Finally...

Well, after three and a half but well enjoyed years I finshed a Masters of Divinity from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary! (commencement was May 5th, 2007)

I did not have specific focus though I would say it is top heavy with biblical studies/theology and the biblical languages and exegesis. I did take the practical ministry courses but my philosophy was that I wanted to invest my time (and money) in things I would really only have one shot at - being mentored in the biblical languages and how to study the Bible.

The way I see it, there are things that change and things that do not change. "How to do ministry" is always changing - but the Bible does not change. So, I chose to spend as much time as I could in Bible or theology classes (you can never have too much Bible and theology, imo) and the languages knowing once I was done I would probably not always have the time to really be digging in - whereas with ministry I figure I can always read the latest and newest book on ministry - but I would not always have the opportunity to be mentored in Bible study and how biblical languages work. I really believe this will pay off for me in the long run. Make sense?

One question we all ask is what now? Well, now that I have an MDiv I need to find a J.O.B and start paying the bills - seminary is very expensive. What job will I pursue? Also, My wife and I both have the MDiv (we met at the seminary and married a year later) so we really prefer that we do ministry together so we are seeking the Lord for what direction we should go. Our biggest heart is to do cross-cultural work, particularly overseas.

Until then, I/we have several different avenues of possibilites - teaching, pastoring, or even chaplaincy. I believe my strongest gifting is in teaching so I am praying about how I should pursue that. I do sense the desire to go for doctoral work but I want to take some time and reflect on my MDiv experience before moving on - besides I hardly have a dissertation topic or proposal, which should probably be turned in with the applications (and also need the "extensive pastoral experience" most schools want - if I did a chaplain residency I could probably do a PhD in Pastoral theology and couseling, which would be interesting).

One problem I have is I am a generalist - I love all aspects of the Bible both OT and NT - both intrigue me - though I probably have more of an inkling for the OT and really enjoy Biblical Hebrew. At one point I had the desire to be able to teach from any major genre of the Bible. The other problem is I am seeing just how competitive teaching is, even overseas. It seems like everyone wants to teach. PhD programs are very comptetitive so I need to know this is what the Lord is leading me to do before I would invest in such a commitment. So, as you can see, I need some time to pray and seek the Lord for his direction.

Well that's about it for now.