March 9th, 2010 by Dan Nichols
Karissa Craft, a freshman here at BBC is working in our Admissions department. She is making her BBC Blog debut as a guest blogger this week! Here is her blog “Why Study History?”
Have you ever sat down and thought about how the world could be different if certain events never happened? What would the world be like if Hitler was never in power? What about all the wars we have suffered though? How would life be different?
All those events have created our world today. History literally means the branch of knowledge dealing with past events. Without the events in history our world would be a different place today. We do not realize that our lives are modeled around the events of the past. As President George W. Bush stated, “Our history is not a story of perfection. It’s a story of imperfect people working toward great ideals.”
Although history is made up of imperfections, we must learn from those imperfections. The only way to do that is to study the mistakes of those who have come before us. So the next time you start complaining about sitting in history class, remember your life has been changed by the events you are currently learning. History must be written so those who come later may learn from the mistakes made before.
- Karissa Craft
Tags: Class, History, Imperfections, Learning, Study
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February 24th, 2010 by Jamie Knowles
I just got out of my Theology IV class and it was a blast. A discussion started at the end of class – about the different roles between genders, in the home and in the church that got several people involved. It was quite interesting and the conversation took a little longer than Dr. Cragoe had expected, but he would rather have us get involved than to just sit and listen.
It never ceases to amaze me the conversations that pop up in the classrooms at BBC. When I came here I expected to be sitting in lectures all day long. I am so glad I was wrong. As people we learn so much more through discussion, don’t we? A lot of times during lectures we “tune out” what is being said, or we just take in the information without really thinking about it. It’s through discussions that real life situations come up and real life solutions are given in a practical understandable way.
It’s also encouraging to hear the discussions continuing even after classes are over. We as students can talk to each other without the feeling of being attacked by our fellow students for our views even with those that do not hold the same position. A lot of times, through talking we learn even more than what was taught in the classroom and more about each other.
I encourage you to find people that you can talk to about life and the Bible. And I would encourage you to talk to people that might not agree with you on every position. You might learn something new or it might affirm what you already believe.
Tags: BBC Classes, Learning, Professors, Theology
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February 16th, 2010 by Dan Nichols
Books, Borders, and Barnes and Noble
I wonder how much of the world’s population actually enjoys reading. According to the United Nations Development Program, 99% of the United States is literate while some nations’ literacy rates are less than 25%. Even though America’s literacy rate is sky-high, I’d venture to say most of us don’t enjoy reading. I know I don’t.
My problem is that I love books, but I hate reading. I love knowledge, but I hate the work it takes to obtain it. This past weekend I was in Borders and Barnes & Noble on separate occasions. Both of these retail stores have piles upon piles of books, information, and knowledge. Every time I go to these stores, or even go into a library, I always want to know more. I always feel increasingly stupid because I realize how little I actually know.
Over my high school and college years I’ve been able to amass a nice little library – over 260 at this point in physical books and almost 500 electronic books in my Scholar’s Library on my laptop. I love books, but I hate reading. I even wrote a book this past summer! (Feel free to check it out at http://tinyurl.com/viginti).
Learning is hard work, and it requires the discipline of reading. If you’re like me, it’s a struggle to pay attention long enough to pass my eyes over every single word in a book and comprehend the flow of thought for page upon page.
Even though its difficult, it’s worth it.
If you’re not a reader, don’t give up on it just because it’s hard. Success in college requires reading. Leadership requires reading. Spiritual formation requires reading. Don’t give up – keep reading even if you don’t like it.
Tags: Books, Knowedge, Learning, Literacy, Reading
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January 25th, 2010 by Dan Nichols
What typically happens when your teacher catches you goofing off in class? In most cases your teacher will either throw a very long glare from the front of the classroom or call you out in the middle of the lecture. Normally you wouldn’t expect your teacher to take you out for lunch after you’ve been goofing off during the lecture.
Mine did.
Greek III is the kind of class where you start to delve into the more minute details of language study, and during one particular class hour I started to move into “ADD” mode. I don’t usually have an attention deficit, but once we started talking about “aspect” and “aktionsart” in relation to the Greek verb – my attention plummeted. This sudden plunge of attention to Dr. Decker’s lecture eventually culminated in reaching for my iTouch during the lecture (again, not characteristic for me at all).
My Greek professor Dr. Rodney J. Decker is a genius. You can find his Greek textbooks on Amazon.com. He knows Macbooks better than anyone I know. He wrote his doctoral dissertation for D.A. Carson, one of the top theological scholars in America today. And he can also spot a student using his iTouch during his lectures.
Dr. Decker calmly said my name once. I looked up sheepishly, and put my iTouch back in my pocket. Dr. Decker said no more about the incident until a few days later. I was hanging out with a friend of mine in the dorm one night when I got a new e-mail in my inbox. The sender line said “Rod Decker,” and I thought that I was about to receive a polite but firm e-mail of positive reprimand. This was not the case.
Instead, Dr. Decker told me how uncharacteristic it was for me to not pay attention in class. He asked if there was anything wrong and offered for me to reply with any questions I might have – which I did. I was honest with him and told him that I had been struggling to understand why an M.Div. degree was considered profitable for pastors. I didn’t quite understand. His response was an invitation to lunch that following Wednesday.
Dr. Decker took me out to Quizno’s and answered my questions. He asked me what God was doing in my life and what I perceived to be my future in ministry. That was how I was rewarded for goofing off in class, something I never plan on doing again… maybe.
Tags: ADD, Classes, Forgiveness, Learning, Professors
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