Recently Hired

My dear brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of recent God has graciously provided that I be hired as the worship leader of Trinity United Methodist Church in Hartford City, IN. Such an opportunity to serve God's people and kingdom gives me great joy, and I already love my job. My duties include: weekly song selection, planning worship services, leading in prayer, working with the choir, praise team, and passionate worship committee, and above all getting to know God's people better that I may love and serve them as Christ would have me do. I am superbly excited, and eagerly expect God to do marvelous things for, in and through Trinity Church. I pray you will rejoice with me for God's gracious gifts.

More than anything, I ask for your holy prayers:
+ that God would increase my faith, hope and love, that they may overflow to the many,
+ that God would give me all the grace necessary for salvation and ministry,
+ that I would hear God's voice and follow his lead in leading his people in worship, and
+ that integrity and uprightness would protect me, and I would be delivered from the evil one.

On this website I will be posting things related to ministry for the benefit of our congregation.

The Lord give you his peace,
brother Scott

Dear Friends,

It has been a while since I have posted.  I'm not very good at having anything worth writing from week to week.  I hope you might enjoy a brief reflection on the boring haps and mishaps of my current life.

I am still studying for my fifth (and hopefully final) year at Indiana Wesleyan University.  I am still struggling to learn how to live life well, and most weeks I only hope to come away with some sense of survival.  I am attempting to try my best at school, despite my frequent failures (small and large), in hopes of improving my overall skill at these beloved academics.  I think I am too comfortable.  If I am to succeed, I will be stretched by the work school requires of me.  Maybe I have been taking life too easy?

I have lost quite a bit of confidence as pertains to my future in ministry.  I suspect this has to do with my lack of present involvement in ministry.  I seem to have lost a vision for God's call on my life.  This I must recover, by God's grace.  

I am also trying to open myself up to the fullness of grace the Lord has to offer us.  Though I often fail, I desperately desire to experience and share God's immeasurable love.  I want a deeper, joy-filled life, animated by the Holy Spirit, full of grace and good fruit.  So I suppose I need a lesson in abiding in Christ.  Perhaps I ought to focus on serving others, so as to take the attention off my own growth.

I also work about 15 hrs. per week at Steak n Shake.

That's it -- my life, for now.

Lord, have mercy.  

MONO

Dear friends,

I have been diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis.

Please pray that my symptoms don't worsen, that I take care of myself, that I do my homework diligently, suffer joyfully and gracefully, and be freed from selfishness.

Thank you, and life, peace, mercy and health be to all.

"Lord God, your Son our Savior gave his back to be whipped and his face to be spit upon; give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

Please pray for me.

Friends, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers,

Life in general is good. I am learning a lot about life, people, myself, love, listening, and church. And I am learning in school, although I could be trying harder, being more diligent. School is going well this semester, better than it has this past year. Also, I am learning to not be a perfectionist, though I need constant reminder to keep myself from this idol.

As I attempt to observe a holy Lent for the sake of obedience and love, my sins and shortcomings are coming to light, and temptation and inner struggle are frequent. Surprise! I just thought it was a quaint devotion to say that 40 days of prayer and fasting in Spring (this is what Lent means, when the days lengthen) remember Jesus' 40-day fast in the wilderness. But now, in its midst, I can see much truth in that. I hope that by passion week I can trust in Jesus, the Son of God: 1) for the word of God, and not only food or miracles; 2) in humiliation, rather than ostentatious display of power; and 3) for God's glory, and not the kingdoms of this world.

Acknowledging my utter dependence upon God's consistent help and your regular prayers, please pray that:
- God give me a sufficient to abundant supply of faith [trusting God], hope and love
- God keep me rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in every circumstance, since this is what he wants me to do in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
- God give me diligence in schoolwork, and self-discipline and self-control in all things
- God teach me to love him with all my capacity, and to love my neighbor as myself (especially the church, and especially those who do not love me, with whom I have no business)

Thank you, in advance, for loving me through prayer.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

I truly hope most of you enjoy just as much these posts with disconnected thoughts as long ones with elaborate meditations.

Life is boring, so I should try to invigorate it. I need to exercise, among other things.

Growing up is hard to do.

I will be applying for a part-time job this coming week: hopefully keeping the food court clean during dinner time - an appropriate job for someone who loves cleanliness and order and despises mess (although neither my mom nor my roommate would know this, judging by how I keep my room).

I am (for the most part) enjoying life without a cell phone. However, the down side is: since I rarely talk on the phone, I am no longer very good at it. I guess I need more practice. But talking face to face is much preferred.

I AM doing relatively BETTER in school this semester compared to last. Thank you so much to all of you who are praying for me; I appreciate your continued prayers as I continue to strive to improve my success.

Tonight I'm going to dinner with a jazz quartet in concert led by Ron Jones. It should be absolutely delightful. I'll be wearing my new suit for the first time.

Nothing really more to write, except: GET WELL, Chelby. We're sorry your sick. May God grant you strength, peace and wholeness.

Until later, Peace to you.

I'm at School

Well, friends, I am at school. I still have to completely unpack my boxed belongings, and get my class schedule adjusted, but I am here.

I have already felt better for the past two days than I did for the past three months. So that's an improvement.

I still haven't gotten in touch with all of my friends, but hope to do so by the end of this week.

If I have time this semester in addition to homework, I hope to (perhaps) write on this page about the following subjects:

- Worldviews, the stories we live in to understand our world. I want to reflect on what basic stories I've been told growing up about the world, and how these stories conflict with one another, and how the story I want to believe now conflicts with these.

- I want to write "A Narrative Christian Theology for Everyone." I realize that "for everyone" is a utopian modifier to my title, but I would like to try to write Christian theology that I would want my friends to read, believers and non-believers alike. While I would hope that this would be appropriate for my elders as well, I am unsure as to whether it would be understandable for children. [Maybe Burke and I need to write Childrens' books of narrative Christian theology!]

- On occasion I will try to include my favorite: "Life stories and observations" or "other tales which demand less thought" in addition to my "meditations."

Much love to you all. Peace be with you.

Life Update 8/30/2007

Dear family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ,

If you are still reading this post - not shying away from the words "Life Update" in anticipation of boredom - then thank you for caring. I am aware that many people read this blog who may perhaps be more interested in my doings and well-being than in my wandering musings.

It is true that I had a "rough" year at school last year - which is a nice way of saying that I didn't do very well. But because I am convinced that I can do better, I am returning this fall semester to give it the old college try again. I hope I am more determined than I was last year to succeed. Nevertheless, your prayers are cherished.

My parents are trying to sell the house. Usually people ask where my parents want to move to, and I usually say they want to find an apartment somewhere in Kalamazoo (our current home), but they're not too worried about finding a new place yet. They're just waiting for the house to sell.

My mom helps out with youth fund-raising at church, and puts much effort into this service. My sister and I are very proud of her for this.

My sister has a boyfriend - his name is Corey. [Yes, that's him to the left; not me.] She first met him on a mission trip. She liked him because she felt comfortable talking to him. I think this is still the case. Oh, I forgot: my crafty, scheming sister got up the nerve to play paintball with him before they started dating as a means to win his heart. I think they always play on the same team, to avoid inter-couple combat. You see, now my sister likes the sport. What's a brother to do? . . .

I'm currently in love with the sweet tunes of this band: Rodeo Ruby Love; and of my friend Frank Schweikhardt's solo material. I am also waiting to receive in the mail Paul Simon's newest release, "Surprise," at the behest of my good friend Burke (who is also starting a new band: Owlsburg. I can't wait to hear them!).

This summer I was too lazy and asocial, somewhat unintentionally. So if you live in Kalamazoo, I am sorry that we didn't see each other more often this summer. It was my fault. Please forgive me. Along with being asocial came staying inside the house too much. Every time I go outside I appreciate the wind . . . moving air, not restricted by four walls or windows. I believe God did a much better job creating than we did in modifying our environment.

On the bright side, I did do a bit of reading - mostly by John Howard Yoder (a Christian pacifist with convincing arguments) and N.T. Wright (a prolific New Testament scholar who is now the bishop of Durham, England). Many of the books I read this summer I've listed to the right under Books I Read.

This summer I also attended youth group as a sponsor at my church, where we talked about the 10 commandments. Thanks to Pastor Kevin for very insightful teaching!

[As I write this they are moving a house up our street - which is quite a sight. This has been frustrating, though, because they are about 10 days late from the original date. They said there would be chance of power-outage for 4 hours on our block during the move. They postponed the move date about three times without formal notice. So, because my mom works at a computer at home and couldn't risk working during a power outage, she had to work very early in the morning at least three times in vain on days when they didn't move the house. Bleh.]

These are the courses I hope to take this semester (which begins next Tuesday), all of which are 3 hours long, totaling 12 credit hours:
- Homiletics I (preaching)
- Patristic Theology (reading the early church fathers)
- Church History I (the New Testament to Martin Luther)
- Beginning Greek Independent Study

Right now I am trying to pack for school, which is proving to be interesting. I have a lot of things I am leaving at home, and just a few things I'm taking, which makes the task deceiving. I cannot judge my success by how clean or empty my room is. Rather, I have to check and re-check my list and my brain for what I intend to bring, and what's not yet packed.

A good number of my friends have graduated and now live off-campus (Joe, Dave, Dusty&Natalie, Adam&Becky, Chris &Joyce, Burke, and a few others). This will mean many a phone call and bike ride to see them (although it's always nice to get off-campus). However, I can always lure them in with free meal swipes (this works quite well, actually, at attracting friends to campus - free food).

All kidding aside, I cannot wait to return to Marion on Saturday, so that I may see my friends and start the semester off strong.

Please do keep in touch, friends. You can write me at the following addresses:

hand-written (preferred):
Scott Hendricks
IWU 825 Student Ctr.
Marion, IN 46953

email: shoot[insert my first name here, no brackets]anemail@gmail.com

Peace to you all, and stay strong.

What's up with Scott?

A fresh life update is in order.

My sister is doing great. She’s first chair cello in IWU’s orchestra, and playing in the string quartet. She loves both, and is also taking and teaching cello lessons. She’s going to school for free (praise the Lord, so am I).

My parents are doing great, too. My mom is on vacation for a week, and Dad just got a new electric razor for Christmas, not to mention his “Deal or No Deal” home DVD game. We got my mother an IWU sweatshirt for Christmas that says, “MOM” (she says it says ‘wow,’ but I don’t think she’s looking at it straight :-). We just received (or inherited) some furniture from my uncle Tom and aunt Kay, who were graciously happy to get it off their hands and out of their basement. One is a recliner, the other a small dining table. Thanks!

My friend Burke Sullivan is studying Christian Ministries at Indiana Wesleyan along with me. Next semester we have four classes together. Four! Unbelievable. In fact, it is convenient that we have them together, in order to sufficiently bear their burden: they are four 85 minute classes in a row, twice a week. That’s right—5 hours and 20 minutes of class every Tuesday and Thursday. Burke feels called to some kind of full-time Christian service.

My friend Jake Hogan is well on his way to law school, now a junior Pre-Law, Political Science and International Relations major at Indiana Wesleyan. He’s working his way to becoming a shining star in the Social Sciences dept., while being a great friend and a steady IWU Conference Services worker. (There is an Information Desk in the Student Center where he works; the kicker is, almost no one needs information . . . so the workers get to talk and do homework for minimum wage.) Jake wants to become a lawyer and help people get healthcare who can’t afford it.

My friend Dusty Fecht is currently a senior Religion/Philosophy major at school, who recently married Natalie (how quickly I’ve forgotten her maiden name!) this summer. He and Natalie are attending Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Marion, IN, and they are currently spying out future seminary options.

My friend Joe Vitiello is a senior Art major at IWU, finally finding his niche after a few years of searching. He recently took a digital photography class, wherein he learned to despise creating art with machinery. He would rather paint. This semester he’s doing an Independent Study in Art History, and an internship teaching kids art after school at the Boys and Girls club. He’s psyched about both, and hopes to score a job nearby and stick around town.

My friend Adam Thada is loving life with his wife, Becky. They’re enjoying a TV-free life in an upstairs apartment in north (I think) Marion. Adam is studying Economics and International/Community Development, and Becky is student teaching. Adam is a good friend, and my number one man when it comes to economics, trade, anti-consumerism and conservation.

My professors are overworked, but are doing marvelously. You can click their links to the right to read their current minds.

I merely squeaked by last semester. This time we’re gonna give it a more diligent try. I’m now more aware of myself, of the way I think and my motivations, so hopefully I can avoid some of the big pitfalls of last semester.

This coming semester I am taking: History of Christianity I, History of Christianity II, Christology, Evangelism and Global Outreach (+ practicum), and Corinthian and Thessalonian Letters. All but one with Burke Sullivan. Woohoo!

I just bought a CD, but I don’t like it. I won’t tell you what it is, so as to hurt no one’s feelings, or discourage any potential fans or future buyers. [Sorry, Frank :-(]

Some of you may or may not know that I recently went through a period of questioning my Wesleyan loyalty. I believe that period has passed, and I am nearly dead sure I won’t leave home. Please rest assured.

I want to be a missionary. I want to preach the gospel. I want to help the helpless. I want to be a theologian. After college I want to go to Duke Divinity School, Princeton, or Asbury Seminary, preferred in that order. I want to get married and raise a family, Lord willing. I want to change my world.

Amen.

Hmmm . . .

Well, as time has shown I am no good at blogging consistently; which of course does not prevent me from doing so in the future. It only demonstrates my lack of determination thus far.

And why, you ask, is he so inconsistent at blogging? Well, to tell you the truth, it goes something like this. It's been so long since I've blogged; I should do that soon. In fact, I could do that now. But, alas! I have so many other things to do that are of immanent importance. How can I spend time blogging when I find myself not spending enough time in the other areas of my life for necessary sanity? For example, how can I blog when I really should do this homework assignment; or when I feel that I could be spending more time reading Scripture?

That's how the thinking goes.

So how has this post come into cyberspace? By means of the few extra precious hours afforded me during my Spring break. And so, as usual, I must apologize for my blogspot absence. However, this time I make no promises for future consistency, realizing this may gain me very little readership.

So I thought a life-update of sorts would be in order.
I am not sure if I have ever posted my schedule for this semester on my blog, but regardless, here it is: I'm taking Beginning Hebrew II, Intermediate Latin II (in which I am translating books I, II, and VI of Vergil's Aeneid [and for the sake of jucunditas, here I must explicate Vergil's full name, since I think it's so cool: Publius Vergilius Maro; just say it out loud a few times--I'm confident you'll begin to grow fond of it too]), Christian Theology I, Local Church Education, and Hebrews.

This semester has been really tough for me. I am still learning to balance my life. I have a certain amount of homework necessary to be done each week, and I have yet to accomplish that amount (I thank the Lord for spring break, as it is affording me the opportunity to catch up on things unfinished). Fortunately, I am probably doing better than last semester, but am still unsatisfied with my performance this semester.

I had my wisdom teeth surgically removed this Monday, and am currently recuperating. As I said, this week the plan is to catch up on homework, while taking things easy.

Next semester I plan to take the following courses: Christian Theology II: Salvation/Holiness, Ecclesiology, History of Christianity I, Evangelism and Global Outreach (with a one-hour practicum), an intermediate Hebrew course, and Grace in the Early Church.

This summer I plan to learn New Testament Greek, using J. Gresham Machen's New Testament Greek for Beginners. It was first published in 1923. My friend Dusty Fecht and I will be studying with Dr. Ken Schenck. I also plan to be doing some Latin translation of Commodianus with Dr. David Riggs.

Hopefully more later; but for now, farewell, and peace to you.

A Belated Update

First of all I must apologize to anyone who may choose to read this for not posting for about three weeks straight. School has been busier than expected, and work more copious. I should be lucky to have even two or three people ever return to this blog.

In one sense, all of my classes are as I expected, for I do enjoy all of them, and the one about which I was slightly skeptical has turned out to be quite thought-provoking and one of my favorite topics of discussion.

In another sense my schoolwork is different than I expected. Although I knew this semester would involve a lot of work, I did not anticipate the huge chunk of time it would use of my schedule. I want to work really hard at my classes, especially at Latin and Hebrew, since the faculty of these languages is something I desire to maintain for the rest of my life. This last week I came to the realization that I will not be able to spend equal time with my studies and friends; I will have to spend more time studying than socializing. Instead of a 50/50 balance, it will have to be something like 70/30 or 80/20. For me this was a harsh understanding to come to.

If I need your prayers for anything, it is for diligence in study and increased ability in time management. These are my biggest hurdles right now. However I thank God for these challenges, because I know they will bring me into maturity.

Before the beginning of the semester I asked Dr. Chris Bounds, Professor of Theology, if he would be willing to mentor me this Fall Semester. I have met with him three or four times so far, and words cannot express the value of his willingness to invest in me. He has been such a good listener and advisor, and has not been afraid to truly keep me accountable. He seems to know the best way to respond to people where they are. Each time I have met with him I have learned something new.

There is much more to be related, but for the sake of proper and proportionate thought, I will include any other updates in the next few entries.

The Tentative P-Lan: What does Scott want to do after college?

Without a doubt, he wants to go to seminary and get a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), God willing.

Right now I am only a sophomore in college, so even thinking about grad. school seems a little silly to me, but you can never plan too far ahead, as long as your plans are tentative.

As of now, Asbury Seminary is top on my list of candidates, but that is because it is the only seminary I have visited, and one of the few seminaries endorsed by the Wesleyan denomination (to which I belong). If I go to a seminary not endorsed by my denomination, I don’t get any scholarships from them, and they may brand me a liberal wanderer. We’ll see.

I am also very interested in getting an M.A. or two; perhaps two is foolish, but I’m not sure. Asbury Seminary is located in Wilmore, KY. Right next door in Lexington, KY, lies the University of Kentucky, which has a highly respected department of Classical Languages, and one of the best Latin programs in the country. They have an official ‘Institute for Latin Studies’ whose classes are conducted entirely in Latin. The professors teach in Latin, and the students respond in Latin, and everything is written Latine. It sounds like a blast to me. I might consider getting a M.A in Classics there. If I did it all at once, it would only take me a year, in theory; or I might be able to get it while I go to seminary, if I choose to go to Asbury.

I also wouldn’t mind getting another M.A. in either Biblical Literature or Theology. This I could do at seminary, before, after or while I get an M.Div. I would also like to get a Ph.D. in I don’t know what yet; maybe Church History, Bib. Lit., Theology, or even maybe a D.Min. Who knows? Maybe God doesn’t want me to get a Ph.D. or a D.Min.

Why do I say that? Because I am called to be a minister, and not a Professor. That’s right: I want to master Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, with the end goal of working in a church. In other words, I’m a geek. I’m hoping that’s pleasing to God. It makes sense to me on some level to be well educated for the purpose of teaching and preaching in the church.

Why else do I want all that education? Because I love to learn. I want to be able to say that I have studied the Bible, Theology and Church history very well. I want to master something. But I don’t want to get a Ph.D. just to get one. So I hope within the next eight years I can come up with a good reason.

I also want to get a lot of ministry experience during school, whether or not that involves taking a part-time position somewhere. However, I do not want to take a very long break in between degrees for a couple of reasons. It doesn’t make sense to take a full-time ministry position with the intention of leaving in a few years to go back to school. Also, I have been told to get my education all at once while I can, because after you start a family it’s hard. I would rather get my graduate education while I can still take classes in semesters, and not in one-week spurts while doing ministry.

So after graduate education—full-time ministry. I’ve heard that it’s nice to have a senior pastor to work under for at first, so that you have someone to show you the ropes. However, I would not be frightened to be a solo pastor of a small parish after that.

I don’t want to be too picky with any of this though. It all deserves a lot of prayer, since God’s plan is best. So like I said before, this is the tentative p-lan.

Introductions

As you may know little about my college career and its composite ‘players,’ if you will, I thought it good to give you a brief introduction, as I will probably be mentioning several of them in my future posts.

The college: When I started high school I already knew what college I wanted to attend—Indiana Wesleyan University. It is located in Marion, IN. It is halfway between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. There are about 2,500 students on campus, and over 10,000 enrolled, including Adult Professional Studies and Graduate Programs. So, the campus is small (which is really nice), but they also have several extension campuses nationwide. They are an accredited liberal arts university, offering over 60 majors.

The majors: I am majoring in Christian Ministries and Biblical Literature. Yes, this means I have two majors. Christian Ministries is the major for those studying to be pastors (that’s me) or full-time Christian workers. Biblical Literature is a good double-major for anyone in any field, but it is also a good launch pad for those anticipating Seminary or Graduate work. Yes, I do plan to graduate in four years. With the help of a few AP credits from high school and taking a few classes at community college this summer, I will be able to graduate with many more credits than required.

The schedule: This fall I am taking 16 credit hours (which is the maximum allowed before you have to make special application and pay too much). I am taking Worship (with an accompanying practicum), Concepts of Health and Wellness, Humanities World Literature, Inductive Bible Study, Beginning Hebrew I, and Intermediate Latin I.

The profs: Last year I had Dr. Constance Cherry for Intro. to Pastoral Ministries. This was a good class, as it required a lot of writing. This semester I have her for worship, and I have high hopes for class times well spent.

This year our Division of Religion and Philosophy hired at least two new faculty members, Brian and Elaine Bernius. I think one of them has a Ph.D., and the other is finishing his or her dissertation. This fall I have Professor Brian Bernius for Inductive Bible Study, and his wife Elaine for Hebrew. I am very excited to have both of them their first semester (as long as they do a good job), so I can be one of the few to get first impressions and learn what they are like.

Last year I had Dr. Ken Schenck for New Testament Survey and Latin. For starters, he is the author of the textbook that all the professors use for NT survey, so that factum already gained him my respect. After having him for about two weeks, I decided that so far he was my favorite professor. He writes quite often, and has published about three or four books. He is quite a witty guy; although his jokes are awfully corny, his timing is so unexpected and wonderful that I can’t help but laugh. Halfway through last spring’s semester, one of my friends informed me that by all appearances I had a man-crush on Dr. Schenck.

Dr. Clarence ‘Bud’ Bence is a Professor of Religion, and is one of my two academic advisors. Right now he’s teaching mainly Church History and Homiletics (preaching) classes.

My other academic advisor is Dr. Wilbur Glenn Williams. He is the real ‘dinosaur’ of IWU’s religion dept. I’m not sure how long he’s been there, but he is seventy-six years young and still teaching. He and his wife Ardelia, a professor emerita in the Art Dept., have worked for only a penny for several years, and have been donating their salaries to the school, providing the funds for different projects on campus, the most noticeable of which is the Williams Prayer Chapel. I had him for Old Testament Survey last year. He teaches three O.T. classes holding seventy students each every semester.

Dr. Stephen Lennox has been Chair of the Religion Dept. for several years, but this year he is stepping into a position entirely new to the university, Dean of Chapel. Whenever he speaks in chapel, I immediately get excited.

Dr. Chris Bounds is an Assistant Professor of Religion, and mainly teaches theology. I am very excited about having him for two to six theology courses during undergrad.

I forgot to mention that both Dr. Schenck and Dr. Bounds teach online courses for Asbury Seminary each semester. I think they’re really cool guys.

The People: Dusty Fecht is one of my friends, and I hope that within a few years I will be able to say that he is one of my best friends. I like him that much. He moved from Iowa City a few years ago. I’m pretty sure that he has enough credits for a psychology major, and he is currently a Religion/Philosophy major. He is also contemplating a Bib. Lit. major. He’s a really cool guy to talk to. His girlfriend’s name is Natalie, who just moved to Marion after being admitted into IWU’s Graduate Counseling Program.

Josh Obholz will be my roommate this year. He is a really fun guy who is taking a lot of science classes, but I’m not sure that he’s nailed down a major yet.

Jacob Hogan is another friend of mine. He is a Political Science/International Relations
major. He is a democrat, and has already made me more liberal. The good news is that I am still a registered republican, and I am still pro-life. The only difference is that I no longer worry about defending our president. He had the initiative along with a couple of other good guys to start a campus democrats student organization. Last year when he told people he was going to vote for Sen. John Kerry, more than one person on campus told him he was going to hell.

Logan Moser is my RA this year. I am living on the 2 North wing of Hodson Hall, where I will be the co-chaplain along with senior Brandon Willis.

My sister Sharon is coming along with me to college. She is studying Intercultural Studies and Christian education. We are both really excited about being on campus together. We have planned to have breakfast together on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Rev. Chuck McCallum is the Senior Pastor of Westview Wesleyan Church, which is the church I go to in Marion, and I did my Intro. to Pastoral Ministries observation practicum with him my first semester last year. Pastor Mark is the pastor of Christian Education at Westview, and he is also in charge of worship, so I anticipate having a practicum with him this next semester.

I hope that now you are better acquainted with my college circumstance, and will have a bit of background when I write about such things.