Bound copies of my thesis finally arrived. Looks official. It's always nice to see the finished product.
If anyone needs a doorstop, let me know!
Darryl's Blog
Recently in School Category
Just got this off the camera from a couple of weeks ago. The evening of graduation, we headed down to Long Wharf in Boston for dinner at Legal Sea Foods. I have my favorite dish there and thoroughly enjoyed every morsel. I've had better food at the Legal in Peabody but you can't beat the atmosphere on the wharf.
This photo is just my attempt at trying to bring bibs back into style, if they ever were in style in the first place.
A press release from Gordon-Conwell:
The Board of Trustees of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary has appointed Dr. Haddon W. Robinson as Interim President, effective July 1, 2007. Dr. Robinson succeeds Dr. James Emery White, who has resigned, effective June 30, 2007, due to family considerations which resulted in his unanticipated inability to relocate as planned from North Carolina to Massachusetts. Dr. White will continue to teach as Professor of Theology and Culture at the Charlotte Campus.
Please pray for Dr. Robinson as he takes on this role.
My thesis on theocentric preaching has finally passed proofreading by the D.Min. office and is now available for download.
I hope to eventually shape this material into a book, since the thesis format is structured for a specific purpose. Although the thesis is done, in some ways it's just a beginning.
Just found out the speaker at the President's Breakfast on the day that I graduate is none other than Tim Keller.
This year’s speaker is Dr. Timothy Keller, MDIV 1975. In 1989, Dr. Keller and his wife Kathy planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan. Targeted at the young urban professional, Redeemer has been termed by Christianity Today as “one of Manhattan’s most vital congregations.” Under Keller’s leadership, Redeemer started a church planting center in 2001 and has helped start over 100 churches of various denominations in the New York City area and around the world.
Can't wait now!
You may have been worried about this previous post. No need to worry; things are now under control.
We are thankful to the different agencies which have helped us to address the problem regarding the aggressive behavior of two male turkeys on campus. We especially thank the Environmental Police Officer, also known as a Conservation Officer, for the removal of these two turkeys.
Thank you for your prayers and your patience – your support is always greatly appreciated.
No word on the identity of the two male turkeys.
At the end of my defense on Friday, when the lights had gone out due to a power failure, Haddon Robinson asked me what I enjoyed and what I would improve about the D.Min. program.
Here's what I liked:
- You don't get to study under someone like Haddon Robinson every day. He wrote the book in preaching, and he's quite an incredible man - and the real deal as well.
- I've made some really good friends in my cohort. Some of these will likely be very long and significant ones.
- I really did learn a lot, not only about preaching but ministry in general. It has changed me and what I do.
- Writing the thesis was a lot of fun and a really good experience, and I think I learned a few things there too.
What was bad about the experience? Nothing really, unless you expect too much from the D.Min. And one can never forget what Gordon-Conwell professor and curmudgeon David Wells wrote about the degree:
Not surprisingly, in recent years seminaries have found it important to think of themselves as comparable to other professional schools, such as those for law and medicine, and many now offer the Doctor of Ministry degree as a further means of establishing this parity. Unfortunately, the typical seminary does not offer training that can compare with the rigor of these professional schools. The Doctor of Ministry degree is in fact not much of a doctorate; the standards one must meet to receive this degree are frequently below those required of candidates for the Master of Divinity (a degree that not too long ago was called the Bachelor of Divinity). It is a case of professional elevation not by accomplishment but by linguistic inflation. What used to be the minimum level of knowledge for entry into Christian ministry, gauged by a bachelor's degree, has out of professional necessity and a wave of the magician's wand now become a doctorate by the addition of what may amount to little more than refresher courses.
It's a good experience, in other words - but don't take the whole doctor thing too seriously.
I ran into three others from my class this afternoon before my defense. Two of them were getting their thesis printed onto the right paper for submission and checking. They seemed happy and told me that the examiners said that they expected four of us to pass today from what they had read of our work. I wasn't sure if that boded well for me since I knew there were at least two of us left.
The defense was fairly low key. They asked what I had learned and then went through areas they had flagged. Haddon challenged me on one area (the issue of exemplary preaching, as argued by Greidanus). He also let me know when I had overstated things. "I don't buy that," he'd say. Overall they seemed happy with my work. So, I passed!
I have about an hour's worth of editing to do but otherwise I'm done. Time to go out and celebrate. I think we'll be heading out to Famous Dave's. We'll save the real celebration at Legal Sea Foods for grad weekend.
Snowing like crazy here. Glad I'm not driving down today.
It's not every day I get an e-mail like this (received last Friday at my school e-mail):
As many of you have noted, there is a group of wild turkeys who have made our campus their home. Recently we have received reports that some of these turkeys are becoming quite aggressive. Campus Safety is researching our options for coping with this situation and will provide a more comprehensive response to the campus community shortly. In the meantime, please use caution encountering the wild turkeys - do not engage them, run after them or provoke them.
One of my friends comments that he deals with problems like these with a 12 gauge shotgun.