school, but if we are studying missiology and practical theology, shouldn't it be our response to live it out? I don't understand. The lack of involvement in student organizations or events. The lack of motivation to build our community into a true Christian community. It seems there is no escaping those who would rather sit back and point out the problems in a community, rather than 'be the change you wish to see in the world' (Ghandi). What if in some way we are called to be catalysts. Why isn't a seminary the hub from which change pours?

#2. Milkshakes.
Not the kind that brings all the boys to the yard, but the delectable ones that involve chocolate and vanilla, and cooling off on hot days. Milkshakes are delicious, and a delicious way to hang out with people. And a delicious reward for playing an excellent game of Euchre. Perhaps at PTS, milkshakes proved to be a nice forced break for people. Stop what you're doing, talk a walk to halo pub with some of your favorite people, and grab a cold one (or, what I prefer to a 'cold one'). I think it's also just a nice reminder of how we should take time out of our busy schedules to spend time with one another. Dorms offer instant community. As do dining halls. Milkshakes make you work for your outing, set aside some time, put some effort into spending time with people. I like that.

#3. I like the word 'transitive'.
Change is always occuring. The other day Hillary (and Heraclitus?) said the only constant is change (of course I refuted that with gravity, but I'm pretty sure I know what she meant). I love change and I hate change. Change means people are different, places are different, with different people in them. That can be beautiful and terrible. I love meeting new people, but I hate losing the ones that I already love. And keeping in touch is hard, not to mention impossible when change involves death. But I am of the age of transition. Graduation, job hunting, opportunities, travel, volunteering. Young/Emerging adults are transitive. So how do we stay grounded?

#4. Most technology is self centered. Doesn't that make our culture self centered?
iphone/me-phone. Facebook/keep-up-with-me. Blog/my-other-thoughts. Twitter/now-you-know-when-I-go-to-the-bathroom. Myspace/myspace. Everything is virtual which makes us virtually interact with everything and everyone. At a recent conference we discussed how self-focused young/Emerging adults are, but when does our culture grow out of it? It seems like 'today' is reinforcing our self-focused habits more than ever. I'm writing a blog for heaven's sake. I'm gonna go spend some time in my journal. And a real book. And maybe a newspaper.

Oh, I suppose #5. I love home.