Weekly Email: September 2, 2024

The response to last week’s email was truly overwhelming, in a positive way. I know you’re balancing many responsibilities in your life right now, and I hope this week’s message offers you some encouragement as you reach the halfway point of the fall term. Your feedback on these emails means a lot to me—writing them is a joy, and I’m grateful for the connection we’re building together.

It’s a long season…

As a lifelong baseball fan (go Cardinals!), this phrase resonates deeply with me. It’s a reminder of the patience, consistency, and resilience required over the course of a 162-game season. Day in and day out, players show up, giving their best, even when the grind feels unending. Six games a week for six months straight—that’s no small feat. And it’s exhausting.

Earning a degree, particularly a Master of Arts or a Master of Divinity, demands a similar mindset. These are long journeys. For the M.Div., you’re looking at 28 classes, stretching across several years. That’s the big picture, but we all know the real challenge lies in the day-to-day. Each eight-week term can feel relentless, progress can seem slow, and it’s easy to lose sight of why you started. What began as an exciting adventure can leave you feeling worn out after a few years.

That’s why it’s crucial to stay rooted in the purpose behind your studies. If you’re reading this, it’s because you’ve been called to this journey. God has placed you here to be equipped, to strengthen your ministry, and to grow as a leader—whether as a pastor, missionary, worship leader, women’s ministry leader, small group leader, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, biblical counselor, and more. Whatever your role, the ultimate goal is clear: to make Jesus known and to spread the gospel, equipping others to do the same.

So, start your studies with prayer. Pray for focus during your study sessions, for the Holy Spirit to grant you the endurance to keep going, and for God to use this season to prepare you to better teach others the good news of Jesus. May his name be proclaimed in your community and beyond, to the very ends of the earth.

Behind the Scenes of Online Course Development

This week, I wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes look at our process for developing online courses with faculty. Our team's goal is to work alongside faculty, complementing their teaching expertise, academic research, and pastoral experience with our training in online pedagogy and course design.

Our instructional design team consists of a Director of Online Learning, four Instructional Designers (ID), four Instructional Design Assistants (IDA), and a content curator. Each member plays a vital role in the development of the course you're taking.

The course development process takes 3-5 months. An Instructional Designer first meets with faculty to create a plan for their online course. Often, faculty have taught the course on-campus before, so the ID helps them break down lectures and create assignments in a format more suitable for online students.

After this initial meeting, the faculty records lectures in our studio with Southern Productions. Concurrently, the ID begins developing the layout, structure, and design of the course in Canvas. They typically have 2-3 additional meetings with the professor to gather feedback, work through the syllabus and assignments, and make any necessary changes. The ID then writes the syllabus, assignment descriptions, and other materials based on the faculty's input. The faculty will edit, revise, and approve later.

Once the recording is complete, the lecture videos go through 3-4 rounds of edits. Our team watches each video and provides feedback to the Southern Productions team. Additionally, our online content creator uses the professor's notes to create on-screen slides to accompany the videos.

Simultaneously, another ID reviews the course and provides feedback for further edits. Then, the two Instructional Design Assistants thoroughly check the course, fixing any errors they find, such as broken links or inconsistent instructions. Finally, the Director reviews the course with the ID, giving their final feedback. After this, the professor reviews the course and provides final approval. The course is now ready to be offered to you.

As you can see, a significant amount of work goes into each course development. Our goal is to provide you with the best possible experience, ensuring consistent and clear instructions, intuitive navigation, and a design that complements the course content. All in all, we work with faculty to develop 40+ courses per year. We are constantly improving our processes and hope with each iteration its better than the last one.

If you have any feedback, we're always eager to hear it. We are constantly striving to improve our courses, and your input is invaluable.

Faculty Devotional

This week’s faculty devotional is from Dr. Paul Akin. In addition to his administrative role as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration he is Associate Professor of Christian Missions. Additionally, he has a podcast, which I enjoy listening to, called Amazon to the Himalayas. In this podcast he interviews Christians around the world to hear about what God is doing.

In Exodus 19:3-6, God calls Moses to the mountain and gives Israel a mission. God tells Israel, through Moses: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6, ESV). This passage marks a pivotal moment where God reveals His purpose for His people—to be a holy nation, set apart to represent Him to the world.

As you pursue your studies in different ministry contexts, this same calling echoes in your life. Like the people of Israel, you too have been chosen and set apart by God for a special purpose. Your education is not just about gaining intellectual knowledge but about preparing your heart and mind to serve as a vessel for God's work.

In your studies, you may feel distant and disconnected from others. Yet, God’s promise remains: you belong to him and you have been set apart for a redemptive purpose. Remember that being set apart doesn’t mean isolation; it means being dedicated to God's mission. Every assignment, discussion, and paper is an opportunity to grow deeper in your understanding of His Word and His mission in the world.

Through your studies, God is preparing you to be a light in the darkness, to be a messenger and ambassador to those who need His mercy and saving grace.

Embrace your calling with confidence, knowing that God has a unique purpose for your education. As you study, remember that you are a part of something much bigger than you. After all, what began at the base of Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19, will one day result in a multitude around the throne from every tribe and language and people and nation singing praises to the lamb who was slain on their behalf (Rev. 5:9-10).

May God help us keep that in perspective as we labor in our studies and in our ministry to his glory.

Have a great week and I’ll check in with you next week!

You can find an archive of each week's email here.