Big news!! I was recently informed that I have been accepted to Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. Some of you may know that in the past I had considered going into philosophy for my graduate work, but that has changed. I was considering philosophy because I wanted to make a difference in the the world of ideas, but then I began teaching some Bible classes at my church. As I taught on the epistles of John and then Hosea, I began to realize that I was teaching from the most important text that has ever existed. I also have a passion for reform in the evangelical church, and I think that going to seminary and teaching afterward will be the best way I can effect change in the Church. Cultural change can only come after the Church stops trying so hard to imitate the culture.
Pray for me and my family because this is a big move for us. Almost all of our family lives here in West Virginia. We are leaving behind both sets of grandparents, which will be hard for my two sons. It will also be hard for them, particularly my mom. She could also use your prayers. This will be the first time we would officially be "on our own," so it is both exciting and unnerving. Ultimately we would like to be in St. Louis by July of next year so I can take some summer Greek courses.
We will be going to St. Louis for a visit this weekend, so you can also pray for a safe trip for us. We'll be leaving Thursday after I finish work and stopping at a hotel after traveling for a few hours. Interestingly, the hotel room we reserved is in Evansville, IN, the site of the recent tornado. I don't think the hotel was damaged, but we all know about the loss of life there, so if you want to pray for the folks in Evansville as well, be my guest!
I am very much looking forward to seeing the campus and getting a feel for the city of St. Louis. I realize I won't be able to do much of either over a mere weekend visit, but I'll know more than the nothing I know now. I'm supposed to go to class with my friend Shawn who already attends Covenant, which will be fun. Then I will have a tour of the campus and have an admissions interview (cue forboding music). I'm actually not all that nervous about it. I have no idea what they'll ask me, but I've been envisioning an interview like this for the past three or four years. I'm sure it will be different than the way I've pictured it, but I'm still not nervous. Maybe that's foolhardy, but I'm just so excited to have this opportunity nothing drags me down. I'm thankful that God has given me this chance. I very much want to learn how to how to handle His Word carefully.
