Wondering

[mattdantodd]

In our small group yesterday for Nature of Christian Ministry, we discussed the fact that several people have dropped out of school after one semester. Several other people are still contemplating leaving during this semester

Comments

dropouts

[jbalogna]

I have a few thoughts on the subject. One reason people drop out of seminary after one semester is that one semester is enough to realize that seminary just isn't for you- as in the case of our beloved Bob. The other reason is that in the second semester, the new has worn off. you come into the first semester feeling all excited and optimistic and not necessarily thinking about how grueling it is going to be. I knew that the academic part would be hard, but I didn't know how emotionally and spiritually exhausting it would be. Then you get a break for six weeks... and have to go back. I'll admit I was happy to be getting back into classes, but a little part of me was dreading it. And I'll be honest- I wanted to throw up as soon as I walked into SME. My small group makes me want to throw up even more- not in a gross way, but in a "I can't believe I am going to spend 2 1/2 hours every week being completely miserable" kind of way. They don't tell you that part in the admissions materials, and I didn't have that feeling 1at

Re: dropouts

[mattdantodd]

It's easier to build community in the undergrad years, since everyone is living together in the dorms anyway. As Dr. Jones has said several times, you can't microwave community. It comes with spending time with each other. Everyone comes from so many different situations in seminary that it's much more difficult to create that community - short of forcing everyone to live on campus and share everything they have in common