Weekly Email: September 30, 2024

I hope you had a great weekend! I’m changing up the format a bit in this week’s email, let me know if you find this new introductory section helpful. As always, the buckets of content will remain the same: student tips and/or encouragement, program news, and a faculty devotional. If there are ever any topics or questions you want covered in a future email, just reply to this email and let me know! I want these to be useful and encouraging to you.

Topics included in this week’s email:

1. Student Tip: Preparing for your next course

2. Program News: New Online PhD

3. Faculty Devotional: Dr. Justin Irving - Healthy Christian Leaders Prioritize Their Relationship with God

Student Tip: Preparing for your next course

We are one week out from the start of the Fall 2 term and I want you to succeed. It’s crucial to set yourself up for success. Here are three actionable steps to prepare for your next class:

1. Prepare Your Heart: Seminary classes are more than just academic endeavors; they are profound opportunities to deepen your understanding and application of scripture, to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ, and to know God more. Begin by asking God to help you approach your courses with the right mindset and posture.

2. Organize Your Calendar: Time management is essential. Your week won’t magically expand to accommodate your schoolwork. Proactively schedule dedicated study times over the next eight weeks. Online classes offer flexibility, which is a double-edged sword: without fixed commitments and in-person accountability, it’s easy to procrastinate. Treat these self-scheduled study sessions as non-negotiable appointments. Show up for yourself as you would for any important meeting.

3. Review Your Previous Course: Reflecting on past experiences can significantly enhance your future performance. I encourage you to consider implementing a review system to evaluate your previous courses. Ask yourself these three questions: 1. What barriers hindered my time management? 2. What caused me to feel overwhelmed or anxious about completing my work? 3. Was I faithful to the time I set aside for school, or did distractions creep in?

Be honest in your self-assessment. Identify one specific area for improvement this term. This reflection not only helps you learn from past mistakes but also sets a clear path for better habits and strategies.

As you take these steps to prepare for the Fall 2 term, remember that your academic journey is a marathon, not a sprint. The habits you form now will carry you through not just this class but your entire seminary experience. Be diligent, continue in prayer, and trust that the Lord will honor your efforts as you seek to grow both in knowledge of and relationship with Him.

Throughout your time as a student, don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or suggestions—me and the entire online team are here to support you.

Program News: New Online PhD

I’m excited to share that we launched our first fully online PhD program at Southern Seminary. This new PhD in Christian Studies is designed to provide you with the academic rigor and practical skills needed for impactful ministry and scholarly contributions—all without the need to relocate or pause your current ministry engagements.

This program is perfect for those looking to continue their studies after completing their master’s degree. It offers a flexible and comprehensive approach to advanced theological education, allowing you to balance your academic pursuits with your ongoing ministry work.

To learn more about this exciting opportunity, join us for a webinar and Q&A session hosted by Dr. Wills, Director of Research Doctoral Studies. The session will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 4:00 PM EDT.

Register here. If you can’t attend live, don’t worry—we’ll send you a recording to watch at your convenience.

Faculty Devotional: Dr. Justin Irving - Healthy Christian Leaders Prioritize Their Relationship with God

This week’s devotional is from Dr. Justin Irving, Professor of Christian Leadership. Along with Mark Strauss, he wroteone of my favorite books on leadership: Leadership in Christian Perspective: Biblical Foundations and Contemporary Practices.

Self-leadership does not begin with oneself. Foundationally, it begins with God. God is not simply a means to greater organizational ends. He is the ultimate end and the true joy that will satisfy our deepest longings. He is the end, not merely the means to some other end. One author I turn to frequently is C. S. Lewis. In his book A Grief Observed, Lewis writes:

“[God] can’t be used as a road. If you’re approaching Him not as the goal, but as a road, not as the end but as the means, you’re not really approaching Him at all. That’s what was really wrong with all those popular pictures of happy reunions ‘on the further shore’; not the simple-minded and very earthly images, but the fact that they make an End of what we can get only as a by-product of the true End”–that is, God.

However, when God genuinely becomes our ultimate end, when he becomes our treasure and infinite delight, then he is ready and willing to graciously give us all things needed to do his will in life and leadership. Such logic resonates with Saint Augustine’s beautiful prayer in his Confessions: “He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee which he loves not for thy sake.” This is a call to recognize and align ourselves to a view of God as preeminent–a view in which he becomes not only the One through whom we exist, work, live, and lead, but ultimately the One whom we exist to be in relationship with.

Content adapted from Healthy Leadership for Thriving Organizations by Justin A. Irving, ©2023.

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.