Weekly Email: August 3, 2026

Weekly Email

Aug 3

This week kicks off the Fall semester and the start of a new academic year. It's also the two-year mark of these weekly emails, so I want to share some reflections on what these two years have taught me, both about you and about myself. I also want to point you to our Course Snapshots database as you think through what to take next.

We'll be doing a giveaway next week. Reply to this email and let me know what you'd like to see in the giveaway.

In this email:

Student Tip: Two Years of Mondays
Program News: Course Snapshots

Student Tip: Two Years of Mondays

Today marks two years of consistently writing these Monday emails to you. That's 48,566 words in 104 emails of student tips, which is quite a lot to think about. If you had told me two years ago that my goal of building a connection with you, a faithful student studying and equipping themselves from their ministry context, would mean writing every week for two years, I would have thought that's an admirable goal but there'd probably be a drop off at some point.

But it's taught me several things: some personally, and some more about you who are reading this. First, let's talk about you. These emails have opened up more conversation than I expected. Every week I receive emails from students like you, sometimes about the emails themselves, sometimes with questions about the program, and so forth. But in the midst of all that, I'm able to hear the stories behind what's going on.

I've been able to grieve with students who have lost parents, family, friends; students who are going through difficult seasons at church; students who have gone through job transitions; students who have joyfully brought new little ones into their family; students who have adopted; and students who are just going through a difficult time and trying to figure out how seminary works in that.

And it's kind of funny because I get emails and students will oftentimes say, "My situation is unique. I'm 55 years old, just starting the program," or "I'm 35 and I have four kids and I'm in ministry and I feel called to do seminary, but struggling after two years with how to continue on."

And each of these emails shows me that so many people are just in the same situation that you're sitting in. The individual situations are unique but the overall theme of the struggles and what's going on, those are all very consistent.

And the number one thing about this is that seminary is hard. Whether you're doing it online or on campus, it's hard. It takes a commitment. And the other thing is, each of you is called to this season of life. And being able to celebrate the joy of graduation when people finish their degree, that's something to see. I talk to those who graduate and they never thought that day would come. But it's built on resilience. Showing up day in, day out, week after week. Sometimes taking a break from a term, but always coming back and finishing what they started.

And that leads into the second thing, which is just more personal, but I think you can relate as a student, is just the resilience of grinding in week after week. You know, there are some weeks that are more difficult to write this than others. But I feel like over the past couple years, my writing skills have improved. Being able to formulate ideas has improved. Being able to connect with you has improved.

The ultimate goal is to connect with the online student body and to hopefully provide encouragement and help along the way, pointing you to specific resources and so forth. And some of this only happens when you show up week after week. It's the same with seminary.

I just finished a new student webinar and one of the things I share with them is that seminary is not about how smart you are. It's about whether you show up and grind it out and you do the work. Stay faithful to what God has called you to.

Two years in, I want to say thank you. Thank you for reading these each week, for writing back and telling me what's actually going on in your life and ministry, and for letting Southern come alongside you in it.

And so as I wrap up this week, I just want to encourage you to stay faithful. Show up week in, week out. Do the hard work. Study. Realize that it's more than a grade but it's to be shaped and formed and equipped for your ministry context. I know seminary is hard. You're not alone in that.

Program News: Course Snapshots

As the fall term kicks off and you start thinking about what to take next, I want to make sure you know about Course Snapshots. It's a database of courses that have recently been offered or may be offered in the future and it lets you look inside a course before you register for it. Boyce College has its own version here.

There's more in there than you might expect, so it's worth a few minutes with this guide or this screencast, which walks through all the features.

One caution. Everything in Course Snapshots is subject to change before a class is offered. The information is based on the previous fully online version of the course, which is a good representation of what it will look like going forward. Always check your course once it's available to verify the correct information and expectations for that offering. And for what's actually open for enrollment, go to my.sbts.edu or schedule time with an academic advisor.