So how did the first week of teaching go?
Overall, really well. We started last Tuesday, and for the first class period we had our students introduce themselves to us. They told us their names--which of course we had trouble pronouncing, which they thought was hilarious. We heard the stories of which tribes and villages they come from and how they got to CBTS, and we heard where they want to end up in ministry--the pastorate, the chaplaincy, the mission field, the classroom. It feels so thrilling and absolutely nerve-wracking at the same time to stand at the front of a room, with a chalkboard behind you, some notes scribbled or typed on a page in your hand, and 30 or more hungry faces in front of you, anticipating that they will learn something significant in the next 50 minutes.
Here are a few of things that happened:
- Tommy shared John Piper's article "Bitzer was a Banker" (the story of how a banker decided he needed to know the biblical languages and taught himself how to read them--it's probably available online, if you want to read it, at www.desiringgod.org) in his Greek class, and they loved it.
- Wes started trying to explain the various quests for the "historical Jesus" in his NT class and was shocked when his students started asking about The Da Vinci Code. In response, he asked them to raise their hands if they had heard of the Gospel of Thomas. Nearly every hand in the classroom went up. Welcome to the world of globalization.
- Charlie's Hebrew class erupted in protest when he told them they had to know the Hebrew alphabet by the third class period. As he's met various students walking around campus, though, he's seen them carrying slips of paper with the alphabet. They always laugh and tell him they're trying.
- One of Wes and Charlie's students came to our office (yep, we have one now---we all three share it, on the second floor of the newer academic building) on Thursday, and as we talked, we realized he had eaten little if anything since Monday. Getting enough food to eat for themselves and their families is a constant issue for our students.
Tommy will post more about classes later this week, hopefully. He'll talk more about some of the hard things. It's definitely been hard.
Here are a few of things that happened:
- Tommy shared John Piper's article "Bitzer was a Banker" (the story of how a banker decided he needed to know the biblical languages and taught himself how to read them--it's probably available online, if you want to read it, at www.desiringgod.org) in his Greek class, and they loved it.
- Wes started trying to explain the various quests for the "historical Jesus" in his NT class and was shocked when his students started asking about The Da Vinci Code. In response, he asked them to raise their hands if they had heard of the Gospel of Thomas. Nearly every hand in the classroom went up. Welcome to the world of globalization.
- Charlie's Hebrew class erupted in protest when he told them they had to know the Hebrew alphabet by the third class period. As he's met various students walking around campus, though, he's seen them carrying slips of paper with the alphabet. They always laugh and tell him they're trying.
- One of Wes and Charlie's students came to our office (yep, we have one now---we all three share it, on the second floor of the newer academic building) on Thursday, and as we talked, we realized he had eaten little if anything since Monday. Getting enough food to eat for themselves and their families is a constant issue for our students.
Tommy will post more about classes later this week, hopefully. He'll talk more about some of the hard things. It's definitely been hard.
posted by Charlie, Tommy, and Wesley | 7:23 AM
2 Comments:
Wes,
Glad to hear that classes have gone well thus far. I've been praying for you guys and hope that all continues to go well. The visit to Gordon was a tremendous blessing to say the least, and I am currently in the process of applying. I'll have to tell you all about it sometime.
One more thing...I had lunch with Dr. Varner a few days ago and found out that he recently (about a year ago) visited Durham as well, and was able to have an hour-long conversation with James Dunn concerning different subjects. He absolutely loved it. I just thought I would throw that out there. He also mentioned the cathedrals.
Hope you're having a blessed experience.
Good luck guys,
Justin
Justin,
Thanks, man, for the update. Glad to hear your trip to GCTS was good (you applying for the MDiv?). I should hear back from Durham sometime soon. All that's left to complete my application is one academic reference. I'll let you know when I find out something.
Hey, tell Laurie to email me. I'd love to hear how you guys' senior year is shaping up.
later,
~wes
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