[To borrow a phrase from the SNL Debate sketch from last Saturday]
One thing that I wanted to make sure when I came to Princeton was that my blog stayed active. Sorry. And I promised more theological posts to come. Sorry. As I sat in my Paradigms and Progress in Theology course today and listened to Van Huyssteen continue to prod Andrew after Andrew’s great presentation yesterday, I realized: “Shit, I need to start reading for my classes.” But life has been pretty good recently. Let me give you some highlights until I can go more in-depth into other events and thoughts. Thanks for bearing with me as I figure out how to be a seminary student and keep up the blogging skills…
- I spent most of the day Sunday in Brooklyn with some guys on my hall at Bethany Baptist Church. It’s been pastored for the past 42 years by Dr. William Augustus Jones (quite the man; marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and is very socially active, written books). We spent some time with him in his study afterward (one of the guys on my hall knows Dr. Jones very well) – and I’ll get pictures up as soon as they email them to me.
- I check my mailbox 2-3x/day because my iPod has NOT come yet. My parents mailed it a week and a half ago and they shipped it 2-day mail. So, if you do the math, this is NOT good, and I have a feeling it’s been lost in the mail. Of course, my dad didn’t put insurance on it or do a tracking number or anything. So…of course when(if) I get it, you’ll see pictures of it.
- Been playing a lot of ultimate frisbee on Fridays and now flag football is in season. When I told my mom I was playing football, she just laughed at me…
- Classes are going well, and I managed to survive my first Hebrew exam yesterday, which was definitely scaring me a bit. It’s not the sort of exam you can BS your way through unfortunately. For those of you who don’t know Hebrew, it consists of some pretty jacked-up looking symbols and has tons of rules, to which there are tons of exceptions to the rules.
- I’ve been enjoying my new friends out here in Princeton, and that’s definitely been a great thing that’s kept me going quite often. I’m in a small group with some guys called The Upper Room. A mixed group of juniors, middlers and seniors (first, second and third years) who are all very cool. We meet Tuesday nights for bread and wine. We share anything we’ve read recently that sticks out to us (sometimes that can even be the Bible) and then catch up with one another…it’s a good group.
- Still working in the dining hall. Last night we had about 4 guys (in addition to Nick and I) who wore ties for Tuesday Tie Night. And just a few minutes ago, after chapel, I saw Jourdan wearing boots, Wranglers, a belt buckle and a nice Western shirt for Wednesday Western Night. We’re trying to see if these little theme nights actually catch on or not. When Dr. Iain Torrance (our new President) came through the line last night (which is amazing in itself, he loves hanging out with students and eating in the cafeteria) I told him about Wednesday Western Night, and he said he didn’t have a cowboy hat…oh well.
- There are so many groups on campus that it’s hard to know how to spend your time. Here are just some of the groups: BGLASS (Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Straight Supporters), Covenant Network, Seminarians for Peace & Justice, Seminarians for Life, Seminarians for Social Change, Seminarians Organized Against Rape, Social Committee, Theological Students Fellowship and many more. I’m actually going with some girls from the Covenant Network (I didn’t really do that on purpose, it just turns out that I am the only male going) to Chicago Nov 4-6 for the Covenant Network 2004 Conference: Made in the Image of God: Thinking Theologically About Sex. It should be pretty interesting, and a nice little break from New Jersey, and I’ll get to see Tony and hopefully my other buddy Mark who is at McCormick. I also might be working on the BGLASS website, so we’ll see how that goes.
There is a little update on my life. Be looking for more theological posts…coming soon…I promise…