This is the start of our third week back, and I'm pretty sure we are all ready for another holiday already! The holidays were a great time off, but returning here to college for me really made it feel like home. Back to our own beds, showers, pre-readings, assignments and piles of washing. Sigh... this is the good life.
There is a nice little community atmosphere around college now (or should I say commune...). People are in and out of other people's houses and the kids have a fantasticly large play area/bike track around all our units. People keep an eye out for each other and are usually genuinely interested in the daily stuff that goes on. I know it all sounds peachy and PG13 but it is actually a really nice place to live and study. Just a shame about this weather today! Rain means winter is coming to an end right?!?
Classes are stepped up a little this semester, more is expected of us including preaching and leading in our Mission Placement Corps and soon another Mission Weekend around Upper Hutt somewhere. We also have a elective night class on a Wednesday which is open to the public - so all you who want to know what we do can sign up and join a class or three with us! Trust me, they aren't all deeply theological and high brow... today we talked about 'The Life of Brian' and yesterday we were learning story telling from Thomas the Thank Engine...
Showing posts with label class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label class. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Preaching
In the last two days all twenty two 1st year cadets have presented a full 15min sermon, the result of many hours of study, research, sweat and tears. Was it worth it?
The comments and discussions from the class are helpful, so is the process of watching yourself afterwards and picking up on gestures you do or words that repeat, like saying 'um' or pacing around, or wringing hands together or avoiding eye contact with the listeners.
But the situation and audience are different from what we will encounter in the years/churches to come. This is the practise time - as in a few weeks we begin preaching to the congregations we have been attending for the past few months. So instead of a supportive group of cadets in the same boat, we have an unknown audience who will more than likely share exactly how well they thought you did... Will we be ready? How will we handle this new pressure? How will we handle the comments/criticism?
I think, luckily, that because we are 'cadets' there is alot of support and encouragement given whatever we do, no matter how big the nerves are!
There's a good quote going around that says 'if are not nervous before you get up to preach the word of God to people, then you shouldn't be doing it...' This is an awesome responsibility we are being given, to share and uncover biblical truths with people. I just pray that when the time comes - we will be prepared.
The comments and discussions from the class are helpful, so is the process of watching yourself afterwards and picking up on gestures you do or words that repeat, like saying 'um' or pacing around, or wringing hands together or avoiding eye contact with the listeners.
But the situation and audience are different from what we will encounter in the years/churches to come. This is the practise time - as in a few weeks we begin preaching to the congregations we have been attending for the past few months. So instead of a supportive group of cadets in the same boat, we have an unknown audience who will more than likely share exactly how well they thought you did... Will we be ready? How will we handle this new pressure? How will we handle the comments/criticism?
I think, luckily, that because we are 'cadets' there is alot of support and encouragement given whatever we do, no matter how big the nerves are!
There's a good quote going around that says 'if are not nervous before you get up to preach the word of God to people, then you shouldn't be doing it...' This is an awesome responsibility we are being given, to share and uncover biblical truths with people. I just pray that when the time comes - we will be prepared.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Evaluations
Today we officially finished all our 'real' classes for the semester before spending the next two weeks studying for our exam and finishing the big three assignments due... The end of a semester is always so exausting! So much work still to do!!!... But it does really make you look forward to the coming holiday rest. Theres a quote I like that says "without the storm we would never see the rainbow...' All we have to do is survive and struggle through and soon, in two weeks exactly, we can sit and relax and enjoy a few weeks off, visiting family, not having to worry about study.
As for evaluations - at the end of each paper we have to fill in evaluation forms to assess how well everything went over the semester - the class work, tutor, assignments etc. We also received during the week personal evaluations collated from other peoples opinions about us. I personally hate these, as I am very self critical of myself already and do not like having to critically assess others. But I am resolved to thinking that these are actually helpful, highlighting areas for improvement and growth to work on over the rest of this year. (I'll keep telling myself that until I do believe it...)
But the best thing about today is that it is FRIDAY!!! Yay, weekend.
As for evaluations - at the end of each paper we have to fill in evaluation forms to assess how well everything went over the semester - the class work, tutor, assignments etc. We also received during the week personal evaluations collated from other peoples opinions about us. I personally hate these, as I am very self critical of myself already and do not like having to critically assess others. But I am resolved to thinking that these are actually helpful, highlighting areas for improvement and growth to work on over the rest of this year. (I'll keep telling myself that until I do believe it...)
But the best thing about today is that it is FRIDAY!!! Yay, weekend.
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