Nameless Faces and Faceless Names

A new semester, and it looks good so far. I have 12 hours: Hebrew II (3 hrs), Christian Counseling (2 hrs), Intertestamental History (1 hr), Readings in John Calvin (3 hrs), and History and Philosophy of Christian Education (3 hrs). I’ll be teaching at the Center for Biblical studies for five weeks this semester. CBS is a ministry of DTS that offers night classes to lay people. I’ll be co-teaching with Johnny, The Christian Spiritual Life. I’ll teach the first five weeks, Johnny the second five weeks.

The Intertestamental History course mentioned above is my first online education experience. Basically I watch the lectures on my computer, participate in discussion threads, and post assignments on this special website. The weird thing is that the lectures have been recorded sometime in the past, and John Mark is sitting in the front row! So its kind of like I have a class with John Mark, but not really. I can see him, but he can’t see me. In fact, none of the people sitting in that class are the people I’m actually taking this class with. My classmates are faceless names, just like me participating in this new “cyber-community.” An interesting experience… The subject matter is fascinating, especially since it has direct correlation to our trip to Israel last summer. We’re covering the history of Palestine between 586 BC and the first century AD. The payoff is major insight into the political, social-economic, and cultural background of the NT.