You may think, by the title of this post, that suddenly I've been whacked by the "green" stick and I'm having an unfortunate problem with a nasty species of crabgrass in my new garden....
Not.
I'm taking two classes this semester with a New Testament professor named Klyne Snodgrass. He's got the name that commands instant respect as a professor, to be sure. And I'm taking my Greek exegesis class, as well as a class on the parables of Jesus, with him. Today was the first day I met him, and had ever seen him in person.
I arrived in seminary in the middle of last school year, and Dr. Snodgrass was on "sabbatical" teaching at none other than Duke Divinity School. So while I was around, he was not. But I heard a lot about him from many people.
In short, the guy is an icon. In the field of New Testament studies, Klyne is big. His books are littered all over the seminary foyer. He is widely known as a very demanding academic professor, but one of the most gentle, pastoral professors you will ever find. I'd never met the guy, and I was already very intrigued, and to be honest, a little intimidated.
Not because I was afraid he'd rip me to shreds.... I was intimidated because his reputation both as a Biblical intellectual and as a gentle academic shepherd of students far precedes him. And it is an honorable reputation, by what people have told me. And that's hard to find. And it also far surpasses the type of legacy I can reasonably ever expect to attain myself. So he will definitely put me in my place without even trying.
Most at the seminary don't really appreciate what they are getting with Klyne initially. Klyne generally teaches New Testament 1, which is generally taken by seminary students in their first semester of their first year. And, of course, this class is taught (generally) at 8am on Monday mornings, so this is the first experience of many students at North Park. And, apparently, the class is a doozy.
So, all of these factors combined, you may hear another professor saying to a new student that he or she was baptized into the seminary by "Klyne the Baptist" yesterday. They were.
Since I came in the middle of the year, I took NT2 in the spring, but opted not to take NT1 this semester because I knew of the workload. I was already taking Greek Exegesis with Klyne, and I thought, "I don't want to take a heavy Bible class at the same time as Exegesis, especially a Bible class with Klyne. That's a ton of work."
But eventually I decided to drop a preaching class for a number of reasons, and I saw this Wednesday night class being taught by none other than Dr. Snodgrass himself.... on the parables of Jesus. He had spent years working on a huge book on the parables, and that book was going to be the text for the course.
Then, someone told me that Klyne had been dropping hints to peers and students that he'd be retiring soon, maybe in two years. And I realized that my time to soak up everything from this man was short.
And I reflected... which always leads to more work for me....
In my life, I've been to hell and back. I'm stronger for it. I'm standing as though my armor is galvanized in the finest metal because God is on my side and I've learned so much, and I'm in the best shape of my life in just about every way. I've handled the crazy workload much better than I expected. I trust my instincts and knowledge and my ability to discern in difficult situations. With all of that, I've found that I have precious few mentors and people I personally look up to in my life. I've gotten to be a bit of a snob, I guess.
But I realized that this guy would definitely make me feel small. And that's not a bad thing. I knew I would revere him and that he'd make a huge difference in my life and faith. He's Klyne Snodgrass, for pete's sake! Klyne even has an entry on Wikipedia. Go ahead and go onto Wikipedia and search for him. He's got a page.
If you try to search for me on Wikipedia, you'd probably get a big sarcastic yellow face popping up, sticking its tongue out at you and blowing very hard. And you may feel a hint of computer saliva darting into your eye, and you'll wipe your eyes and once you can see clearly again, you'll realized that you tried to search Joe Misek on Wikipedia.
So I dropped that preaching class, and registered for the Parables class. And what I tried to avoid initially (taking two Klyne classes, taking a Bible class and Exegesis at the same time) is exactly where I find myself.
I met Klyne Snodgrass at 9:30am this morning, and he's everything that folks made him out to be. I'm gearing up for a crazy workload this semester, but I'll be sitting under a scholar that will doubtlessly change my life for the better.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Classes
I would say that, in many ways, this past summer was the best of my life. I had periods of intense focus and workload. I had periods of rest and relaxation... which look a lot like laziness when you see me in non-action. Regardless, I had fun. I took two summer intensives which yielded nine academic credits. Add that to the 14 that I took in my first semester in seminary, and I'm coming along nicely, with good grades.
The intense period was a six week class studying two semesters' worth of Biblical Greek. It was crazy, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a history of heart failure, women who may be pregnant, anyone under the age of 23, anyone over the age of 49, or anyone with a shred of dignity and common sense. However, I survived the aptly nicknamed "suicide Greek" and passed it comfortably, en route to Greek Exegesis in the fall. More on exegesis later.
For the first time in probably 16 years, I played in some kind of a competive sport. Now, first of all, it was softball. It was not the baseball or football of my childhood dreams. If my childhood dreams were coming to fruition at this time, I'd be playing major league baseball or NFL football, but since my dreams that come true always have a nutty twist, I'd be on the disabled list as a veteran third basemen or middle linebacker of a team way out of playoff contention with a severed pinky toe stemming from an unfortunate incident involving a garden hose, a laborador retriever, and a revolving door that leads into a hotel lobby. I dunno either.
Anyway, it also was a church softball league. My seminary is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church, and about 15 other covenant churches or organizations field a team and we played about a dozen games, plus playoffs. It can be fairly competitive, depending on the team you play. Some teams were skilled and they argued a lot with the umpires. Other teams were still trying to figure out which end of the bat you hold it from. We also had the obligation to umpire several other teams' games, and I got to umpire the plate about four times. It was kind of interesting when I would make a call and one of the players would bark at me. I generally barked back, then the player would realize that I was the bigger dog and he would remain silent the rest of the game... and I would praise God for providing me with a nice gym to work out at.
But the softball was fun because it was a chance for me to get to know people, challenge myself athletically, showcase my sub-superhuman strength, and hit the ball semi-impressive distances. It was a nice distraction from my Greek class, and it was generally enjoyable. I'll do it again next summer, Lord willing.
And I met many interesting people, and strengthen some friendships that were just slowly starting to form at the end of the spring semester. Summer in the city can be a lot of fun, and I was thoroughly disappointed that this 6-week, summer intensive, two semesters' worth of Biblical Greek crammed into four hours a day, five days a week, resulting in the knowledge of 80% of the Koine Greek language was not the cakewalk I was hoping it to be. Maybe I should have written out that last sentence before class started, and my expectations of summer fun would have been a bit more realistic. Regardless, I had limited time to forge new relationships and settle into on-campus seminary life.
And now, fall classes begin for everyone in about ten and a half hours. My schedule is kind of slick, although it by no means will be simple. I am taking the following:
Christian Heritage; T, Th 8-9:20am
Greek Exegesis; T, Th 9:30-10:50am
Parables of Jesus; W 6:30-9:30pm
Christian Theology... online
So that leaves me with lots of out of class work, but in class, I have no Monday classes, no Friday or weekend obligations, no class until the evening on Wednesdays, and I'm done with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays by 11am. And I just moved on-campus, so I'm a short walk away from the seminary building. I'll probably be in the library or the gym, or about 50 miles northwest of of the seminary (I'll explain that in another post) most of the rest of the time. But at least I'm running life at my own pace, and I only have myself to blame if I start to slip.
And so, the next phase of my life, which now is running on a semester schedule apparently, begins. I'll miss summer, but I think I'll file this one in a very favorable section of my memories.
The intense period was a six week class studying two semesters' worth of Biblical Greek. It was crazy, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a history of heart failure, women who may be pregnant, anyone under the age of 23, anyone over the age of 49, or anyone with a shred of dignity and common sense. However, I survived the aptly nicknamed "suicide Greek" and passed it comfortably, en route to Greek Exegesis in the fall. More on exegesis later.
For the first time in probably 16 years, I played in some kind of a competive sport. Now, first of all, it was softball. It was not the baseball or football of my childhood dreams. If my childhood dreams were coming to fruition at this time, I'd be playing major league baseball or NFL football, but since my dreams that come true always have a nutty twist, I'd be on the disabled list as a veteran third basemen or middle linebacker of a team way out of playoff contention with a severed pinky toe stemming from an unfortunate incident involving a garden hose, a laborador retriever, and a revolving door that leads into a hotel lobby. I dunno either.
Anyway, it also was a church softball league. My seminary is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church, and about 15 other covenant churches or organizations field a team and we played about a dozen games, plus playoffs. It can be fairly competitive, depending on the team you play. Some teams were skilled and they argued a lot with the umpires. Other teams were still trying to figure out which end of the bat you hold it from. We also had the obligation to umpire several other teams' games, and I got to umpire the plate about four times. It was kind of interesting when I would make a call and one of the players would bark at me. I generally barked back, then the player would realize that I was the bigger dog and he would remain silent the rest of the game... and I would praise God for providing me with a nice gym to work out at.
But the softball was fun because it was a chance for me to get to know people, challenge myself athletically, showcase my sub-superhuman strength, and hit the ball semi-impressive distances. It was a nice distraction from my Greek class, and it was generally enjoyable. I'll do it again next summer, Lord willing.
And I met many interesting people, and strengthen some friendships that were just slowly starting to form at the end of the spring semester. Summer in the city can be a lot of fun, and I was thoroughly disappointed that this 6-week, summer intensive, two semesters' worth of Biblical Greek crammed into four hours a day, five days a week, resulting in the knowledge of 80% of the Koine Greek language was not the cakewalk I was hoping it to be. Maybe I should have written out that last sentence before class started, and my expectations of summer fun would have been a bit more realistic. Regardless, I had limited time to forge new relationships and settle into on-campus seminary life.
And now, fall classes begin for everyone in about ten and a half hours. My schedule is kind of slick, although it by no means will be simple. I am taking the following:
Christian Heritage; T, Th 8-9:20am
Greek Exegesis; T, Th 9:30-10:50am
Parables of Jesus; W 6:30-9:30pm
Christian Theology... online
So that leaves me with lots of out of class work, but in class, I have no Monday classes, no Friday or weekend obligations, no class until the evening on Wednesdays, and I'm done with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays by 11am. And I just moved on-campus, so I'm a short walk away from the seminary building. I'll probably be in the library or the gym, or about 50 miles northwest of of the seminary (I'll explain that in another post) most of the rest of the time. But at least I'm running life at my own pace, and I only have myself to blame if I start to slip.
And so, the next phase of my life, which now is running on a semester schedule apparently, begins. I'll miss summer, but I think I'll file this one in a very favorable section of my memories.
My divorce
Relax. It's not what you think.
I've ended my relationship with the Chicago Cubs, as of about a month ago. I've had it with this 9 trillion dollar sorry excuse of a team playing manure-like baseball befitting of a ragtag minor league team. To call the payroll of this team albatross would be too kind and, frankly, not a sufficiently-extreme metaphor.
We have thrown enough money at Carlos Zambrano to fund the research of a cure for his brain damage. And he underperformed, threw a fit, went to the bullpen, threw another fit, went on the disabled list due to craziness, and then decided to pitch effectively after the season was long lost. This hothead is certifiable, overweight, undisciplined in the offseason, chaotic during the season, and prefer to HIT!!!
We have thrown enough money at Alphonso Soriano to feed EVERYONE ON EARTH plentifully. And yet this guy is nowhere near the megastar he was signed to be. He has at least two annual injuries early in every season, the early season slump that is justified by the fact that he's still "working the kinks out" (which most pros do during spring training), then he gets hot long after the season is lost and his stats are nicely padded to produce a respectable, yet underachieving, season of numbers.
We have thrown enough money at Kosuke Fukodome to buy him the Japanese baseball team he clearly wishes to be playing for. And yet, after multiple seasons with this team, he still hasn't settled into a good fit in the batting order or even a role on this team. His contributions early in each season, and late, which have tended to be good, have been dwarfed by the lack of contribution when it really has been needed for the Cubs... in the middle 80% of the season.
We have thrown enough money at Ryan Dempster to fund the production of a time machine back to his first season as the Cubs starter. Yet we've been categorically fooled into thinking that he is an ace-in-waiting and a dependable second or third starter on a championship team.
I appreciate Marlon Byrd as the one having the most successful season. First of all, I can't believe I just wrote that. But we the people of Chicago need more than a breakout season from Marlon Byrd. We need the offensive line to get fixed, for the defense to get healthy, for Jay Cutler to stop throwing the ball at the wrong jerseys.........
Oh, Lord, my blog posts of venting and frustration are all starting to blend together. Get me outta here!!!!!!!!!!
I've ended my relationship with the Chicago Cubs, as of about a month ago. I've had it with this 9 trillion dollar sorry excuse of a team playing manure-like baseball befitting of a ragtag minor league team. To call the payroll of this team albatross would be too kind and, frankly, not a sufficiently-extreme metaphor.
We have thrown enough money at Carlos Zambrano to fund the research of a cure for his brain damage. And he underperformed, threw a fit, went to the bullpen, threw another fit, went on the disabled list due to craziness, and then decided to pitch effectively after the season was long lost. This hothead is certifiable, overweight, undisciplined in the offseason, chaotic during the season, and prefer to HIT!!!
We have thrown enough money at Alphonso Soriano to feed EVERYONE ON EARTH plentifully. And yet this guy is nowhere near the megastar he was signed to be. He has at least two annual injuries early in every season, the early season slump that is justified by the fact that he's still "working the kinks out" (which most pros do during spring training), then he gets hot long after the season is lost and his stats are nicely padded to produce a respectable, yet underachieving, season of numbers.
We have thrown enough money at Kosuke Fukodome to buy him the Japanese baseball team he clearly wishes to be playing for. And yet, after multiple seasons with this team, he still hasn't settled into a good fit in the batting order or even a role on this team. His contributions early in each season, and late, which have tended to be good, have been dwarfed by the lack of contribution when it really has been needed for the Cubs... in the middle 80% of the season.
We have thrown enough money at Ryan Dempster to fund the production of a time machine back to his first season as the Cubs starter. Yet we've been categorically fooled into thinking that he is an ace-in-waiting and a dependable second or third starter on a championship team.
I appreciate Marlon Byrd as the one having the most successful season. First of all, I can't believe I just wrote that. But we the people of Chicago need more than a breakout season from Marlon Byrd. We need the offensive line to get fixed, for the defense to get healthy, for Jay Cutler to stop throwing the ball at the wrong jerseys.........
Oh, Lord, my blog posts of venting and frustration are all starting to blend together. Get me outta here!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I love this......
Thank you to Failblog.org and whoever sent this in to that site. Whoever this spunky kid is, made me smile.
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