Weekly Email: April 27, 2026

Weekly Email

Apr 27

We are now in Week 4 of the Spring 2 term. This week I want to share some thoughts on embodiment as an online student and highlight some summer courses from faculty that will be on sabbatical in upcoming fall and winter.

In this email:

Student Tip: More Than a Screen
Program News: Summer Classes and a Fall Sabbatical Heads Up

Student Tip: More Than a Screen

This past week, we had our eighth Experiential Modular and the final one for the 2025-2026 academic year. It was another wonderful time getting to meet students from all over the country. We had students from 21 states, plus a few who made the trip down from Canada.

After many conversations with students this week, a couple of things stood out. One, everyone has a busy life with kids, family obligations, church obligations, other work obligations, and so forth. No one is immune to the busyness of life, and adding online theological education on top only intensifies it. Oftentimes, I share with new students that your online studies are generally going to be on top of the rest of your life, whatever you're doing. Nothing is necessarily changing in your life but you're just adding studies on top of it. I hope this serves as an encouragement to you.

Every student in the program has their own story but those stories share very similar traits. And so, as you're going through, you're not alone. You're in this with 2,000 other students who currently have a calling to further equip themselves for gospel ministry in various capacities. I think (hope!) this can be encouraging because it means that it can be done. We have thousands of graduates who have gone before you who have gone through similar challenges, and they've made it to the other end.

So, I just encourage you this morning if you're feeling low, feeling burdened, feeling overwhelmed, to pause and assess what's going on. Remember the words of Christ:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

But also be encouraged that this is a season. And yes, sometimes that season feels long. For some of you, longer than others. But if God has called you for this task, He will also equip you for this task. Equipping doesn't mean that it's going to be easy. But He will provide the sustaining grace to make it through.

The other thing that stood out in those conversations is how hungry students like you are for community and time with faculty. You know, the Experiential Modulars are not solely geared for just some in-person classroom experience, but it's definitely not less than that. The friendships that are formed, seeing people come back multiple times, catching up with friends they met at the last one, and so forth, is a powerful reminder that we are embodied human beings.

It's a reminder that even with all the technology and opportunities of this day and age, nothing can replace what we were made for. It allows us to deliver education in formats that we have never done before. And I realize that doing something like the Experiential Modular, as great and wonderful as it is, takes sacrifice. It's time away from family, time away from work, time away from your church. And even when we subsidize meals and lodging like we do, there's still a financial cost in getting here.

We recognize that not every student has the means and availability to do something like this. And so, I encourage you in your online studies to not limit your interactions through a computer screen. Some of you have connections with your pastor, elders, deacons, or others in your church. Maybe there's a local association where you can gather. Take the questions coming up in your online studies and bring them into those conversations.

Embodiment in online learning doesn't have to mean coming to the physical campus, though I think that adds a unique and wonderful piece to it. But I want to encourage you to embody it where you are too. So, as you're starting off this week, if you're feeling down and lonely in your education, think about the other saints that are in your spot. You're not alone. You're doing this around the world with others who are facing similar hardships and trials. God calls. And God equips those He calls.

Program News: Summer Classes and a Fall Sabbatical Heads Up

Summer classes are right around the corner, starting June 1, and I wanted to give you a heads up on a few classes you may be interested in. The following professors will be on sabbatical in the fall/winter, which means they won't be teaching during then:

Dr. Plummer — Greek Exegesis of Revelation (22790WW)
Dr. Garrett — Theology of the Old Testament (27800WW)
Dr. Westerholm — History of Christian Worship and Song (40605WW)
Dr. Wilsey is teaching two courses:
American Patriotism and Theology (26610WW) in our standard online eight-week format. In February, Dr. Wilsey published God and Country: Upholding Faith, History, and National Identity in the Christ in Everything series from B&H Academic.
Christian Philosophy (28500LS) as a Live Seminary class, with weekly live meetings.

If you've been eyeing any of these electives, summer is a great chance to take them since they won't be offered again for a while.

As a reminder, you can use our Course Snapshots to preview lectures, see the readings, and get a feel for a class before you register. We don't send out syllabi before a class is published, so this is the best way to learn more about a class ahead of time.

Course Snapshots

Registration is open via MySBTS.