Nazarene Theological Seminary

It's always a little bit awkward to start a new relationship especially when it's through written word because there is always a sense that both sides feel like something isn't being communicated properly.  Usually what's lacking is a simple foundational background, so I figured what better way to start this semester of blogging entries than a little bio of how this seminary student got to where he is today.

In a lot of ways, you could characterize me as your typical seminary student here at NTS, which is ironic because I like to describe myself as an atypical NTS student.  I grew up in the Church of the Nazarene out in Anaheim, CA, and committed to a life in full-time ministry when I was 12.  Knowing full well that NTS was where I would end up after my undergrad, I chose to study mathematics instead of philosophy or theology.  After I completed my undergrad, I married my beautiful wife, Jessie, and moved to Kansas City to help train and shape me in pursuit of my goal and commitment to full-time ministry.  Since then, I have grown immensely and learned plenty, not to mention experienced my first winter, but there has been one problem: I have no clue what that "full-time ministry" is going to look like once I have completed my M.Div.

I guess you could say this is why I can sometimes feel like your typical seminary student and at the same time feel like your most atypical seminary student.  But that is what I have enjoyed most since arriving in Kansas City to pursue my Master of Divinity Degree!  NTS has provided me the room and the direction to help me understand what my role in the church can and should be.  Each class shapes me in a new way and helps me to see more and more how I can be used for the Kingdom of God.  And as I slip in and out of classes dealing with different focuses and specialties, I walk away with a word of encouragement and a knowledge that I have friends in faculty, staff, and students who will not abandon me in this process.  Instead, they are committed just as much as I am to shaping my journey to full-time ministry and how that commitment will formulate outside the walls of this institution.