First Post; Look at the Blog Name

As I just said, if you look at the Title of my blog page, then you can guess what this post is going to be about. For the first post in my first blog I will have to rant, criticize, and uplift the ins and outs of a student at Johnson Bible College. Now I know that many people who hear the phrase "Bible College" immediately think of a previously home schooled kid that was sheltered and doesn't know a lot about true life. Well at the risk of sounding arrogant that is not who I am at all. 

As a student at Johnson, I take joy in the fact that I don't adhere to the traditional stereotypical mindset of a Bible College student. I went to Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio, the home of the Firebirds. I graduated with 600 other students, most of whom had rich parents. So most of the people I knew in high school had too much money and too much time on their hands. That got me out of the sheltered classification quickly. When I applied to Johnson there was a form called the Johnson lifestyle agreement, which I signed. It said that there were certain things that I wouldn't do. I signed it realizing that there was no way that I would listen or adhere to most of those rules. My extensive movie collection alone is enough to show that I do not listen to these rules. The next big thing on the form was that I would not use tobacco products, even though it was legal for me to do so. I signed but continued my ways of smoking cigars once a month or so (but I will never touch a cigarette). I wanted to rebel against the institution of Johnson Bible College, while at the same time was so glad to be going there.

Now here I am a year later after my first year of college. I still want to smoke, but I'm trying to quit for reasons still truly unknown to me. Its not because I'm addicted that it is a struggle to stop, because it only happens about once a month, but rather because I love the feeling of sitting on my back deck with my friends, listening to music that ranges from country to acoustic to classic rock, and lighting up a stogey. Still a bit of a rebel, I am now much more experienced with life than what I was before this school year. 

My first year at Johnson seemed to fly by quicker than a single semester at my old high school. My favorite class at Johnson was entitled Basic Christian Beliefs, taught by a 31 year old professor that has already received his doctorate; Rafael Rodriguez. This class was a theological class and was anything but basic. It was the hardest course I had all year, especially the take home final exam which took me 25 pages double spaced to answer ten short questions. I learned countless amounts of theological ideas in this class. I quickly got the opportunity to do some preaching. Over the course of the year I preached twice in student led chapel and twice at an evening church service called The River, which we have on, well, the river in Knoxville. Since then I have been asked to organize speakers and lead student led chapel next year and I was also asked to lead The River speakers. I agreed to do both and can't wait for the fall to begin in furthering my own speaking and administrative abilities. 

Johnson is a place of opportunity for me. At Johnson I'm not tested so much in class as I am with how I relate to people. There are people at Johnson that I simply cannot stand. However, I have to learn to cope with them, and even minister to them at some points. I have been given the opportunity to become a better speaker even though, again at the risk of sounding arrogant, I know that God has given me the ability to preach. As a freshman I was known by most of the 715 students at Johnson. Johnson is also the cheapest private school in Tennessee, allowing me to go to school for simply 12,000 a year for everything. So I love Johnson and probably always will simply because of the experience I gain from the school.

However there are frustrations as well. Johnson tends to be very uptight and stingy on rules. If the administration knew I smoked (or at least used to), knew all the R rated movies in my room, or knew my thoughts on Church and the Body of Christ and how we minister to people, I would probably be kicked out. We have a curfew, which is new to me because my parents were never home. The girls are allowed in our dorm rooms only one night a semester which gets frustrating, and there are numerous other things that drive me crazy about my school's rules and administration. However, nothing is going to change while there are many traditional alumni walking around still alive and giving money to the school. 

So there you have a bit about me and maybe a little more about what to expect from my later thoughts and ideas which will be posted. I love my school, I love the opportunities, my professors, most of the people, but sometimes Bible College can keep the exciting spark of ministry tamed with the ways of the past. For anybody else reading this post, especially if you go to Bible College, don't let these traditions and rules stop you from going on the never-ending search for truth and the ways of less traditional leaders so that you may become a Christ follower dedicated to bringing more glory to His Kingdom. Until next time...