back in the saddle again

Just when I thought the ride was over I have begun a new degree program at Covenant Seminary. On Friday and Saturday I attended a one credit course on Muslim-Christian Relations. This is my first class towards a ThM in Pastoral Theology. The ThM (Master of Theology) is a slightly more advanced degree than the MDiv (which is what I received back in May). This is a thirty-hour degree but only twleve hours need to be completed on campus. My goal is to complete the twelve hours before we head back to New Zealand. After that I can finish one course at a time from Auckland until it's all done.

I've been wrestling with whether or not to pursue this degree for quite some time. One of the personal reasons I have decided to go through with this program is that I have a lot more questions now than I did four years ago. In essence I have learned how much more I have to learn. I'm hoping that these additional studies, with the guidance of wise and helpful professors, will help me find some answers to my questions so that I can better help others to find answers to their questions. This degree will also help me in my future teaching role at Grace Theological College. The hope here is that when I finish this degree I will be better equipped to equip my future students.


The Pastoral Theology ThM is somewhat flexible when it comes to the specific area of study. I plan to focus on Apologetics and Practical Theology since this is the field I'll be teaching in. I also hope to focus some of my studies on church planting since I have a ton of learning to do in this area before we get back to Auckland. Of course this is all just hope and speculation right now. Reality has a way of changing our best plans and there is a lot of hard work and money that needs to be expended before I actually finish the ThM. I was pretty certain last May that I was done with school but the last eight months have shown me that more preparation is not a bad thing. However, it was pretty weird sitting in class again last weekend. I also felt like I was being demoted when I registered for the class and went from alumnus back to student.