Reflections On My First Quarter at U. Chicago

This Fall I have experienced some significant and wonderful transitions as a student of the Bible. For one, I transitioned from the neo-conservative environment of TEDS to the much more progressive U. Chicago Divinity School. This alone deserves some reflection! Furthermore, I also transitioned to a new job as an interim pastor at my urban Mennonite Church in Chicago. Needless to say, this Fall was not lacking in opportunities to learn and grow. Over the next few weeks (Xmas break!) I hope to spend a little time reflecting on these transitions and my work on apocalyptic literature this Fall. What follows is a brief reflection on my first quarter of classes at U. Chicago.

Thus far, U. Chicago has been a great and challenging environment for me. The Divinity school is far from perfect, but has afforded me many wonderful opportunities. The ethos of the Divinity school is one of genuine community and commitment to one another's scholarship. There are multiple events each week for students and professors to come together around good food, strong drink and great conversation. Professors are readily available to students, which is a welcome change from my experience at TEDS where professors are much more difficult to get time with.

I was warned by a few people at TEDS that U. Chicago is a "dark place." Apparently, if you go to U. Chicago you are automatically tagged as a liberal by many conservatives. This is troublesome for me. While there are "no orthodoxies" at U. Chicago, there are many people profoundly committed to the church and even various forms of evangelicalism. One of my T.A.s is a Westminster grad who studied under Peter Enns (Yeah, I know... Enns is also a crazy liberal by TEDS standards!). Nevertheless, in my own experience thus far, U. Chicago has provided a robust environment for me to become a multi-dimensional student of the Bible. At some point, I hope to do a short series on the advantages and disadvantages of attending a liberal versus conservative school. I have a lot to share on this topic!