Update from Louisville: Stein Class and Spring Term

Hello again from Louisville. I wanted to update you on the last couple of weeks, and give you a preview of what I will be doing in the Spring semester. God willing, I plan to be home this coming Sunday before the Spring starts.

J-Term: Greek Exegesis of Mark's Gospel- Dr. Robert Stein

Having thoroughly enjoyed his books A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible and Jesus the Messiah (a book I have often excerpted on this blog), getting to sit under Dr. Stein was an undeserved honor. Now retired, he taught New Testament at Bethel College in Minnesota before coming to Southern. He still resides in Minnesota with his wife. That book you see on the table in front of him is his commentary on Mark, which we used as a text. As he put it, "I can honestly say that of all the commentaries on Mark that are out there, it's the one I agree with the most." :-) The class consisted of two papers (one of which I am still writing), and translation of assigned passages of the Greek text of Mark. Dr. Stein himself made it very enjoyable. We began every class with prayer, even once all reciting the Lord's Prayer together. I didn't agree with him on everything, but his reverence for and knowledge of God's Word were humbling and exemplary. By now he is back home in Minnesota with his wife. He is 76 years old, so you may pray that God will make his remaining years fruitful.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Robert+H.+Stein&x=0&y=0

New Dorm
After my last day of class on Saturday, I spent several hours lugging my excessive amount of stuff from my J-term home in Williams Hall to Spring-term home in Manly Hall. The dorm is so-called because it was named after Basil Manly, one the founders of the school, but I like to think that the fuller meaning of the name includes a description of its occupants. This dorm room is designed for one person, and is about half the size of my other one. A photo is forthcoming, since I can't get my camera to work at the moment. Due to technical difficulties, I haven't been able to access internet in my room until today, when a man finally came and fixed it. This is a positive development. :-)

Also on the domestic front, my meal plan kicked in this week, enabling me to simply swipe my card and eat cafeteria food, which means a few less peanut butter sandwiches. Oh, and speaking of food, I received a package from the Bakers containing a huge bag of those chocolate chips we always snacked on at their house. Thanks, guys!!!! And speaking of chocolate chips, after five months of no exercise (when Tilly moved out, my motivation to exercise in Miss Beth's garage plummeted), I am finally back on the weights and the running track.

Spring Class Schedule
After seeking counsel and shuffling some things around, I have decided to take five classes this coming semester. Here they are.

1. Elementary Hebrew- Dr. James Hamilton

Of all my classes, this one will be the most difficult. Hebrew is Greek to me! (That pun was for Mr. Tad and Mr. Pinzur). I would definitely covet your prayers for a sharp memory on this one.

2. Islam and the Christian Mission- Dr. Zane Pratt

This is only Dr. Pratt's second semester here, as President Mohler talked him off the mission field last summer to come back to the states and serve as the head of the Billy Graham School of Missions here at SBTS. He is also a member of the church I am attending, which is nice. Based upon counsel I received from a faculty member, I appealed to the school to let me substitute this class for a certain required class. I am looking forward to it. For those of you who are interested, here is the assigned reading:
The Koran
The Gospel for Muslims- Thabiti Anyabwile
A Christian Guide to the Quran- Raouf and Carol Ghattas
Islam: Its Prophet, People, Politics, and Power- George W. Braswell
The Camel- Kevin Greeson

3. Greek Exegesis of 1 Peter- Dr. Brian Vickers

This one is an elective. Pastor Rod Wilton once encouraged me to get as much of the languages as I could while I was here. I figured I'd be wise to take his advice. We will be reading Thomas Schreiner's commentary on 1 Peter, a book which Chris and I both regularly consulted while we were preaching through 1 Peter, and practicing tracing the flow of Peter's argument through diagramming. This should be fun.

4. The Messiah in the Hebrew Bible- Dr. James Hamilton

This one is my last remaining elective, and my second class with Dr. Hamilton. I am taking it for at least four reasons: (1) Old Testament and biblical theology are Dr. Hamilton's area of expertise (2) Other than two semesters of OT Introduction, I haven't gotten to take a lot of OT while here. (3) I would like to be able to preach from the OT (something, as you know, I haven't done much of yet). (4) I would like to able to see Jesus more clearly in the OT.

Dr. Hamilton is also the pastor of Kenwood Baptist Church here in Louisville. Our reading list for this class is:

God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment- James M. Hamilton (yes, professors assign their own books, :-) )
The Servant King- T. Desmond Alexander (a delightful and easy-to-read little book)
Dominion and Dynasty- Stephen Dempster
The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments- edited by Stanley Porter
Four chapters of the Old Testament per day.

5. Introduction to Christian Philosophy- Dr. James Parker

This class is required, and is one I decided to pick up at the last minute. I believe Tiffany had Dr. Parker as a professor while she was at Boyce. It'll be three hours on Thursday night, but from everything I've heard, if there's any instructor who can hold your attention for three hours, it's Dr. Parker. This is a blessing. Other than the fact that he is hilarious and has more degrees than Fahrenheit, I know hardly anything about Dr. Parker. But speaking of his humor--now that I think of it--Tilly and I met Dr. Parker in the cafeteria on the day we came up to visit the campus, and he told us this story about an incident where someone was excited to meet him and introduce him to their friends because they thought his name was James Packer (i.e. J. I. Packer). He said the guy was so excited that he almost didn't have the heart to disillusion him. :-)

The reading list is:

Life's Ultimate Questions- Ronald Nash
The Universe Next Door- James Sire
Faith and Reason-Ronald Nash

Well, that's my schedule. As you can see, it's a busy one. As Dr. Hamilton warned me, "You've can't do this and play video games all semester." Of course, as you all know, not playing video games won't be a problem for me. Instead, I will have to say goodbye to the Redbox for a few months. :-(

After this semester is over, I will have only eight classes left. One reason I mention this is that based upon a couple of comments I have heard, it seemed that some might have gotten the idea that this was my final semester. This is not true. The M.Div requires that 24 hours of coursework be done on the Louisville campus,  and now seemed like the best time start on those. This is one of the reasons I decided to add a fifth class. Between the J-term and Spring, I will have completed 21 of those 24 hours (that is, 7 of 8). This means that, barring some unfortunate turn of events, I should be able to do a couple or three classes this summer and then maybe three or four this Fall, finishing no later than next J-term. But while man proposes, God disposes. So let me add "If the Lord wills, I will live and finish my M.Div."

I have crafted these posts deliberately, because I want you to know the names and faces of these men so that you can pray for them. In serving me, they are serving all of you as well. So, Mr. Tad, if you could appoint someone to bring these four men's names up on Wednesday night, I would appreciate it: James Hamilton, Brian Vickers, Zane Pratt, and James Parker.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you this Sunday. It's been too long.

Justin