One Class, Two Finals

I took my final exam for my J-term class this morning. It was not bad for a “blue book” test, since the professor only wanted 300-word responses (he said he actually stops reading after 300, so it was kind of funny to see us all nervously counting our words as we wrote them!).

I think just getting to school this morning was more stressful than the test. I normally can make the drive to Luther in the mornings in 30 minutes or less, but with the snow it took an hour today. I made it just in time for the test, and finished in less time than it took me to get to school!

So I decided to get my books for Spring semester, since I was already on campus. The bookstore couldn’t find one of them, which is for the only class I already have a syllabus for and know I will need next week. In the meantime, I still have a final paper to write for my J-term class. I saw a classmate while I was in the bookstore and he asked me how my “break” is going, referring to the month of January. I had forgotten that for some people J-term is done—either they had shorter intensive classes or they did their cross-cultural experience—and now they have some time off before spring term starts. My final paper is due by Saturday morning, so until then I am not officially done with J-term, but am trying to get a head start on spring as well.

On a bright note, my favorite aunt is visiting from Colorado, so we went to my favorite Greek restaurant for lunch to celebrate me finishing my final test. Seeing the huge photos on the walls of the warm, sunny, Mediterranean world made me think once again about escaping from the Minnesota winter. If they still spoke Biblical Greek in Greece today, maybe I could use that as an academic excuse to spend some time in Crete, brushing up on my language skills. Maybe someday…

In the meantime, I will keep working on my final paper—actually, a doctrinal sermon. I’ve never had to footnote a sermon before, or think about preaching to an academic audience, which is what this assignment is about. So it’s really half research paper, half sermon. It should be fun to write, and might help me get prepared for the preaching class I’m taking this spring semester, which starts next Monday. I guess I will have to wait until Easter to actually have a “break.”

More Transistions

As I continue this transition from part time DL student into full time status, I continue to experience more and more things that are new...or in this case, experiences that I haven't had since my college days.

In this case, my new experience is idle time between semesters. I wrapped up J-term stuff last Wednesday. Thursday my daughter was home with me and I was preparing stuff for a trip back to Iowa to celebrate my mother in law's birthday. We were there most of the weekend, which broke up the monotony of the school break.

But now we are back home in Plymouth again. The kids are at school and my wife is at work.

For the most part, I have nothing to do. Granted, there are some errands that need doing. Some of them got accomplished this morning and some are pending for this afternoon, but I consider that a minor detail.

This week, I'm in what I like to call "bump on a log" mode. I don't have class. I don't have homework. And as I'm still dragging my feet on the whole employment situation (more on that in a bit), I don't have a job.

I literally have nothing to do and its already driving me a little batty. Good thing this is only lasting a week this go round. Otherwise I might go a little crazy.

Backing up to the whole work thing. Since moving up to the Twin Cities a month ago, I've been holding off on trying to find a job until I get into the full time semester. The main reason is that I have no idea what the time input is going to be in terms of homework for 5 classes. I'm used to 2, 5 is a whole new realm.

I don't want to start a part time job and then end up having to quit in a couple weeks if I discover that there aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. I also held off because it would not have worked to have a job around the 2 week intensive during J-term.

So now I find myself without a job, and beyond cleaning the house, doing the dishes and the laundry, I don't have much going on today.

That being said, I did venture out this morning and accomplish a couple things. First I went to the bank. In one of the last steps of moving (the actual last will be getting our house in Iowa sold...still not accomplished that yet) we closed out our old bank accounts last Friday, so I needed to get the deposits placed into our new bank up here.

So I headed to the bank and did said deposits. I also managed to procure the only open safety deposit box in this particular branch. Bonus points on that one. My next goal was to head across town to the school enrollment center to get my daughter's paperwork turned in for Kindergarten for this fall.

I thought I had the correct address in the gps to take me there, but I quickly realized my error. Fortunately, I was about to go past the school, so I pulled in there to get the correct address. While there, I was pleased to learn that I could turn in the paperwork there and they would forward it to the enrollment center for me. Bonus...saved me a trip across town in lousy snowy weather.

Then I headed to Target as there were a few essentials that I needed to pick up and then since I was in the vicinity of the church, I swung by to say hi to my wife and then pick the brain of the associate pastor that is my wife's boss. She is a recent (within the past couple of years) graduate of Luther and I wanted to gain her perspective of the whole process.

We had a good chat and then I headed home. It was only as I was about to step out of the truck that I caught a glimps of myself in the mirror. I then realized that I have not yet showered or shaved today, and I went out in public like that.

I must be getting a little more used to this whole "full time student" thing.

Working out (and in)!

When I was preparing for my studies abroad at Luther Seminary I knew the studies would take its toll on my body (at least more than it does for a student in Sweden). Because of this I made a promise to myself to move my body every now and then (other than moving from classroom to classroom). It initially went very well since I managed to get a key to the gym at Luther (called God's Gym). Then there was the issue with getting some training clothes... and then the issue with actually working out from time to time..

This week, however, I successfully doubled my visits to God's gym! The secret? A workout friend! We both realized that we should be working out, but had a hard time finding the motivation to do so on our own. I must say it feels good to feel fatigue in something else than my mind for once!

When I think about working out I can cannot help but also think about a sermon from the pastor in my home congregation many years ago. I do not remember the whole sermon, but I remember the part when he spoke about him going to the gym, seeing many different persons working out, many of them being very fit, and asking himself the question "What if these people were training to keep themselves spiritually fit? Putting all that effort and all those hours in prayer and in reading the bible?"

The point was not that we should do a "spiritual workout" instead of just "workout", but the fact that we sometimes(or most of the time) tend to only doing one of them. "Spiritual workout" or working with our inside (working in) does not have to be the opposite of training your body (working out). Or as the saying goes "a sound mind in a sound body" or "a healthy mind in a healthy body" something that I as a student of theology forget every now and then.

Diversity

I had an experience yesterday that reminded me that as a non-Lutheran student, I am part of the “diversity” at Luther. I ran into one of my former professors who loves to joke about my being “Baptist” (my nuanced self-description of “working with a church that is affiliated with a Baptist group but consider myself more non-denominational” doesn’t go very far with some people!). Of course, this professor makes fun of me in a respectful, non-offensive way that actually makes room for talking about our theological differences, which is a good thing.

So besides this encounter making me laugh at myself, it also took me a little off guard—I’ve been at Luther long enough now that I don’t always remember that I’m of a different denomination than most of the students. Of course, there are times in classes when I become aware that I have a different perspective than the majority, but overall I’ve encountered openness to hearing people’s diverse ideas and beliefs. This makes it so that students not only of different denominations, but also from different countries, different life experiences, etc., can feel at home here.

Thinking about my J-term class, amongst the six students, one TA, and the professor, we represent four denominations and three different countries that we call home. This is pretty amazing for a small class. And after reading different liberation theologies, which are largely based on experience, I realize how much each person/community’s experiences influence their faith and approach to theology.

So really, each student at Luther creates the diversity that makes it such a great place to be. The common faith and goals we share seem to unite us in such a way that we can respectfully talk about differences. And not that we should minimize our differing viewpoints, but I think being able to laugh at ourselves once in awhile is healthy.

A new experience on campus

Wow...Juniors are really starting young these days aren't they?

So this morning I needed to head over to campus, but today was a little bit different. Thursday's my daughter does not go to school, and as I didn't have class either, she was staying home with me today...or more so, she tagged along with me to campus.

After my son hopped on the bus to head to school, the two of us headed on out for a little daddy-daughter time.

The cause for the trip to campus was two-fold. First I needed to drop off some books at the library, seeing as I finished up the research paper that I was utilizing them for yesterday. So that was our first stop. We dropped the books and then I showed her around the library, even going back into the stacks...she was ready to check out every single level (all 8 of them) in the stacks, but I refrained from that. After our adventure in the library, we walked through the tunnel into Bockman, only for the purpose that she can now say that she's done it.

Side note, we also checked out the ping pong table in the basement...if you are bored on a break from class, I highly recommend it.

After that we headed over to Northwest to drop off my CPE materials in the contextual office. It took longer to walk there than it did to drop off the stuff, but that's okay. It was somewhat warm and we enjoyed the walk. We also each got a piece of chocolate in the contextual ed office. That made it all worthwhile.

At this point, I had accomplished everything that I needed to accomplish, but she wanted to stick around for chapel, which was starting about 45 minutes later. How can you say no to that. So we headed over into the Caf where she kept busy playing computer games on the laptop, and I dove into the paper to catch up on the news.

We went to chapel, which was also fun with her in tow. I especially got a charge out of seeing her stand up when all of the students stood up. The thought of juniors being pretty small jumped through my head again at this point.

Then after chapel was done, we headed into the caf for a lunch date. Luther Seminary Cafeteria big sandwiches. Mmm mmm good.

So all in all, it was a fun new experience to be accomplishing things on campus with one of my kids in tow. this time worked out fine, though I don't think I want to attempt to take class with one of them tagging along.

I think I'll let them wait and attend seminary themselves before I subject them to one of these classes. Sound like a plan?

Endorsement

So its been a big couple of days.

Over the weekend I was back down in Iowa, making the rounds, seeing a bunch of different people. I stayed at my brothers house and my parents house, culminting in my parents watching the kids while I road tripped for my last meeting of CPE. It being the last meeting, I received my certificate as well as my supervisors evaluation.

The good news...I passed. Credit for CPE. Now I just need to get my information turned into the sem. I intended to do that yesterday as I was on campus, but I kept walking into Northwest when the office was closed for various reasons. So that hasn't happened yet, but it will.

So obviously I was on campus again yesterday...for a very important reason. My endorsement interview happened yesterday. I got over to campus early, and took advantage by making some various copies and starting to work on going through my sources for my ethics paper that I still need to get written.

I was walking across campus about 30 minutes before my interview, and happened to notice the two synod reps sitting in OCC. So I sat and jabbered with them until it was time for the interview itself.

At 11, we headed over to Dr. Padgett's office, (my advisor). After introductions, they kicked me out to "talk about me behind my back," which I actually got a kick out of. After about 10 minutes, I headed back into the office and we talked for awhile. It was mostly conversational, which I really appriciated.

After that, they kicked me out again for a few minutes. Upon my return, they informed me that they were recommending me for endorsement...roughly translated, I passed, but they need to make their recommendation to the rest of the synod candidacy committee, who will then give the "official" thumbs up. But long story short, I'm unofficially endorsed and that's a good feeling.

End of an Intense Week

Even though I didn’t have class until Wednesday this week (we had Monday off for the MLK holiday), the week flew by. I had a paper due Tuesday morning, and an oral presentation for class today, plus many, many pages of theology to read. I kind of like the intensity of J-term, but there’s not much opportunity to catch your breath without getting behind.

I did, however, escape campus for a short while over my lunch break on Wednesday. The same friend who insisted that I try to enjoy winter suggested that we go to the Como Conservatory, so we did. I had forgotten that there is a place just a few minutes from campus where I can walk around without a jacket and breath deeply without my lungs freezing in the middle of winter. The sun actually came out that day, which was an added bonus. That and the polar bear “enrichment session” (they have to keep the bears mentally stimulated—I guess seminary students aren’t the only ones!) we happened to catch on our short trip to the zoo. I definitely recommend the Conservatory for anyone who needs a break from the Minnesota winter.

So, perhaps this helped the rest of a busy week seem not so overwhelming. And thinking about the remaining ten days of my J-term class, I realize that the majority of the assignments are behind us. Just a final test and paper, which do comprise more than half of our grade, but are spread out so that we have four days after the class officially ends to turn in the paper. By that time I will also be reading ahead for Spring semester classes, and preparing for the teaching events I have in February.

Actually, for as intense as J-term is, it is probably more relaxing than life will be after it ends, when I have to juggle many different things once again. Hopefully by then I will have thawed out a little bit to make moving around easier. In the meantime, there’s always the Conservatory, and my found memories of warmer days (see photo from a previous trip to the Conservatory).

Reflections of the big switch

Friday...cohort 2's classes wrapped up yesterday. Pretty much everyone has already headed home by way of Plains Trains and Automobiles..

Side note...that's a really great movie with Steve Martin and the late great John Candy...check it out.

I came over to campus this morning because I really needed to hit the library and get a couple of hard copy sources (aka books) for my Ethics paper that has yet to be written. That way I'll have it in hand over the course of the weekend if I get bored enough to start writting it.

Just for reference...its not due until next Friday.

My wife is gone for the weekend to a conference in Kansas City and since the kids are both in school, I thought I'd buzz on over. A couple of my fellow cohorters (though admittedly I should say that I'm now a former cohorter) are still around, though, as I mentioned most of them have flown the coop now.

I came into my friend Rick's room (as he is one of the few remainders). He's working on research and I spent a few minutes looking up sources for the library before I actually headed over to the library.

Here is my main observation.

The library was dead. There were a couple of people there...and by a couple I literally mean a couple. Like 2. One of them is a fellow student that I actually know that lives here on campus. Ironically she was in my Mission class this term, but that's neither here nor there. I jabbered with her very briefly as I was heading into the stacks and she was heading out.

After spending about an hour at the library finding said sources I headed back across campus to Stub hall. Once again, it was dead.

At this point it occured to me.

This is my reality now. When the cohort leaves, I'm still here. When campus is dead because everyone is "on break," I'm still around.

I have a new reality to get used to as a full time student.

But before I settle into that new reality...there was one intensive experience that I had yet to partake in...Mannings. I have been there each and every intensive since I've started. Up until today, I had not made it yet.

Knowing that Rick hadn't been there either, I sent him a message this morning asking if he was up for Mannings for lunch.

In the words that I've heard in a movie...though admittedly am totally blanking on right now...Its on like donkey kong.

So after doing my research in the library...Rick and I headed to Mannings for a burger and a beer.

Needless to say, I'm much less interested in working on homework now.

Short circuit!

Being an Exchange student can be tough at some times. You leave your country, your language, your culture and your friends behind to go in order to travel to a new country, learn a new foreign language, meet a different culture and make new friends. It also fun, for me it's mostly fun!

One of the funny things are all the presumptions people tend to have towards your country (and of course all those presumptions you have about theirs as well).
The most frequent question I have gotten this week is as question about how could it is in Sweden now, the question is generally asked with the assumption that it is colder in Sweden than in Minnesota, and rightly so! Sweden is north of Minnesota after all, and is together with Norway, Finland and Denmark called "The Cold North" in Europe. E.g right now it is 5 Fahrenheit (-15 Celsius) in Saint Paul and 28 Fahrenheit (around -2 Celsius) in Uppsala (my hometown in Sweden).

This week I have also finished my final paper in my J-term course (Genesis to Revelation) at Luther Seminary. The remaining time time of the J-term I will take the opportunity to work with a course for one of my professors at Johannelund (my theological seminary in Sweden). Fortunately all of my books are in English (not unusual when you take a course in Sweden) and my professor has agreed to let me write in English!

The reason I want to write in English instead of practicing my Swedish (which will hopefully not have been forgotten when I return to Sweden) is because I am sometimes struck with what I would describe as a linguistic short circuit. It didn't take my mind a very long time to adjust to the English language, nowadays I both speak, think (and occasionally write) in English. The short circuit happens when I learn something particularly interesting I want to be able to share when I become a pastor in Sweden. I begin to take mental notes (in English) on how I should say it, only to suddenly realize that English is not the native language in Sweden! The problem that then arises is when I try to change languages in my head only to realize that I, in my mind, can't tell the difference. Leaving me unable to speak or write English and Swedish properly for a while.
That's one of the problems with being multilingual I guess!

Starting to get used to it

So I've noticed something over the course of my tenure as an intensive student. Things start off crazy but then by the end we start to get used to it. I'm in that mode now.

It occurred to me this morning that the schedule seems to be evening out just a little bit. Here's a normal day.

Roll out of bed at 6am. Yes, this is as drastically early as it sounds.
Get ready for the day and head out at 6:30.
Say a little prayer that traffic hasn't kicked in yet and head on over to campus.
All things normal, arrive about 7am...walk over to the caf.
Pull out the computer and briefly live in the myth that I'm going to accomplish someting before class.
Greet the fellow classmates as they trickle in and fill the table.
Head off to class at 8...2 breaks are welcome between 8 and 11.
Head off to chapel.
Eat some lunch and then actually accomplish a little bit of homework till class at 1:30.
Sit through afternoon class...once again, breaks are welcome.
Class gets done...the cohort members breathe a sigh of relief...I tense up because its time to fight rush hour going home.

Side note...I actually made it home in 40 minutes last night.

So that's the norm. There's only one hitch. By this point of the intensive...namely half way through week 2...we tend to be hitting the wall. What was once a priority has slide down the "to-do" list.

This is an unfortunate thing because there's a very fine line between being used to the hectic pace and being at the point where you just don't really care anymore. I'm sitting right on that line.

As I ponder on that, I'm wondering about the upcoming semester. How long will it take for me to get used to the schedule again? We'll have to wait and see I guess.

FUNDRAISING. [dundundun....]

First, did the dramatic and scary (and written) sound effect joke land? No? Okay then

Second, one of my areas of focus on my internship has been the youth of the church. They have expressed a desire to continue a tradition of a summer trip, and I have taken on that challenge/opportunity. I'll post details about the trip some other time, but right now, we're dreaming up some ways to offset the cost of the trip. Yes, I'm talkin' 'bout fundraising [shut your mouth!]

As of now, we're doing a scaled-down version of "144 envelopes" and a brunch/silent auction. My pastor father-in-law has been a great help, as have a few other colleagues. We had a little session during our internship retreat on fundraising, but I wonder--what do you think (that is, if people read this)? How do you approach fundraising, especially regarding the youth of the church? And...any specific ideas?

“Don’t Forget Your Friends”

To continue my theme from yesterday about focusing on the positive…the sun came out today! That made reading some very thick theology from Moltmann all the more pleasant.

On another note, I got an unexpected phone call today from an unknown number. I usually don’t answer these calls, but something told me I should. It was Howard, a 70-something-year-old man from the Lutheran church that shares its building with the Hispanic church I used to attend. He wanted to know what happened to me—he hadn’t seen me at church in awhile, and felt like I had “dropped off the face of the earth.”

When I left that church last September, I didn’t realize that people like Howard would notice that I was gone. I got to know him several years ago by attending the Bible study the pastor of St. Paul’s (the Lutheran church) holds for his leaders, and a few random people like me. I never spent any real “quality time” with Howard outside of Bible study, but saw him in passing as his church service ended and mine was about to begin on Sunday mornings. He always called out to me in a boisterous voice, “how’s my friend Jenny?” and often pulled out huge Hershey dark chocolate bars to give to me from his bag of goodies that he always had on hand for his “friends.”

I guess I can consider Howard like the grandpa I never had (both of mine died before I was born), and I feel very blessed that there are people that care about me even though I didn’t realize how much—before hanging up, Howard said that he prays for me every night and that if I ever need anything, he’s here for me.

This reminded me of what the pastor of St. Paul’s told me as I was considering changing churches—that it would be good for me to get experience in a different setting, but that I should never forget about my friends. As seminary students, we pass through several churches in a short amount of time—our home church, teaching congregations, internships sites—but this was a good reminder to not lose touch with the people who have been a part of our journey, and will continue to support us no matter where we go next.

Knit and purl

I’m not taking any classes this month. As a part-time student paying as I go, I have to watch what’s offered and when I can take it. Nothing fit my needs during J-Term so I have taken a break. Because it would be boring for me to tell you that I just work all the time (which I mostly don’t), I thought I’d give you an insight into one of my big break activities: knitting.

I started knitting many years ago. I’m not a fantastic knitter, but I’m not bad. My specialty is mittens and felted items (felted is where you knit something really big out of wool and then force it to shrink. Felting hides a lot of mistakes). Over the last two years I have been stretching my wings and trying more complicated patterns. Right now I am making a prayer scarf for a friend (I don’t have enough of a specific yarn for a prayer shawl. The pattern easily adjusts).

My mom started knitting at the same time as I did (though she had being doing croch

et work for a long time). My mom had a natural affinity for the yarn arts. She was knitting intricate shawls, afghans and her own specialty, socks. My mom created a beautiful shawl and submitted it to the Minnesota State Fair (it didn’t do

well enough to place but it was good enough to display… a big deal). She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the early summer of 2009 and died last February.

My inheritance from my mom was her yarn, knitting supplies and unfinished projects. Some of the projects I handed out to her two best friends to finish (a couple pair of socks and an afghan) but some of her projects have been special for me to finish. A hat for my youngest nephew (it turned out great) and hats for my daughters (they loved them). Before she died, my mom had each grandchild pick out an afghan pattern and yarn for a special blanket from her. She finished three, but only began work on the final two. Those are two projects I could not pass to anyone else. This weekend I pulled out one blanket (the easier pattern). It’s a little intimidating (that is a lot of knitting and pattern following…and wow, that is a lot of yarn…see the picture), but I think these both will be beautiful when they’re finished. I would have never attempted more complicated patterns without this project and for that I am grateful. Thanks, mom.

Blue Monday?

I had no idea that the third Monday of January has been dubbed “Blue Monday” until I just saw an article about it on the internet. Apparently a British psychologist came up with a theory that calculates today as the most depressing day of the year. This seems ironic to me today, a day I decided to start being a little bit more hopeful about the gray Minnesota winter that lasts nearly half the year!

Actually, it was last week that a friend of mine encouraged me that if I tried to enjoy winter, it might not seem so unbearable. So after a second day with no sight of the sun, I’m trying to focus on the positive. One sign of hope is what you see in the photograph—I woke up this morning to find two blooms on the hibiscus plant that has been almost entirely brown and leafless since October. They seemed to have come out of nowhere, and with some warm lighting thrown on them I can almost feel a little bit of springtime. There is hope that winter will not in fact last forever.

What else can I be positive about? Well, J-term is halfway over for me now, and it’s not nearly as overwhelming as I expected. I’m finding that I like theology more than I thought, and appreciate the variety in the assignments we have to do for class. I just finished a “hymns and liturgy” paper in which I examined how my Christological doctrine is evident in our Christian music and worship services. This is a more practical use of theology, which I am finding to be refreshing and applicable to ministry.

Having an intensive class does make January go by faster, and the snow and cold actually might help me get more done, since I am not tempted to drop everything to go outside and enjoy the warm weather. I also spend more time studying in the library as opposed to going for walks on my breaks from class (which could be seen as a positive), and I’ve made it to chapel more times this month than during all of Fall semester.

So, even though I resorted to checking out airfare yesterday to warm destinations, I am trying to appreciate each season for what it is. And if my friends at Luther who come from warmer climates complain about the cold less than me, I guess I should try to be a better Minnesotan and just deal with it! Anyway, I am grateful for the little reminders that spring is not that far away.

Different Schedule

After reading Jenni's last post, I have come to realize that our schedules don't quite match up. She's done with the second week of J-term, and while that is true, we here in the DL cohort are only through week 1. A few of cohort one aren't even showing up until this weekend so they haven't even started "week 1" yet.

Weird wild stuff.

Speaking of wrapping up our first week, things are going well and so far, we are all surviving it. One interesting thing did happen though. The majority of my cohort are taking Ethics 1 and Mission 2 during this intensive. Our first paper was due yesterday via upload in MyLuthernet for Ethics.

I had a goal of getting it done and uploaded by Thursday, as there were other things that I wanted to accomplish yesterday. The paper did get done, though admittedly, I don't think I've ever had to think so hard for 350 words. I guess it was a good assignment right?

Following the completion of my paper, I went ahead and uploaded. However, there was an issue. When I was browsing for the paper, I ended up in the wrong class folder and promptly uploaded a reflection paper from Mission.

This is a slight problem.

However, I did not realize my mistake until yesterday morning when I got an email from Professor Marga. While she praised an interesting read, it was clearly not the paper she was expecting.

So I emailed off the correct paper right away.

Later on at lunch time, the members of the various cohorts gathered to have lunch with their respective advisors. My advisor had another engagement and wasn't there, so I ended up sitting a table with Dr. Marga. We jabbered briefly about my mistake, but she was laughing and informed me that it happens all the time.

That made me feel better. But rest assured when I uploaded paper number 2, I double checked that it was the right one.

Things are coming together…

It’s the second week of J-term for me now, and I’m getting used to the rhythm of things. By the time I’m comfortably enjoying my new routine, it will abruptly change again!

Seeing as how I like to know what to expect, I was very happy to get a call today from my supervising pastor at church. We talked about the Discover Jesus class that’s coming up in February, and what my participation in it will look like. Two of the pastors will teach some of the classes, and another member of the church and I will teach the others. One thing I really like about my church is that all the ministries seem to run on team leadership, so I’m excited not only to have the opportunity to teach, but also to be involved in the planning and visioning of this ministry.

So, the first topic they gave me to teach on Week 3 is “What’s wrong with the world?” Whoops! Don’t get me started. Actually, that’s their clever way of introducing the topic of the “fall,” or sin entering the world. I will get a chance to introduce myself on the first night of class, so talking about sin won’t be my first interaction with the participants. That would be kind of a downer. But whatever the topic, I am very excited to teach—something I love doing but haven’t done in the church for a while.

Speaking of teaching, yesterday the pastor from the church I was at previously offered me a teaching opportunity that we first talked about last summer. Besides being a church-planter for the Hispanic Ministry of the denomination, he also started a ministry training program for leaders of Hispanic churches who may not have the opportunity to go to a formal seminary. So to kick off the new block of classes, he invited me to give a basic Greek class over two Saturdays in February. This is a great opportunity not just to introduce Biblical Greek to church leaders, but also its implications for understanding Scripture and how we teach it. At first I felt overwhelmed by the challenge of teaching anything useful about Greek in such a short amount of time (8 hours total), but thanks to some pointers from a couple of Greek professors I think I can do it and make it fun.

So, I have a lot to look forward to. It’s amazing how recently I’ve been itching for the opportunity to be more active in teaching and ministry again, and within 24 hours I’ve received two great opportunities. I knew God would surprise me!

Getting used to It Again

After two full years in the DL program, which has consisted of four...let's see now, is it four? Let me count...yep four on campus intensives, you'd think that I'd be pretty well used to it by now.

You'd think that wouldn't you?

However, after said years in the program, I have learned that intensives are anything but predictable. This is true enough when I'm doing an intensive in the normal fashion. That being said, things are certainly different now as I'm adjusting to living in the Cities and commuting to campus.

In the "normal" scenario, I arrive on campus sometime on Sunday before class starts and other than little trips around the area, I don't really leave campus. I stay in the dorms and so I'm always right in the vicinity when its time for class to start.

Its different now.

Monday was the first day of class but cohort two didn't have morning class. Therefore, I hung around the house over on the west side of town till it was time for my son to go to school. Once I dropped him off I headed over to campus. However, it was late enough that rush hour was over. So I got to campus without much trouble. Likewise at the end of the day, I stuck around for a cohort welcome meal and so didn't leave campus until a little after 6. Rush hour was pretty well wrapped up by that time.

Long story short. Rush hour didn't effect me Monday.

Yesterday was a different story. Now for starters, we got about an inch of snow over night and if there is one thing that I learned yesterday, it is that snow seems to make commuters loose their minds and all ability to drive.

I thought that I would leave the house at 7am because an hour would be more than enough time to make the trip (its normally about 25 minutes). However, this was not the case. After averaging approximately 17 miles an hour for about 75 minutes, I ran into class huffing and puffing and 20 minutes late.

Fortunately, my professor was good natured and I hadn't missed much other than discussion of the syllabus. After class, it was about the same. I hit rush hour going home as well, though it only took me an hour that time.

Things have changed.

This morning I tried to adapt. I left the house at 6:15am...yes that's in the morning. Rush hour hadn't really kicked in yet. Plus the roads were cleared off...I arrived on campus at 6:45. It would seem that I still need to tweak things just a touch.

The one good part, other than not being late for class today, was that I discovered the Caf is a really great place to finish up the reading that I decided not to finish last night.

This is gonna take some getting used to.

They're Here

Note...the title of this posting should be read in a way that emulates the little girl from Poltergeist. If it helps, turn on your tv to a channel that has no cable reception...aka snow...it will add to the effect.

Over the course of today, plus admittedly some of tomorrow...DL cohorts are making their way to campus. For some like cohort 1 (there are a couple of them here already) this is way old-hat. For others like cohort 4 (seriously, how the heck are we at cohort 4 already?) this is their first time being here.

For me, being cohort 2 and pretty old hat myself, its both a joy and a sadness. I headed over to campus early this evening, getting there about 6pm or so. I had been invited to speak at the welcome supper for cohort 4 and offer the newbies some of the "old-hat" perspective along with two other members of my group.

Free food!!! Can't go wrong there.

It was an enjoyable experience and one that I hope was helpful for the new group. I remember back to my first time descending on campus in January of 2009. We were fresh off a semester of Greek and everyone was limited to a tiny picture and a bunch of postings on Luthernet. They quickly became my Luther family, a source of great support both during those two week periods, but also at home (behold the power of facebook, email, and phone calls). Cohort 4 is about to experience all this...but I'll leave that to them.

Following supper and discussion time, we walked back into Stub and found a gathering of everyone that has made it to campus so far. Admittedly, with our first class not starting until afternoon tomorrow, many haven't made it yet. However, about half of our group was there, some of which I haven't seen for a year and it was great to see them again.

The sad part is that tonight was my last "first night together" with the cohort. They all know that I'm "jumping ship" to go residential (yes, I heard that phrase several times tonight." I'm going to do my best to enjoy this intensive, but admittedly it is already different. When they all gathered for evening prayer, I took my leave and trekked the 25 minutes west to come home. I sit here wondering how much I'll be able to interact with the group outside of class. That is an incredibly important part of the intensives and the cohort system.

So this one is going to be different. I know that and accept that. I'm not the first to leave the cohort to go residential and speed up the process, but honestly, I never thought that I was going to be one to do it.

But for the time being, I'm going to enjoy them as best I can. Class starts tomorrow.

I quote the Joker in The Dark Knight when I say (admittedly not for the first time)...AND HERE...WE...GO.

Old and New

The first week of J-term came and went like a Minnesota winter storm. We covered hundreds of pages of reading, took a quiz, and started working on our first project. My head was still spinning after 3 days of studying philosophical terms for the quiz, and I even dreamt about them that night!

In the midst of it all, I’m trying to take some time to reflect. The “Christological doctrine” I’ve chosen to work on is the atonement, specifically, how Jesus’ death fulfills the New Covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34. One theme within this that keeps striking me is that of the continuity of our past, present, and future. I often hear people at Luther talk about how they were surprised to be called by God into ministry, or how drastically their life has changed since coming to seminary. I’ve even heard past careers referred to as “former lives,” as if one’s identity completely changes upon coming to seminary.

I think there is a tension of both “old” and “new” in the two Covenants of the Bible, as well as in our lives. Being moved by God’s gracious promise was definitely a reality to the people living before Christ, and Jesus came in fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel. Yet there is something new about God’s interaction with humanity in Christ—as Jeremiah 31:32 says, the New Covenant will not be quite like the Old.

Thinking about my own story, I definitely see the time I spent between undergrad and seminary as crucial to my formative journey of faith and preparation for ministry. And looking back, I can see God’s wisdom guiding my path—I choose a philosophy major in college not knowing what I wanted to do later on, but after Friday’s quiz, I see how entirely relevant it is to theology.

Yet there have been many changes—leaving a job to start seminary, spending less time with family, friends, and hobbies, etc. And this past September, I knew it was time to leave the church I had been at for 5 years so that I could have a new type of ministry experience in a different church. It’s challenging to change. Like my old, worn-out slippers that I can’t stand to part with (even though I got identical new ones for Christmas), we sometimes have trouble accepting that moving into the new requires us to let go of the old. It’s not that our past ceases to be part of our story, but it can’t be the last word in how God will move us today and tomorrow.

God surprised many people by coming to earth as a baby and by dying on a cross. It was the same God that the people had known for generations, yet moving in unexpected ways. Are we open to God moving us to new things, in new ways? This is my challenge for this year—same God, new adventures.

Will there ever be peace in this life?

Just like everyone else, I'm saddened and sobered by today's events in Arizona. We blame this person or that for the violence and the divisive politics. What does it look like to denounce or speak against actions, without promoting further conflict and hateful rhetoric? It is so hard to love murderers. There is so much violence around the world. Is there hope of peace in this life?

A stand-up morning for a preacher.

Nearly every day, I get up way too early. I try to squeeze in a workout and a shower. And then I eat breakfast. While eating, and before my time of devotions and prayer at work, I am on my computer. I watch TV shows on Hulu, listen to music, and catch up on podcasts. But my favorite thing to do during this early morning time of solitude is to watch stand-up comedy. This morning, I watched Louis C.K.'s Chewed Up (one of my favorites...although NSFW) on Netflix. What a way to get the day started, eh?

Now, I like to think of myself as funny (I know what you're thinking..."but looks aren't everything..."), but that's not why I love stand-up. I don't have dreams of being on stage with a microphone, guiding a crowd into roaring laughter.

I love stand-up comedy because it strips away layers of dirt and digs down deep in order to uncover some of the deepest human truths--love, heartbreak, conflict, injustice, and even the mundane. In the face of some big, and often sobering truths, a stand-up comic finds a way to draw out laughter and give joy. A stand-up comic finds a way to speak the truth in a way that not only makes light of it, but empowers those that hear it. Now, I should specify...not ALL stand-up comedy does these things...just good stand-up. There is, of course, a necessary role of jester--simply making people laugh. But even if it gets rude or crude, the noblest of comedy is always deeply honest--and I think, inspiring.

What if we, as preachers, found some guidance in stand-up comedians? What if we weren't afraid to "go there?" What if we didn't just make light of all the suffering and proclaim that "everything will be okay?" What if we truly step into the dark places in life, dwell there and speak to them, in order to provide hope and give life? Because, after all, isn't that what Jesus Christ does at the cross, for us?

Making the change

The changes are really coming to a close now, though with that I'm noticing just how different some of the changes really are.

Today was finally my son's first day of school up here in the Twin Cities. We dropped him off this morning and he seemed just fine. But first change, drop off time isn't until 9:20. That's over an hour later than we are used to dropping off the kids. Uff-da.

After dropping him off, my wife headed off to work. I received a call this morning from the Twin Cities director of internships wanting to have a sit down with me, and he mentioned that he was going to be on campus today. That actually worked out really well as I was planning a trip over to campus as well. Divine timing I guess.

So I hopped in the truck and headed out, making my first trial run to campus. It was a fairly uneventful trip, taking me about 25 minutes...about what I expected, though this was past rush hour. I'm shuddering to think how long it will take when I have to be there for an 8am class next week. But here's another difference. I used to "attend" class on the computer. Now I have a 21 mile commute...one way. So much for my truck never racking up miles I guess.

While I was on campus I ran into a fellow cohorter, met one of my professors that taught a class I took fall semester, and hit the bookstore...in addition to having my meeting of course.

Here's the next difference that I noticed. I used to take 2 classes in a semester and books would run me around $100, give or take a little. now, with 5 classes this spring, my total is going to be right about $400...ouch. That's a big difference right there.

What other differences will I discover? Well, at the moment, that remains to be seen. I'll keep you posted though.

Back in Class

J-term started yesterday. It felt good to be back at Luther and see students and staff once again, seeming to be more rested and joyful after the holiday break than during finals! I realized that although J-term classes are intensive, January at Luther still seems like a more relaxed time than during the semester. For most students, we get to focus on one class instead of many, and things around campus just seem quieter in general.

I really enjoyed the first day of my systematic theology class. With only six students (plus the professor and the TA), the class has a very causal, conversational tone to it. It’s a great opportunity to really dig into the material, and to be able to ask and answer each other’s questions as they arise. It would be nice if all my classes were like this, but I suppose that’s why most classes have a “precept” or small group component to them in addition to the lecture.

Another nice thing about this J-term class is that it only meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which means I don’t have to leave home two days a week if I don’t feel like it! It’s great to have a couple of complete days to study, and not have to commute and deal with traffic, even though I don’t have that far to go. Also, I study better in the mornings, usually getting more done between 7 and 10am than I do the rest of the day. I’m not sure when exactly that changed from my undergrad days of staying up until 2am to study on a regular basis, but now early bedtimes and Good Morning America are my friends!

Speaking of studying, I guess I should get back to it. We have our first quiz on Friday, and I also need to decide which Christological doctrine I want to focus all my work on for the rest of the course. That probably doesn’t sound very exciting to anyone reading this, but I’m looking forward to it. And until I start back at my Teaching Congregation, I probably won’t have much else to talk about for a while than theology. I guess that’s the reality of Life at Luther sometimes!

Things Have Changed

FINALLY THE ORANGE HAT HAS COME BACK TO LUTHER SEMINARY!!!!

Well, almost. Due to some technical difficulties, I have not posted in a month...but it would appear that I'm back up and rolling now.

When I last updated, I was in the midst of wrapping things up down in Iowa. Now a month later...things are pretty well wrapped. My family successfully made the move to the Twin Cities last Wednesday so we are now Minnesota residents...although not legally yet...getting our driver's licence and vehicle registration done is still on the "to do" list. My wife started her new job at Mt Olivet Lutheran Church today, while I was road tripping around the countryside.

Today was my final evaluation day for CPE. So instead of being in the cities, I was back in Iowa for the day and then drove back up here in the midst of lousy weather and road conditions...very exciting let me tell you.

Regretably, due to my inability to post, I have missed out on keeping you all updated with my transitional time. However, I am back up in time to share my last intensive as a DL student as it starts 1 week from today. Then I'll do my best to discuss the transition into fulltime status in about a month.

One other big date coming up...the 25th. Endorsement interview...Yes. I'm starting to freak about that...ever so slightly.

Its good to be back.

Merry Swedmas!

Two week flashed by and suddenly I found myself in America once again! As I mentioned before I spent my Christmas "home" in Sweden. It felt great to be back and see my family and almost all of my friends (it was indeed two intense weeks!). I even had the pleasure of participating at a Christian New Years Camp for Youths, both in the prayer team and as a last minute stand in as a leader of a workshop about how to interpret the bible! During my time at Luther Seminary so far all I've done is to receive, this time around I got the opportunity to share from what I have received!
A fitting way to end the year in my opinion!

With this behind me I was happy to return to the US once again and after an uneventful flight I started my J-term and begun with what might be the best class I've ever had. If you get and opportunity to take the class "Genesis to Revelation" with Professor Koester, do so (if not, take and opportunity to do so, you won't regret it!).

As promised I will now write a little about how we celebrate Christmas in Sweden!

First of all we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve (December 24). And for most Swedes there is a certain order in which things must be done:

In the morning around 8-9 o'clock (much earlier if you have small children) you eat breakfast.

At noon you eat a Christmas lunch, consisting of, but not limited to, Swedish Christmas porridge, Christmas bread with Christmas ham and Christmas cheese (yep, in a Swedish Christmas we have a lot of things with the "Christmas-" prefix).

At 3 pm all of Sweden is gathered in front of the television to watch "Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul" a TV program that has been an absolute must see during Christmas in Sweden since it first aired in 1960.

Afterwards at 4:01 pm all children who have been nice know what to expect: Presents!



















Nice seminary students and nice dogs might get some as well!

After the most important event of Christmas it is time for the second most important event, namely the Swedish Christmas-table!
















At 11 pm (after the stuffing ourselves and playing with our new presents) it is time for one of those rare occasions each year when Swedes actually go to Church, the Christmas Mass. When thousands of Swedes go to Church in order to hear about why we really celebrate Christmas and to receive Holy Communion.

That's it for me this time I hope you all had a merry Christmas and I wish you a happy new year!

New Year's Resolutions

Last year I made three resolutions and I didn’t really succeed in fulfilling them (I still think TV equals real life, I’m still intimidated by professors and I still talk about relational ministry in odd situations). Instead, it turned out to be the most difficult year of my life.

I can’t tell you how glad I am to be facing a new year. With a new year, I’ve decided to make more, shall we say, passive resolutions. I have no doubt I will be able to keep them this year.

1. I will continue to embarrass my children in public. My son is 14. There is nothing he hates more than my kissing him in public and saying, “Love you hon!” Will I keep on kissing him in public? Check! Will I search for more ways to cause my children to roll their eyes while saying, “moo-oom” in an exasperated voice? You betcha!

2. I will continue to show the high school kids in my youth group what an amazingly cool adult I really am. How lucky are they to have an adult who is so finely attuned to current events? I’ve got music from those hip Glee kids in my iTunes. I'm that cool and in-tune with the teens now-a-days. Fo’shizzel.

3. I will continue my cutting-edge, high-thrill hobbies. Oh yeah, I bet you didn’t know that about me. I am an adrenalin junkie. I will often work out of my comfort level and knit on circular needles. I know, hold on to your hats. When I really want to be dangerous, I will watch multiple television shows at one time while surfing my entertainment Web sites. Oh, yeah, I’m just quivering with electricity thinking about my thrill-seeking hobbies of pop culture, reading and knitting!

So hopefully 2011 will be an amazing year and I will be able to, uh, maintain my resolutions.