practical wisdom to help seminary students avoid burnout and finish well
Today is Friday, August 29th, 2008
In seminary, I was a grade-nerd. It started early in my academic career. I was in the gifted program from 3rd grade through high school. Once I discovered that I had academic gifts, I found I liked achieving well in that arena. And my parents never settled for less than I could do. In high [...]
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February 4th, 2008 | Mark | 0 comments | Continued
Here are the questions you need to ask and answer at the beginning of each class:
1. Will this be among the 20% of most valuable classes, to which I should devote my best energy, or will it be one of the 80% that are (comparatively) low-value?
Many things go into this determination. Some classes you will [...]
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January 30th, 2008 | Mark | 0 comments | Continued
Back to planning your study. Again, I mention that our key idea here is triage. If you have time to devote full attention to every class (and your ministry and your job and your marriage and your health), then knock yourself out. If you’re one of the rest of us who has to let something [...]
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January 28th, 2008 | Mark | 3 comments | Continued
So if my top 20% of value came in 18 hours of classes, then surely I had a bottom 20%, too?
You bet I did. Here they are:
Old and New Testament (Four classes, 12 hrs) – Here the culprit was poor instructors. I had dithering graduate students for two of the four classes, and a stuffed [...]
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January 17th, 2008 | Mark | 5 comments | Continued
The reasons for the value of a class can vary widely. Some factors can be:
High-value books as part of assigned reading
High-value lectures – good information
High-value assignments which help you learn critical skills
High-value professors whose teaching, life and/or personal example are impactful
If the 80/20 principle holds true, then the highest value of my 92 hour M. [...]
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January 15th, 2008 | Mark | 4 comments | Continued
After you’ve chosen a degree, you need to plan your study within your degree curriculum. To do that, we’ll use the 80/20 Principle.
The 80/20 Principle, also known as Pareto’s Law, is an incredibly powerful tool for time and priority management, with thousands of uses. The reality, for instance, that 80% of the work in a [...]
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January 14th, 2008 | Mark | 5 comments | Continued
Since planning your study is your responsibility (not your seminary’s), then the first level of planning is to choose your degree program wisely.
The M. Div. is the standard ministry degree, but it also takes 3 ½ - 4 years or more to complete. By comparison, many seminaries offer shorter Master of Arts in biblical studies, [...]
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January 8th, 2008 | Mark | 5 comments | Continued
Is the break over already? I expect most of you are getting back into the groove of studies, whether tackling a J-term or starting the Winter semester. Time to get back in the saddle.
So in honor of that, I’ll be posting some thoughts on planning your study. Here’s an introduction:
Plan your study
If the goal of [...]
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January 7th, 2008 | Mark | 0 comments | Continued
Good thoughts again. Thanks, as always, Mark.
A couple of thoughts I might add in:
~For one, expect that you will ...
I just wanted to thank y'all for all of your great posts. They have been very helpful, and have ...
Well said.
The whole of 1 Cor. 8:1-3 seems to tell more of the story, as “knowledge puffs up, but ... Amen again. Great post.
A wise leader once told me that, "work expands to fill the time allowed it." What I ... Ditto on Shaun's comment.
Also, it's too late now for summer-- but as Christmas break approaches, you might also consider ...
Also, take a book with you wherever you go. You'd be amazed at how much extra reading you can ... If you have more than one computer in your home, you may want to consider using an online calendar like ...
This was a very insightful message, and couldn't have come at a better time. I was in church this ...
I have often found it really is better to be silent and though a fool than speak and prove it. ... Christ never won people over by extensive knowledge; in fact it was quite the opposite. Jesus would rebuke the ...
