Weekly Email: January 27, 2025

As the first month of the year comes to a close, take a moment to reflect on the goals you set for the new year. Regularly reviewing your goals is essential to making meaningful progress. What processes have you put in place to achieve these goals? Is there anything you need to adjust? Be honest with yourself as January winds down.

Included in this week’s email:

1. Student Tip: Focus on the Process

2. Program News: Course Snapshots

3. Faculty Devotion: Dr. Jeremy Pierre

Student Tip: Focus on the Process

Goals, big or small, can oftentimes feel overwhelming. But the truth is that the results you want don’t come from wishful thinking. They come from building a system, a process you stick to every day or on a regular schedule.

Consider something like earning your MDiv, finishing a big project, or completing a writing assignment. The goal might feel exciting at first, but without a clear plan, it can quickly lead to frustration.

Here’s the key: instead of focusing on what you want to achieve, focus on how you’re going to achieve it.

Focus on the process, not the outcome. When you create a plan, all that’s left is to execute it, bringing you closer to your goals at the same time.

Here are two ways to prioritize the process over the goals themselves:

1. Create time; don’t wait for it. You won’t “find” time in your schedule–you have to claim it. Block out specific hours and treat them as sacred.

2. Protect that time. Once it’s on your calendar, guard it. Say no to distractions or competing priorities during that time.

Remember, results follow actions, and actions follow systems. Build your process, and your goals will take care of themselves. What’s one step you can take today to start mastering your process?

Program News: Course Snapshots

Course Snapshots is a comprehensive database of all the online courses we offer. Each course entry includes key details to help streamline your planning or explore topics of personal interest. You’ll find textbook information, the number and length of lecture videos, introductory videos such as a course overview and professor introduction, as well as a few sample lectures.

Several weeks ago, we launched the beta version of Course Snapshots, giving students the opportunity to test it out and provide feedback. While we plan to continue improving and refining the platform, we believe it’s now in a great place to fully open it up for everyone to use.

While we have a policy against sharing full course syllabi, Course Snapshots aims to provide a practical way for you to plan your courses more effectively. We hope this serves as a helpful middle ground. The online learning team will regularly update the database to reflect any changes to the courses.

Watch this 2-minute screencast to learn how to navigate Course Snapshots, including how to search by course or professor, filter by graduate certificates, and more.

Access the Course Snapshots here.

If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me.

Faculty Devotional

This week’s faculty devotional is from Dr. Jeremy Pierre, Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Biblical Counseling and Practical Theology; Dean, Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry and is a reflection on Psalm 15:1–5:

“LORD, who can dwell in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain? The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness, and acknowledges the truth in his heart, who does not slander with his tongue who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor, who despises the one rejected by the LORD but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his word whatever the cost, who does not lend his silver at interest or take a bribe against the innocent–the one who does these things will never be shaken” (Psalm 15:1–5, CSB).

Psalm 15 begins with a set of questions that are more central to your life than you may realize. O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

Tents and hills are not what we typically think of as home. But the psalmist is basically asking, “Can anyone dare approach God’s home to join him there?” Why pose this question with the word dare? What’s the danger of approaching God?

Well, look at the qualities required of the man who approaches God: He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart. The rest of the psalm describes the absolute integrity of a man qualified to be with God. He must be entirely qualified to live with God because he is entirely like God. The psalm ends with, He who does these things shall never be moved.

Question for you. Do you do those things? Would you dare make this claim at the door of God’s home, the flaming sword of an angel suspended above your head? A man would have to be insane to dare that.

Or he would have to be righteous. Jesus Christ is the man of Psalm 15. Who dares to dwell with God? Someone who is entirely like him. Jesus was entirely like God not only by virtue of his divine nature–that is glorious enough! Jesus was entirely like God also by virtue of his human nature. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Hebrews 5:8–9).

Jesus the Man dares to dwell with God. And he goes to prepare that place for you. This is the gospel. That sinners like you and me, by faith, are also considered the man of Psalm 15. Dare it. Believe it.

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading and check in next Monday. You can find an archive of each week’s email here.