Hello one and all...
Tom here...
It's been SUCH a long time since we updated this blog that the gap is simply too big to fill. Instead we'll try to fill you in on some of the highlights with a few entries over the Christmas period.
The last few days have been a wonderful treat! With the pressure of the semester now past, it's been so wonderful to have a few hours each day to spend in the company of the most amazing and beautiful woman I know!
So lovely to be married to my best friend... and to someone who just grows more beautiful as the years go by.
I've also been discovering just how MUCH fun it is to lie on my back and be handed one or two toys again and again and again! Carys is simply a delight every day... and apart from a 'three day fever' the other week, praise God, she has been quite the picture of good health!
All would be entirely peaceful, were it not for the fact that Donna taught her how to tickle US... and now like the (old) Inspector Clouseau... we have to be on our guard in case this little 'Kato' comes rushing up to catch us unawares!
The 5th semester is now behind us... only two more to go!
This last one has been typically busy, with a few extra responsibilities thrown into the mix. My eyes are feeling the strain a little after completing the 3702 pages of assigned textbook reading... but it's (almost) all been GREAT reading... and all of it has been a GREAT privilege to read!
I had six courses this semester: Preaching lab; Apologetics and Evangelism; Ordination Practicum; Worship and Music; Exegesis of selected Psalms, and a Discipleship lab.
All were excellent classes... and it's hard to pick a highlight. It was great to begin to get to grips with Hebrew poetry and start to feel at home in the Psalms... though it's been like starting to paddle in a vast ocean still to be explored!
Not everyone enjoys the Worship & Music class... but I was so happy to have an opportunity to delve into the Biblical principles of worship that should underlie all that goes on in the Body of Christ. There are so many hot potatoes in this area, and so much prejudice based on preference rather than principle, that I felt really relieved to have had the time to ground my opinions in the Word of God. It did feel slightly odd for me to be learning to read the basics of music... and then how to conduct! Friends and family in England will no doubt have a good laugh to think of me waving my arms around! Conducting formed part of the final exam... so I practiced at every opportunity, including when leading worship in our fellowship group... an act that earned me the nickname "Pope Thomas" :-D Here's a
link to a brief "Philosophy of Worship" paper that I had to write.
'Ordination Practicum' sounds a bit like a disease... but in fact it was a real treat. Every week we covered about 6 books of the Bible, and had to memorise the theme, outline, key chapters (summary of contents), key verses/passages, and key people. The week by week tests were manageable... but the books kept piling up, and by the end of the semester, it was something of a struggle to go back and re-learn the above for all 66 books! I spent over 40 hours revising for this exam alone, and still felt as though I was not really prepared! Thankfully the exam was more manageable than it could have been! The more I studied for it... the more I kept realising just how little I know the Bible. Such a blessing to have that tucked away now though! It's so good when counselling with people to be able to think, "Oh yes... this person needs to understand their position in Christ and practice it... that's the theme of Ephesians"
Apologetics & Evangelism is two courses combined, with two professors. I thought I was a presuppositionalist... and I it turns out I am... but it was good, all the same, to read all the different views of how best to defend the faith (Apologetics). Reading Van Til's "Defense of the Faith" was
not a highlight! This is supposed to be a classic... but it has to be the most obscure classic in print! Even Van Til's successors admit that his writings are not exactly clear! (Thankfully the presuppositionalist John Frame's book "Apologetics to the Glory of God" is as clear as Van Til is obscure.) Over the last few years, I have come to love the two volume set by Ichabod Spencer called, "A Pastor's Sketches" These are invaluable records of the pastoral visits made by Ichabod - a real physician of souls. I decided to write a paper for this course on Ichabod, since it seems he was a presuppositionalist long before Van Til, who is lauded as the father of Presuppositional Apologetics. If Apologetics interests you... you can read it by clicking
here.
The Evangelism side of the course was a joy... very practical! Refreshing to be helped to think Biblically in an area where either pragmatism or fear usually rules!
Preaching lab is quite an experience! (Click here for a sample)This was one of the moments I'd been longing for! Where else in the world do you have a room full of men who spend all their time thinking about how to preach... thinking about how you just preached? This opportunity for real critical feedback has to be worth its weight in gold. Between a few professors, there was about 100 years of preaching experience being poured into a handful of us fledglings! I can't describe the relief of having someone put their finger on the source of problems that I've been aware of but unable to pin down! What a privilege!
Discipleship lab I've left till last... my mum told me... always leave the best till last!
I will always treasure these times with Dr. William Varner. He's my pastor in the growing fellowship group (now about 300-strong) where I serve as an intern, and he also teaches Bible & Greek at the Master's College. Meeting with him week by week for one-on-one discipleship has made for a learning experience I could not have expected. How do you prepare as a trainee pastor, for the many practical tasks such as visiting the dying & bereaved, except by going along with someone who's doing it? I have loved these precious opportunities, both to accompany him as my mentor, and sit and talk with him as a friend... and have come to really admire Dr V's practical Biblical wisdom laced with genuine graciousness. May the Lord enable me to follow him as he follows Christ.
Life goes on apace despite the end of the semester... many more books to read for next term... a sermon to preach in our fellowship group... responsibilities overseeing the Bible studies... people to disciple, and others to counsel... a banquet to organise for February... and a James 1:27 ministry to initiate... oh, and Christmas!
Even so, it is a lot more relaxed, and lovely to be finally writing some news to you all. Please do write back and let us have some of yours! :-)
Our love in Christ
Tom
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