Update on making time to write

I thought it would be helpful to provide an update on my Sept. 12th blog entry, "Making time to write". At that time I was just starting to roll out of bed early. Now, three months later, I am astounded how much I've accomplished and the ideas that are emerging.

In these short months, I've written and submitted two articles to academic journals; both are currently undergoing peer review. I sent one to Teaching Theology and Religion and another to Canadian Military Journal. Now I am in the final stages of editing my PhD dissertation for publication. By the end of the month I will submit it to Wipf and Stock. My editor is concerned with the title, "In Vitro Education" so I am revising it to be less edgy and more mysterious. I'm toying with the term "Glassroom" as a way to hold onto "In vitro" (meaning "within the glass" or "inside glass") while avoiding the ideas associated with fertilization. I am aiming to submit my manuscript at the end of this month and the title may be something like "Glassroom Learning: virtual culture and online pastoral education".

In the new year I have more projects to tend. I've committed to review two books: one on multivocational ministry for Faith Today and the other deals with chaplaincy and spiritual care for Religious Studies Review (RSR). I am also hoping to start two book projects, one on technology and theology with my colleague, Joel Houston, and the other on multivocational ministry.

It may sound strange but I think these ideas are from God. They seem to be part of my new vocation as a professor and academic administrator. I have such clear ideas about things to write about and the energy and capacity to do them, I'm becoming convinced they are part of a calling into academic service; they are truly gifts from God. I'm grateful for this new calling and I look forward to seeing these projects and others become reality. 

Spiritual Theology

I have been teaching Spiritual Theology in the college this semester. It's a first year course focused on learning how to live Christian theology in the world. We've talked about spiritual disciplines, money, sex, and power. We've also taken time to read excepts from the writings of long dead saints. It has been amazing.

The best part has been hearing how the students are processing the ideas that arise in the class. They have inspired me to look at things from a different perspective and I suspect I've done the same for them. This past Tuesday I divided students into two groups and asked them to prepare for Thursday's class but researching one of two approaches to handling Scripture: one group was asked to look at traditional Bible Study methods while the other was invited to dig into Lectio Divina. On Thursday they squared off in a lighthearted debate about which approach is better. There were so many excellent perspectives raised on both sides!

This week is our final week of class and I'm sad it is coming to an end. I celebrate meeting and growing with the Spiritual Theology students. After Christmas I get to do it all over again with a whole different group of students as I teach a totally new subject, public speaking.

Setting aside time to write

Our late August faculty retreat featured Tyndale's research professor of education, Ken Badley, encouraging us to make time for writing. The next day, Briercrest's affiliate professor of Old Testament, Keith Bodner stopped by my house to catch up. Keith is a prolific writer so I asked him how he finds time to write. His answer was refreshingly straightforward. Carve out time in your schedule that works for you. Then use that regular window to write. 

I want to do that. I want to find a regular time to write. 

As a new dean I can already see how easy it is to abandon research and writing in favour of pressing administrative matters. I don't want that life. I want to be a dean that models the importance of research and writing for the seminary professors around me. I want to establish a culture where our faculty encourage one another to research and write in order to bring fresh insights to the classroom and world. Teaching without an active research agenda works but I think the best teaching flows from an active life of research and writing.

So, I'm going to roll out of bed a bit earlier and write. Down the road I hope my writing results in new ideas that get developed into papers and books. For now, I just need to set the alarm.

French Immersion? Why not Koine Greek Immerson?

I recently sat down with Dr. David Miller, associate professor of New Testament and Early Judaism, in his Briercrest office. He and another New Testament professor teach Koine Greek a bit differently than most seminary instructors. They use an immersive environment. Much like my grade 7 and 8 French Immersion experience, students are encouraged to read and speak Koine and Classical Greek in the classroom as a way to learn the language. Starting with the very first class, the professors speak Greek to their students. No more grappling with grammar as a springboard to the New Testament in its original language. Instead, students at Briercrest can enrol in Greek classes and spend the whole semester, Monday to Friday, all day every day, hearing and learning to speak Greek as a way to study the written text. At the end of their Big Fat Greek Semester they walk away with the equivalent of 5 course credits.

If you're interested in knowing more, I'd be happy to help you get connected with one of our exceptional New Testament scholars.

Thoughts from an Ontario native living in Saskatchewan

In July my wife and I officially became residents of Saskatchewan. It was not our easiest move; it was our most adventurous. Packing up a 26-foot U-Haul with our car loaded on a tow-behind trailer, we drove 2,700km from Ontario to our new home. My wife and I both landed great employment opportunities in the land of the living skies with an Aug. 1 start date.

I thought it would be interesting to note a few of the things that differentiate my new province from my former. Saskatchewan, at least the part I'm living in, seems to be sunnier than Ontario. It also seems windier. In Ontario I would think nothing of heading out on my bike. Now, I have to check the weather to see which direction the wind is travelling and how strong it is blowing.

There are fewer people, more trains, and more heavy equipment on the highway than where I used to live. I hear train sounds everyday and I get to watch them rumble down the tracks near the TransCanada Highway on my way to work. In terms of huge vehicles, sometimes they are in the fields and other times they are on the road. The other day I watched great plumes of dust swirl high in the sky as five or six combines danced together in a field nearby. On one of my first days on my bicycle I was passed by a semi-truck loaded with only four tires, each one overhanging the trailer bed, stretching beyond the white traffic lines the truck straddled as it rolled along.

And then there is the people. While Ontarians are good humans, folks in Saskatchewan have so kind, caring, and helpful. It was hard leaving those we love to come to a new land with new people. Yet, those we have met have been wonderful. We chose to live this adventure and we are grateful for God's sustaining grace and abundant provision of new friends and colleagues.  

 

A new world with new friends - The Association of Theological Schools Biennial Meeting 2022 in Pittsburgh

A large part of my dissertation focused on the work of the largest accrediting body for graduate theological education in North America, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). So, when some of my future colleagues at Briercrest invited me to attend an ATS gathering in Pittsburgh it was a no-brainer. This was an opportunity to meet the people behind the papers and articles I had read and quoted during my dissertation research. 

The conference exceeded my expectations in so many ways. I had the chance to get to know people from across North America in a relaxed (albeit in a business causal kind-of-way) environment. I'm grateful to my future Briercrest teammates, Jay and Beth, for including me in great things they are doing for the school and the multi-vocational project funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. I'm thankful for a handful of faculty and administrator friends from theological schools in Canada, such as a Scottish preaching professor from Acadia Divinity College, a Wycliffe College grant writer who knows something about everything, and the recently appointed dean of theology at Ambrose University in Calgary. He's going to be one of my first calls once I get settled in my new role in the Prairies. I also got the chance to meet and chat with some fine ATS people, including former Executive Director, Dan Aleshire. What an honour.

The only hiccup occurred the night before I was scheduled to fly back to Toronto. I received word that my early morning flight was cancelled and rescheduled for a nighttime trip with a stop in Washington. Two men from Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatoon who happened to be sitting at my table also happened to be on that cancelled flight. We all decided to drive back to Canada instead of taking our chances at the airport. As it turns out, Beth, my Briercrest colleague who lives in Toronto, had driven to the conference. She had space to squeeze me behind her passenger riding shotgun, the newly appointed principal of Emmanuel College in Toronto. What a eventful end to a great conference.

Big News and a Coming Move

I've been preoccupied. Overwhelmed is perhaps a more fitting term. So, for those who follow my blog, I apologize for my absence.

Just over a month ago I accepted an offer of employment from Briercrest College and Seminary as seminary dean and assistant professor. It's sort of a dream come true.

The same week my wife was hired as the director of spiritual care and mission at one of the very few facilities in the province of Saskatchewan that provide Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training for spiritual care practitioners. God's hand was all over this.

So, three of four family members will be packing up and moving halfway across the country from Southern Georgian Bay, Ontario to Southern Saskatchewan. We'll be leaving the valley of apple orchards for the land of the living skies. Our daughter will remain in Ontario to finish up her final year of university. I think it will be harder on me than it is for her.

Pray for us. We are excited about the adventure that awaits but sad about the many friends and family members we leave behind. We are looking forward to new opportunities, friends, and a new place to call home.