Some time off ...

I am currently back home with some time off from school, although the reading always continues. I just finished what the seminary calls a J-term class. Basically a summer class where the course lectures are condensed into a single week. So we met from 8-5 each day for five days on the subject of Missiology. A fancy name for the study of Missions. With this type of class you still have all the reading to do, you just do it prior to the class and then often there are papers due during the class or shortly after. I finished up my paper last Thursday. We had to write out a Great Commission plan for a local church. Basically, it is a plan as to how to be a church who is fulfilling its obligation to reach the world for Christ. The class itself was pretty amazing. The caliber of students and their commitment to the Great Commission is almost unreal. Many who were taking this class have already committed to serving overseas as missionaries so it caused the whole class to be raised to a higher level of discussion. If we only had the same determination, planning, and commitment that missionaries have toward their people groups our towns would have already been reached with the gospel
I have two other J-Term classes this summer so I will be at Louisville most of July. The first class is History of the Baptist. I am looking forward to this as I hope to settle some issues (at least in my own mind) of the history of the Southern Baptist denomination concerning its affirmation of Arminianism or Calvinistic theology. I'm pretty sure I know what that answer is, but it will be good to see if my thoughts are vindicated. I promise to let you know!
The other course is Systematic Theology 3. You may have remembered that I took Systematic Theology 1 in the Spring. What happened to Systematic Theology 2? I take it in the fall. You don't have to take them in order! ST3 will deal with issues of salvation, the Holy Spirit. the Church, and last things. So, this will deal with all those hot button issues, such as election, predestination, atonement, second coming of Christ, effectual calling, etc. The Professor is Dr. Bruce Ware. He is what you would call a "heavyweight" in his field and he is an influential writer and defender of the faith. Should be a very interesting class!