Seminary

Yeah, so seminary... Adam had really encouraged me to do a program called Discipleship Sioux Falls last year that winds up being an overview class with each session on a different study area (NT, OT, missions, spiritual formation...). It's almost like the Cliff Notes version of an M Div.

The money was there and it worked with my schedule, so I did that from September-May on the first Monday night of each month. One of their parting gifts to us was to let us either audit a class for free or take one for credit for half price this year. I was planning on auditing Spiritual Formation (a topic of interest that probably best fits what I'm currently doing in ministry and fits the schedule nicely) but in talking with Nate (Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid) I expressed a desire to eventually do more and it wasn't hard to let him talk me into starting something for credit.

For right now, I'll be starting a Certificate in Christian Ministry which will at least get me some core courses that can help me grow in the role I am in now. There's the possibility that I'll be able to roll those credits into a Master's level course of study, so there is a chance that if things continue to progress I could move in that direction. Really the biggest hurdles to doing a Master's now is that we're still paying for the degrees that Amy & I earned in Colorado and our budget is really tight. It's not completely by choice that I'm working three part time jobs right now and taking on more debt does not seem wise at this point in time.

So, we'll ease into things and see how God might lead. I don't necessarily have any vocational interests tied into the decision, so we can afford to take our time. Tomorrow begins a new adventure.