From here to there – Part II

So, when Kim asked where I would like to go to seminary if I had my choice, I knew immediately: Denver Seminary.

Denver has a long history with my Conservative Baptist Association of America. (The full story can be found here.) Located in Littleton, CO, it is the Alma Mater of my close friend and elder, Mark Marchak. It also has a pedigree with which I was familiar. Books by people like Bruce Shelley, Bruce Demerest & Gordon Lewis already were on my shelf. These were some of the founding thinkers at Denver. Of the current crop of teachers, I am familiar with the works of people like Blomberg & Groothius. So there were a number of connections which drew me initially to Denver.

We looked at Denver's web site and found that they had a Preview Day coming up (October 2006). I registered for a full day worth of classes and we packed up the family for a weekend jaunt to sunny Littleton.

Here was the interesting thing: Kim was finishing a degree at NYU in Media and Religious Studies. It had been an area of interest to her for a while and she had presented on the topic of digital media in the Christian church at a conference in Finland. One of the keynote speakers at this conference was a teacher and director of a think tank called The Center for Media and Religious Studies, Dr. Stewart Hoover. His Center is located at the University of Colorado at Boulder, about 45 minutes from Denver Seminary. Kim figured, "Hey, we're gonna be out here, why not get a Masters Degree in a field I care about with some of the premier thinkers in this area?" So as I went to class, Kim would travel to UC-B to see about a Masters degree.

First, Denver's campus is beautiful. Only one classroom building which also has the chapel. But the Rockies, in their full "purple mountains majesty", spread out behind the campus as the most glorious backdrop, with a couple of miles of aspen trees (at this time in their autumnal yellow) between you and the mountains. The air was dry which made the upper-80s day comfortable, especially with the slight breeze that was blowing.

I had a great day of classes and spoke with each of the professors. Some of the classes were large (my first one had more than 100 students, easily), while others were much more intimate (10-15). The facility was nice with a Wi-Fi system in place. And everyone had a laptop. Everyone. (Sidenote: I will not be taking my laptop to class. If I do, I'll end up watching Red Sox games during class or some other stupid thing. Sadly, I know how fickle I am.)

But at the end of my day, Kim picked me up from the campus (we were staying at a near-by hotel), and shared with me a most interesting thing that the head of the graduate department at UC-B said to her.

More later. J

The end of an era

Today is my last day of work. After 5 years, I am leaving my job at MMC. I've been training my replacements for the past month or so and I have to say that the process has been good.

One of my bosses said this morning, "Well, we'll be having pizza today in celebration...er, honor of your leaving." It is a fine line between the two, I guess. But that also shows the type of people that I have been working with. Great folks with a sense of humor.

I have truly been blessed to be a part of this crowd and I have had a number of great times here. I administered (successfully, for the most part) a database with more than 10,000 records in it. Designed two intranet sites from scratch, which look awesome, if I do say so myself. Lots of unique graphics and functionality. Hardly cookie-cutter. I've trained, groomed, and been a part of a great (if dramatically underfunded and understaffed) division.

But, today is the "first day of the rest of my life," as they say. And ya gotta love what is on the horizon.

Pack and go

We are nearing the end of our packing. It had been a lot of work (mostly done by Kim as I kept RJ occupied), but we are down to the last parts. These are also the hardest parts. Lots of little things that break easily and lots of heavy books. A number of people have come over to help pack books and some have committed to helping us move on Monday, which of course is really great. I have three people scheduled for Monday. Another two and we will be golden. Somehow we will get it all in our new apartment.

I have been mapping the route to Littleton, CO, and it should take about 3 days total to get there. The final day is only a two-three hour drive, so there will be plenty of time to unload once we arrive. Since we are only taking so much, it should not take long to get the truck unpacked. I'll put up posts on the road as far as where I am and what is going on. This will also be a good way for me to schedule regular stops…and, of course, the daily nap which will keep me going.

But stay tuned! Next stop: Allentown, PA!! Home of Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, the PP&L Building and Mom!