spiritual vitality

so, oddly enough, I'm writing a book review on the Bible.. not so much because I'm wanting to critique it or anything like that (we can debate specific issues in more detail at another time), but because on Aug. 31st, I finished reading through the Bible in a year. the seminary had a Bible reading plan in place for the entire seminary body as a whole - students, faculty, staff, maintenance staff and all extension center employees. professors found ways to incorporate readings from the previous night into their lessons, or simply used them as a small devotional at the start of class. if you've ever been interested in reading through the Bible in a year, click here to find a copy of the seminary's plan. it's all dated based on last year; however, it's still just as fitting.
when I returned from Ecuador last year, my parents gifted me with an Apologetics Study Bible for my birthday & also to help with my start at seminary. it was a translation I hadn't read before (HCSB), so I figured this would be a good opportunity to: 1) read through the Bible in a year, but 2) to read through a new translation. as a whole, I like the HCSB, although it wouldn't likely by my #1 favorite translation. it is more scholarly, like the ESV or NASB, rather than just simple to read (NIV/NLT)

my freshman year at LSU I tried to read through the Bible in a year, but it became much more of a duty & obligation than something I desired to do. I made it through, but I honestly couldn't tell you much more about the Bible then than I had known before. "getting through it" was simply that - skimming pages and checking a box off a list. obviously not the right approach.

so when this opportunity came, I was excited about actually reading through it legitimately and passionately, while having the accountability of other seminary students, faculty, etc. to help keep my motives in check. I'm really glad I did read through the Bible in a year, but I don't encourage anyone to partake in this journey unless they are truly committed to it or unless their intentions are pure (i.e., not just wanting to check a box off a list). when there is a low commitment or lack of conviction (as I had 6 years ago), the difficult passages & books can leave one bored and in many ways turned off to the Bible.. that's never a position anyone needs to be in.

2 Chronicles was probably the hardest book to get through. not only is it difficult reading (dimensions of Solomon's temple & brief snippets of dozens and dozens of kings), but its preceded by difficult reading (genealogies of 1 Chron., lengthy stories in 1&2 Kgs., etc.).

if you decide to embark on this journey, let me know. I'll definitely be praying for you. the key issue I'm facing now is how to continue developing in spiritual vitality/scriptural expertise now that this plan is over. I need to take the habit of reading/studying daily and continue to develop that into a lifelong passion, unrestricted by temporal plans.

love, trent.

stay tuned

hola mis amigos. it's been over a month again since i last updated this thing.. i'm really not doing so well at keeping this current.. probably why i don't have hardly any readers..

i have, however, come up with an idea to make this blog be much more frequent in its updates (personifying the blog haha), more relevant in its information, more enjoyable and hopefully more beneficial to you, the reader. i am going to start writing small reviews on the books i am currently reading.. to still be coupled with (hopefully) frequent updates of life and all that jazz (read like the song hehe)

i went into this summer with a stack of about 7 or 8 books i really wanted to read and people are always asking about particular books, books to recommend, etc. so this will be a good way to provide you, the reader, with my take on the books i am reading, as well as give me the opportunity to look back and remember what i liked or didn't like about the book. i started looking at my bookshelf and realized a couple (not many) books on there i hadn't ever read.. so i put them in my stack of books to read. i don't want to have any books on there that i've never read because.. well, i can't really provide any feedback on it or recommend it to someone if i've never read it myself.

the books that will be coming in the near future range in topics from refuting calvinism to a small book about angels (they gave it to us for free during red carpet week at seminary).. from open theism to renewing our passion for God.. i'm excited to begin reading them.. and to re-read others.. and to enlighten you on how they were.. who knows, maybe my reviews will cause you to read one or more.. or perhaps you could suggest some to me.. that'd be great too!

---------------------------------------

i leave sunday morning at 5am, headed for daytona for Student Life's college camp thingajig at the beach.. not really a camp.. we have a ton of free time and its for college students so the entire day doesnt have to be booked up like it is with youths, but anyway, Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman will be there for sure.. plus others most likely.

shortly after we get back from there, i leave the next monday (19th) for kansas city for the national worship leader conference.. where several leading worship leaders will be conducting seminars, etc.. including (heh) Chris Tomlin and others.

soon after I get back from that trip, I will be headed to Boston with the family to visit my brother for a few days.. i'm looking forward to that trip for sure.. well all of them really, but whatever.

the summer so far has been pretty laid back, focused on VBS and schoolwork for the most part, but its about to get quite adventurous.. traveling the country in just a few short weeks.. well i guess, mostly just east of the Mississip..

anywho, stay tuned. reading has already commenced, i just haven't had the time to write reviews yet. but 2 books are already down for sure.. more to come.

day 1

today started my first day of seminary at nobts. first day of grad school. i haven't been to all of my classes yet, in fact, i've only had 2 so far, but i can already tell its going to be a good bit of work.

intro to greek is going to be interesting for sure. i am excited about the end product of learning greek, but not all that excited about actually learning the language. as far as the work goes, the course is nothing unreasonable and the professor seems like a pretty good guy.. its just the task of learning a new language with an unfamiliar alphabet, structure, etc. i'll keep you updated.

philosophy of religion is going to entail an enormous amount of difficult reading, as well as a number of pretty lengthy, in-depth papers. dr. stewart is an awesome guy and is very knowledgeable in the study of philosophy, apologetics, religion, etc. he has an incredibly dry sense of humor, which makes class extremely enjoyable. i'm really excited about getting deeper into the subject matter of this course because i know he has a lot of knowledge to offer and i can learn a great deal from his lectures and from the course readings. but its definitely not going to be a cakewalk either.

next up is worship leadership. haven't been to it yet so my only knowledge is what i read on the syllabus online. it'll definitely have some nuggets that i can take from the class and apply in worship, ministry, and just in my daily walk. one of the projects in the course requires us to attend 3 different styles of worship service.. examples included Jewish, charismatic, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Vineyard.. anyhow, it'll be really interesting not only to attend these services, but to be there with the primary purpose of taking notes and learning from the way in which these other groups "produce" worship services

spiritual formation is a thursday only course. it's basically a small group (8 people) discussion course designed for first year graduate students. i'm also taking an Old Testament hybrid course which meets on Fridays once a month and supplements the rest of the course with online material and independent readings.

so thats where i'm at. not much else has been going on in life. i need to find a job and i need to find one soon. if you know of anywhere that is hiring, please let me know! tuition and books wiped out the rest of the money i had collected for the trip to ecuador, which, by the way, was incredible! i just realized i still havent posted a "post-ecuador blog" so i'll have to get on that pretty soon.. if you havent seen the pictures, head over to the facebook and look at em there. the landscape/scenery/terrain was amazingly beautiful. everywhere i looked there was another view that just blew me away.

enjoy.