Finally.

So I'm a seminary student. Finally.

Just finished a long day of orientation yesterday and it's official that I'll be part-timing (still job-searching) at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary this spring, taking New Testament I and II on Monday nights and all day every other Saturday for 2 months.

It's definitely a small commuter school (only like 20 people in orientation yesterday) and in some ways I like that. Hearing a lot of older, wiser brothers and sisters in Christ encourage us and pray for us was making me tear up. Goodness, on the first day I'm already crying haha. And one of the things that sticks out was what I believe the founder of the seminary said over lunch yesterday ... What a privilege it is to be a preacher of the gospel. Privilege. We're nobodies. I'm NOT freakin' awesome no matter how much my pride wishes otherwise. Yet, God calls us to herald the greatest news there is in the midst of a "twisted and crooked generation," full of brokenness, anger, hurt, and sadness. What a privilege that God would use such sinners such as us to speak of Him, represent Him, make an appeal for Him, so that others might be reconciled to Him.

Heh, first day is this Saturday. Homework is to read the gospel of Matthew and the only required textbook is my bible! Yay! I'm excited. I know there's a lot of hard work left to do and a lot of childishness left to die but I'll take it a day at a time ... It's all I can do in this weird transitionary stage of my post-grad life. Heh. If you catch this, I'd ask that you pray for me to grow in wisdom, discipline, in loving the Lord with heart, as well as my mind, for a posture of learning, and in the end, to grow strong in grace.

I was telling Augustine this yesterday, but I can't believe I'm even doing any of this, or that God's allowed me to do what I've done so far. I sin so much more than these highlights of a blog allow anyone else to see, yet God looks on me as holy, blameless, and above reproach before Him, and He woos me back when I want to run. Goodness, the gospel is good.
-Jon