Detective Work First

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Before you begin your assigned reading, look for clues about the piece . . . Preliminary questions will help you stay interested and engaged, and also help you understand the content.

Although it seems simple and straightforward to just pick up a book or an article and start to read your assigned pages, it can be difficult to remember what you just read. If you find yourself running your eyes over text and turning pages, without retaining the information, you have wasted your effort, in spite of your good intentions.

You will learn more in far less time if you ALWAYS PRE-READ. Here are some questions to ask of your assigned reading, to help you become interested, curious and to give a purpose to your reading:

1. Why did my professor assign this? How does it fit into the course and its objectives?
2. Who is the author? Modern scholar? Church father? Feminist theologian?
3. What sort of book/article is it? Summary? Critique? Radical view? Nuance? Primary source?
4. What is the thesis (primary point) of the piece? You can often find this in the table of contents, the preface, the subheadings of each chapter, or the conclusion.
5. Can I understand the content of the writing or do I need to take a step back? If you are completely confused, don't bother to start until you have read some background material, or asked your professor for help.
6. What do I already know about this subject? Where does this fit into that grid?
7. What will I have to do with this material? Take a test? Write a review? Assimilate it as background for a paper? Create a paper outline or study guide as you read, if appropriate.

Vet, vet, vet the web

Not a veterinarian. Not a veteran.
Vet (verb) = To examine: To check for validity, accuracy or authenticity.

The internet is full of sites on the Bible, Theology, Apologetics, and Church History, not to mention all the religious and spiritual content you could possibly imagine in your wildest dreams (or worst nightmares!). Many sites can help you with your seminary coursework. They can give you background material, charts, maps, and excellent information.

There are also many sites that range between propaganda and mental illness. There are some that are extremely narrow or doctrinaire. Some are just lame.

So you need to vet them. Each and every one. Who is the author(s) and what are his or her interests?? For your purposes they should have a link to an academic institution. You should be able to locate them in the grid of the church: Protestant? Catholic? Dispensationalist? Freelance interpreter?

For Biblical Studies I recommend http://www.enterthebible.org , from Luther Seminary or http://ntgateway.com

Metacognitive Skills

If you are beginning seminary, the first semester can feel like information overload.

Here's a quick three part strategy to help get better grades, do better work, learn more, and do it all in less time (really!) These are called metacognitive skills (thinking about one's own mental processes):

Know Yourself: What is your learning style? Figure it out and use it. What is your academic background and skill level? Begin to fill in the gaps. What organization system works for you? Whatever it is, begin to use it for all your work.

Know Your Requirements: What is your degree program at seminary? Read the fine print, so you won't have any surprises later. Read the Writing Handbook https://www.northpark.edu/wp-content/uploads/Writing-Handbook-2017-2018.pdf for assistance. What's in your syllabi? A syllabus gives you the specifics for every course. What are the academic expectations? Honesty, timeliness, proper formats, and proofreading, for starters!

Know Your Resources: Your professors, librarians/library, deans, , Vetted websites, 2nd and 3rd year students, your advisor, . . . . .

Mapping the Faith

The world is shrinking and information is expanding. Fifty years ago, few people had extensive knowledge of other regions and denominations, let alone other countries and religions. Thanks to the explosion of travel, job transfers, cable and satellite television and the "information superhighway," a more simple existence has been replaced with the responsibility of navigating vast, competing and complicated ideas, attitudes and customs.

This is true of the world in general, but it becomes a special burden for a "professional" Christian reader, writer and speaker (or one-in-training). What is the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite? A pentecostal and a charismatic? How do Lutherans and Calvinists differ? What does it mean to be non-denominational? a "pietist"? What is the distinction between a sect and a cult? What is "four-square"?

What are the primary religions of India? England? Somalia? What do Catholics believe? What is the root cause of poverty in central Africa? in Peru? How do economics and politics intersect with issues of hunger? violence? evangelism?

Might be time to bring out some maps. All this information needs some kind of organizational system. (Like a closet or a file.) The more you know, the more you can learn. The more you structure the swirl of information around you, the more you have a place to put it, instead of being sucked down a black hole of intellectual chaos and randomness.

"Need to Know"

Here is a short list of items seminary professors assume you know before you start your work. If you don't, you might want to learn them.

• The books of the Bible: their basic content, characters, etc.
• The historical order and approximate dates of events in the Bible (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David . . .)
• The basic genres of biblical books (poetry, history, prophecy, letter . . .)
• How to use a concordance and Bible references, maps, etc.
• The Apostle's Creed (Nicene, too)
• Basic familiarity with doctrines of the trinity, atonement, christology, etc. (at least Confirmation class level)
• The broad parameters of the history of the Christian Church, including some knowledge of the Holy Roman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, and the spread of Christianity to the Western Hemisphere, Africa and Asia.

If you need help in acquiring background in these areas, you can get help from a pastor, teacher, library reference books, and online charts, articles and vocabulary lists. Chip away . . .

Re-Centering

Every so often a person has a new experience that literally re-orients the pathways in their brain. These experiences can be disconcerting, but they provide valuable perspective and actually make the brain grow. Learning Greek felt like that to me - I swore I could feel the new crevices forming.

Last week I returned from a trip to Peru and that's how it felt: new food, cultures, schedules, languages, and the tidal wave of imagination that washed over me at Machu Picchu (and it wasn't just the abnormally heavy rains . . .). So much that was new, so much to learn, where to put it all??!!

Seminary is full of re-centering experiences. It requires a way to corral the flood of information. It requires new categories, new patterns, new ways to arrange ideas. In many ways the grid, or schema one creates for all of this is as critical as the information itself. Be careful and deliberate about the process. Use care and caution, love and wisdom as you select, integrate, and organize the new information and experiences.