Yesterday was Bethany’s first day of school, and today was mine. There’s actually not been a semester that I’ve not been in school since preschool, but for most of the last 11 years, I’ve been giving assignments, not receiving. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive, and in this context, I couldn’t agree more!
I’m at Dallas Seminary, of course. The thought of going here has been in my head for more than a decade. And I didn’t really check other schools out. DTS has what I wanted; the other schools don’t. I’ve talked about this before, I believe.
Overall, I’m impressed with DTS. In fact, 100% of my teachers talked about getting together in a home visit today. One of them suggested our families get together as our kids are close in age. The other one (who may have great-grandkids close in age to ours!) invited the class (and spouses) over for dinner. That doesn’t mention the other prof whom I don’t have for a class but who stopped by with his wife a few days ago to bring dinner and say hi.
One class has a brutal workload. The other is very easy. I’m taking one for credit; the other I’m auditing. Unfortunately I’m auditing the easy one. Both classes are about Matthew. I’ve studied and taught the life of Christ, but I’ve never had a class on a single gospel. I am excited to learn.
In case you’re wondering what the hard class requires, here’s a summary:
- Translate the entire book of Matthew from the Greek. There are 1,071 verses in Matthew, and its the third longest book in the NT (just behind Luke and Acts). Matthew constitutes about 13% of the entire NT.
- Spend 75 minutes per class period (2x/week) in reading something related to the subject of the day (which just proceeds chapter by chapter)
- Write a 20-page exegetical paper on a short section (pericope) of Matthew.
- Write a 20-page paper on a theological theme of Matthew.
- Lecture on the day when your short section is scheduled for class (or alternate assignment, for which I have submitted a request).
If the lights on this blog start to dim, you’ll know why.
Todd – Thanks for the update. Who are the professors for your two classes?
Dr. Michael Burer for the hard one; Dr. Stanley Toussaint for the “Kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew.”
Don’t be like me and drop the class, because I thought the professor (some Bolen guy) was too difficult. I know someone who did that once. That W is a huge eyesore on my IBEX semester. It was my only regret, but a necessary drop in order to have the opportunity to enjoy Jordan (I should have had that class instead) and Egypt. When (that’s the still the operative word at TMC correct?) you go back to Israel, I think I’ll have to go and take a class with you again. This time I’ll stick it out until the end.
Todd – Being a new teacher I’d have to disagree with your theory that it is more blessed to give assignments than to receive. It seems like every time I give an assignment there is prep work, teaching, and explaining to do before the assignment, and then grading to be done after the assignments are submitted. I’d much rather be receiving homework in your class than giving assignments to my class. I’m glad you’re excited to learn in your challenging classes, but I’ll miss your posts here. Thanks for all you do.
You’re taking Matthew with Dr. Stanley Toussaint? How cool is that? I read his book when I took an undergrad class on Matthew last year. My head is still spinning about translating the entire gospel!! I bet you’ll be translating a LOT faster by the end of the class. Phew!