Seminary is hard. Seminary is challenging. Seminary is awesome.

I sort of feel like my first few months of seminary have been spent learning how to go to seminary. There's a ton of reading, studying, and writing that goes into seminary. And it's best not to get behind. One day in my New Testament class, our professor asked us how we were all doing. We had a big quiz that week as well as a ton of reading and other assignments. The class responded that it was a lot of work and we were all exhausted. His response was, "Well, yeah. Seminary's hard." Then he encouraged us that our studies are so important. In three short years, we are being equipped for a lifetime of ministry. What we do here is in many ways more important than law school. What we learn will influence ministries that will have eternal significance. So yeah, seminary's hard, but that's the way it needs to be.

It's also super challenging. I'm finding myself challenged and stretched in so many ways. My Sankofa: Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation class has confronted me with the many ways that racism still permeates our society as well as the ways I have contributed and benefited from it. My New Testament class has challenged me in so many ways to live out the teachings of Jesus. Just last week we talked about money and the rich young ruler. Our professors paper on this topic is titled, "Jesus and Money - No Place to Hide and No Easy Answers." He challenged us with the statement, "If you want to really know somebody, find out where they read Scripture literally and where are the places where they say, oh that one doesn't really count." Money is one place many Christians do that.

It's also challenging to keep a balanced life in seminary. I haven't been to the gym in months. Some weekends, I forget to call my family. Since so much of my life is spent studying the Bible, it's easy to forget to spend devotional time in the Bible and in prayer. But we have chapel twice a week, and it's edifying and refreshing to the soul. When our professors open class in prayer or a hymn, it's not just a superficial exercise; it is deep and real.

So ultimately, seminary's awesome. I love all my classes. Yes, they're hard, but that's what we all signed up for. I've already learned so much and can't wait to learn more. Learning Greek is awesome; there's something amazing about reading a passage in the Greek text. Seeing the narrative of church history through the centuries is fascinating. Finding myself challenged and convicted in the middle of a class is a beautiful experience. This is why I am here. To be challenged, encouraged, and prepared for ministry. I'm so incredibly grateful for this place already.

So now that I've procrastinated my studying with this blog post, I'd better get back to work. :)