Weekly Email: October 5, 2026
We are now in Week 1 of the Fall 2 term. This week I want to talk about setting your expectations as your new class gets started. I also want to show you one way the ministry you're already doing at your church can count toward your degree.
In this email:
- Student Tip: Managing Expectations
- Program News: Church Partnerships
Student Tip: Managing Expectations
My brother and his family came in for fall break so we had four kids in the house all week. And one thing that I was consistently thinking was that kids are just a microcosm of life. They struggle to control their emotions and so it's oftentimes the same feelings that adults have but adults are able to regulate what's going on and we have conventions of how to handle them.
So if something doesn't go our way we don't hit but we still get frustrated or we still have to exercise our patience. But kids just put on display what we would be doing if we were completely unrestrained.
A lot of the breakdowns came down to expectations. So, if the kids are playing, and then all of a sudden they have to do something else, then that unexpected transition is hard. They were expecting to play indefinitely but nobody had set a different expectation. Or at dinner, if they were expecting peanut butter and jelly and we're having something different, dealing with that change is difficult. Now, that's not to say that if you set those expectations, things are going to go smoothly (because kids also struggle to transition from one thing to the next!). But managing expectations can be a helpful thing.
Same with adults. I remember Dr. Haykin's Church History course, where we had packets of reading and questions that we did each week. Most of my other classes weren't set up the same way, so it was an adjustment I wasn't ready for and I got behind very quickly. I remember being midway through the class and feeling behind. And so reading through the syllabus on the first day of class and setting your expectations will help your semester go smoother.
A few weeks ago I wrote about looking ahead at the hectic weeks. If you have a heavy work or personal week lined up with a heavy week in your class, you want to know that in week one instead of having week six creep up on you. You may not have the breakdown a four-year-old or an eight-year-old might have but it's going to cause some stress and anxiety in your life.
So, as you get started with your class this week, I encourage you to manage your expectations. Look at the roadmap for the class. What weeks are going to be more difficult? What weeks are going to have more things going on? And then also just managing expectations for the types of assignments. Maybe some of your classes were a little bit lighter on the week-to-week assignments but the one that you're starting on has more things to do each week.
So, whatever it is, follow the age-old advice and read the syllabus.
Program News: Church Partnerships
One of the things we've done this past year is revamp the way we partner with churches and how students can earn course credit for work they're already doing in their churches through our Ministry Apprenticeship Program, or MAP.
If you're serving in an internship, a residency, or a part-time or full-time ministry role, MAP lets that supervised work count toward your degree. Over the term you complete a set amount of hours of ministry under a qualified supervisor, usually your pastor or the leader who oversees your work. Those hours include reading your supervisor selects and you finish with writing that reflects on the work. Each MAP course is 6 credit hours and you can take up to 18. It counts as elective credit by default and in some cases it can stand in for practical ministry core courses like Christian Preaching or Pastoral Ministry.
You can read more on our Church Partnerships page or fill out the inquiry form and our Director of Church and Alumni Engagement will reach out to you.
Quick Reference of Upcoming Term Dates:
- Current Week: Fall 2, Week 1 (October 5-12)
- Winter Term Begins: November 30, 2026
- Spring 1 Term Begins: February 1, 2027
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