Philly / Etrek / Biblical Seminary

Last week I spent a few days in the beautiful countryside outside Philly. I got out before the snowstorm.

A couple thoughts:

First. Todd Littleton is a stud. As the executive director he is doing a lot of work to move education in new ways. Kudos to Spencer Burke of theooze.com for dreaming up Etrek and partnering with a great school like Biblical.

Second. Biblical is exploring some very progressive ways of doing seminary and are embracing postmodernity as an opportunity for ministry. Having John Franke as a professor shows that they are serious about engaging culture in real ways. The students I had pursuing their graduate work were impressive thinkers and showed a high level of theological foundation. (can I use the word foundation)

Third. I tried some new content with the group and they seemed receptive to it. The course was titled ReImagining Youth Ministry and in the past that would have meant something of a "bash youth ministry" party. This course began the process of actually working through new ideas for youth ministry, and dealing directly with restructuring systemic issues within the church, esp. youth ministry.

Forth. I'd love to see Biblical offer masters level credit for courses related to youth ministry in conjunction with Youth Specialties National Conventions. Starting 2-3 days early and then coordinating with speakers who are onsite would be an exciting way to directly investigate youth ministry in person with some of the leading thinkers who are there.

Fifth. It was a priviledge to be invited to lead this course.