Back in the land of sweet tea, barbecue, and football…

The past nine months has been, quite frankly, overwhelmingly busy (although amazing)! I took ten classes this past year (five per semester – for a total of 28 credits, or almost 1/3 of all credits to complete my M.Div. degree!) in addition to completing a 10-weeks summer internship in Cleveland, OH with Grace Christian & Missionary Alliance Church’s Signs of Grace Deaf ministry. While I passed all of my classes (I got the highest semester GPA ever this past Spring, and I was elated!) and completed my internship on a great note (here are some pictures from Signs of Grace’s Classic Car Show, Soul Surfer Dinner Night, Deaf Chat & Beach Party, and Summer Family Fun Night events, and also Signs of Grace’s first-ever Deaf Worship service), I was worn out by the time August rolled around and needed a bit of vacation. I was happy to see my family for a short time before heading back to the Deep South to start my third year at Beeson Divinity School. The picture on the left was taken on my first day of classes; as you can see, it was a drop-dead gorgeous (but hot) day!

Just a quick recap on what is in store for me this semester at Beeson. I am beginning my first of four Hebrew class, this one with the eminent yet hilarious professor, Dr. Ross, who also wrote Introducing Biblical Hebrew that we are using for our class. So far, I find Hebrew to be a lot easier than Greek (but it might bite me later on in the semester though) and it has been quite fun too!

I’m also taking my first Christian Preaching class with Dr. Robert Smith Jr., who is a phenomenal and fiery African American  preacher with a huge heart for his students. In this class, each student will have several opportunities to have one-on-one sessions with him to receive feedbacks on how to improve sermon outline manuscript, preparation, and delivery. You can search his name on Youtube and see some of his sermons – you won’t be one bit disappointed!

Finally, I’m completing my Doctrine & Ethics with Dr. Cole, and it is a new course that combines systematic theology (i.e. answering questions such as “What should we believe about God,” “What should we regard the Scriptures as,” and “Who is Jesus/Holy Spirit/Trinity”) and ethical issues (i.e. abortion, euthanasia, and homosexuality) that Christian ministers will need to be prepared to address with other people.

Since I am now taking only three classes this semester, I am able to breathe a bit and enjoy life a bit more in Birmingham, AL and keep in touch with my family and friends such as you, my readers, through letters and blog posts. Moreover, I am able to be more involved with some extracurricular activities at Beeson such as the intercessory prayer ministry, which is what I am excited about! As always, thank you for your steadfast prayers, support, and words of encouragement over the past months! It is only by the grace of God I have been able to get this far in seminary, and I still have a long road ahead of me. And did I mention it is also great to be back in the land of sweet tea, barbecue, and football?!

Please comment below and let me know where y’all went this past summer.

Yours in Christ, for the glory of God alone,
Bruce