graduate

I'm a Fuller Seminary graduate. That's right - on Saturday, June 13, 2009, the degree of Master of Arts in Theology was conferred to me. President Mouw said something about it not being official yet, but I wasn't listening.

So the big question that everyone (and I do mean everyone) is asking me is some form of "now what?" I complete the degree, so what's the next step? Pastor a huge church? Join the faculty of Duke? Write the next "Velvet Elvis"? Make Bono look like a lazy politician?

Let me give you a short history of my educational life:

In the Spring of 1999, I began to work on a Bachelors degree in Pastoral Ministry at Valley Forge Christian College. The goal at that point was to some day become a pastor. I remember very clearly that I wanted to be a senior pastor and not a youth pastor. I'm not sure why that's important right now.

In December of 2002, I finished that degree and moved to Camp Hill, PA to become the executive director of a singles ministry called CROSSFIRE. Not exactly pastoring, but close enough for the time being. I got to do some great stuff with the group of people I felt most called to work with - college age men and women.

In April of 2004, I decided I wanted more in terms of education. I enjoyed working with college age students, but I wanted to have more impact on them as a professor than as a pastor in the local church. To make that a reality, I needed more education. I looked into Fuller Seminary (really the only school I seriously considered), made the decision with Nikki to move to California to attend, and started making the necessary steps to make that decision a reality.

In March of 2006, we made it out to Pasadena, and I began a Masters degree at Fuller. The original goal was to move into a PhD soon after getting the MA so I could work toward becoming a professor.

That brings us up to today and the question at hand - What's next?

Honestly, I'm not totally sure. I can tell you two things for certain; one more philosophical and the other more practical.

During the graduation ceremony, I had a bit of an epiphany as to what I feel is my calling in life. I devised a crude missions statement on the spot. That missions statement is as follows:

"To cultivate well-informed Christians who are capable of deep and critical thought."

That I know for sure is what makes the gears move in my head. But how does it play out in my life? Sure, at some point I would love to teach at the university or seminary level - to be able to directly influence people to engage in critical thought. That's just not a reality for me right now. I need more education.

Which leads me to the more practical aspect of "what I know." I will be starting a full-time position at Fuller as a recruiter beginning July 6. This feeds directly into my mission because Fuller is a place that cultivates Christians think deeply and critically. As a recruiter, I can have an indirect influence on the intellectual development of these people as I encourage them to consider a seminary education.

Why am I writing all this? Well, mostly for myself I guess. I don't want to forget what makes me tick. I don't want to have an epiphany and then lose it because I forgot to give it much thought. So here it is... and as a byproduct, you get to read it (if you've even lasted this long).

But maybe there are more out there like me. I know a few Fuller students and alum read this blog... you may be in the same position. The reason you started seminary has become obsolete, and the future is not clear. Be encouraged. There is something inside of you that drives you. Find what that is and be creative about how you can live that out.