20th Grade

“I know how much education means to you and how awesome of an opportunity this is for you.”  My friend could not have summed it better.  Six years ago I left the hallowed halls of Dallas Seminary for the last time, not sure where the journey of life would take me or if I’d ever experience Higher Education again. There was a Master’s degree under my belt and a soar on my backside. Twenty years of sitting behind a desk tends to do that.  Yet, it wasn’t long before I was dreaming of being back in school…

Was I crazy? What would the next step be? Where would I go? I have a great job and a family that is growing by leaps and bounds. What am I thinking? Is the timing right? How can we ever make it work?

I thought. I prayed. I discussed with my wife. I sought wise counsel. I prayed again. But mostly…

I dreamed.

Pieces quickly began falling into place and I soon found myself in an empty classroom on a bitterly cold January morning awaiting the start of my first class.

De’ja vu…

Students (several by far my junior) began filing in. Bookbags. Notebooks. Laptops. Finally a professor.

“Welcome to class. Let’s begin with devotions. Open to Matthew chapter five….”

My mind immediately trailed off. I knew I was in the right place. I knew I was home.

I leaped thirteen years into my past to the first class of the first day in undergrad. 1996. An unknown Professor who was destined to become a great friend, Jim Leightenheimer, opened the class by saying simply, “Let’s pray,” and then actually doing so.

To a boy who grew up in the public school system, those are defining words.

I was instantly and insatiably hooked.

Back to reality.

So here I am: Doing quizzes, writing papers, attending study sessions, and subjecting myself to the educational system again. And I am loving it…

I’m loving it because I’ve had an epiphany. I finally understand why I continue to find myself behind a wooden desk.

I am a lifelong learner.
No. I am compelled to be a lifelong learner, in both media AND biblical studies.

The fields of media and communications are always changing. I must always be a student of them to remain effective in the practice of them.

The Bible is never changing, but it is a pursuit that I will never master. The more I learn the more aware I am of how little I truly know.

So as that friend of mine aptly closed, “I hope the first day back on your continued journey is fantastic,” I’ve realized that is a journey that will not end.

If you ever need to find me, now or decades hence, … look in a classroom.