I think most people know by now, I am planning on going to McCormick in the fall. I will be in the Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS) program. This is not the M.Div, which is a bit more practical and restrictive degree, it is also not ordination seeking. Many have asked, accordingly, what is it good for? The best answer I can give to that is that it will get me further down the road to teachig theology at a university. I guess that is still the end, I really still see myself in a teaching role in the future. Hmm...
Thinking about it now, I see teaching as the neccesary telos of any career or life path. This would apply to social work, business, engineering, pastoring .... in my estimation each of these has to end with the passing on of life, wisdom and knowledge that has been accumulated. Really it is wisdom that I would like to pass on. I picture myself after years of woking for the good of the world taking a role that seeks to pass on the wisdom that I have gained to another to other's who have felt the same call to action that I have.
I see this as a very high calling. It is not just the communication or gaining of education but primarily wisdom. I think that is why I felt, while at Lee, that I wanted to teach but not until I had a lot of experience elseware. I do not mean to say that thos profs or educators who have been in the academy all their lives have nothing or little or less to offer. Its just not how I want to do my thing.
So back to the present...how I want to do my thing is an evolving and ever-chaning notion. I do not really know what my thing is and have been working to try to figure it out. Right now I think it means that I go to school in the fall to find out what is there for me. At the same time I am open to other possibilites. I told a friend yesterday that going to Lee felt like a revelation, going to McCormick just feels like the next thing I am going to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment