Weekly Email: October 19, 2026

Weekly Email

Oct 19

We are now in Week 3 of the Fall 2 term. This week I want to talk about what to do when school feels familiar but different. I also want to let you know that registration is now open for the spring Experiential Modular.

In this email:

Student Tip: Familiar but Different
Program News: Spring Experiential Modular Registration Is Open

Student Tip: Familiar but Different

My wife and I have been playing a lot of a game called Wyrmspan the last couple of weekends and it's one of our favorites right now. It's from Stonemaier Games and it's in the same family as an increasingly popular game called Wingspan and another one called Finspan. Wingspan has a bird theme, Finspan has an ocean animal theme, and Wyrmspan is dragon themed. The mechanics are similar enough that each one feels familiar, though the actual gameplay and strategy are quite different.

When my wife and I were first learning how to play Wyrmspan, it was difficult not to import strategies and ways of doing things from Wingspan, a game we had played a lot. That made Wyrmspan quite difficult. It wasn't until we played it quite a bit more and understood the mechanics a little better, some of the strategy, how the dragon cards interact, and new things like excavating caves, how you get food, and making progress in the guild for extra abilities, that we began to understand the game a little bit more.

This can kind of be like your online classes. If you're coming back to school after a while, you may be in week three right now thinking that some of this school stuff seems very familiar but different. You may be having a hard time with just the mechanics of school, like setting your schedule, studying, writing a paper, reading (more reading than you've probably done in quite a while), and many other parts of your class.

But just like my wife and I have come to understand Wyrmspan a bit more and enjoy it that much more, the same will be true of your online classes. In many ways it will get easier because the mechanics are getting easier and you're able to focus more on the content of what you're actually doing.

So if you're struggling, either because you're coming back to school after being out for a while or because you just finished an undergraduate degree and theological education is a whole different world, I encourage you to keep pressing on. The only way to get better at school is to keep doing it, which can be hard. You have to go through the process several times before you begin to feel comfortable.

This doesn't necessarily mean that seminary gets easier, per se. But the things you're juggling just to understand how to be a good student will become easier with time.

Program News: Spring Experiential Modular Registration Is Open

Registration for the spring Experiential Modular is now open. We're offering six courses this spring, three in Spring 1 and three in Spring 2. Each course runs online for eight weeks with a three-day meeting here on campus in Louisville.

You must register through this page and not MySBTS due to us gathering information for your hotel and any dietary preferences.

Spring 1: online February 1 to March 28, on campus February 15 to 17 (register for Spring 1)

Early Christian Biographies (25210XMD), Dr. Presley
Typology (28150XMD), Dr. Chase
Sexual Ethics (29860XMD), Dr. Walker

Dr. J.T. English, pastor of Storyline Church in Denver, Colorado, and Associate Professor of Christian Theology will be our guest speaker during the Spring 1 Experiential Modular.

Spring 2: online April 5 to May 30, on campus April 12 to 14 (register for Spring 2)

Hermeneutics (22100XMD), Dr. Vickers
New Testament II (22220XMD), Dr. Schreiner
American Patriotism and Theology (26610XMD), Dr. Wilsey

The Experiential Modular is a fantastic way to enhance your time as an online student here at Southern. One of the things we work hard at is giving you time with your professor and time with other students for fellowship and to encourage each other. Think of it as a mini conference for your class, where you get to forge new relationships that you can take with you beyond the physical classroom.

Being an online student can be lonely. You can feel like no one else is learning and going through the things you're going through. And who do you talk with about what you're learning? When we survey students after each one, they consistently tell us that if there's one thing an online student should do, it's take an Experiential Modular.

As a reminder, we cover your lodging and meals for the time you're here. We cater in food from local restaurants and bring in guest speakers, plus you get to attend chapel and many other things. Space is limited to what we can fit in the hotel here on campus, so I encourage you to sign up as quickly as possible.

Look at the schedule and if it fits, I'd love to see you here in Louisville.