Overly Nostalgic Reflections on Graduation

I am now an alumnus of Boyce College.

That sentence encompasses hundreds of pages of papers, ten of thousands of pages of reading, dozens of all-nighters, dorm meetings, chapels, service projects, and student life events.

When I started at Boyce in the Fall of 2005 I was just a 17 year old kid. I didn't have a blog, a Facebook account, a cell phone, or a driver's license. Heck, I wasn't even a Calvinist.

I had never heard Sufjan Stevens, never bought groceries with my own money, never lived in a city with a million people.

Dean Scroggins told my class in 2005 that the purpose of studying at Boyce was to love Jesus more than when we started. I can honestly say four years later, that my love of Jesus has exponentially increased. Certainly, my understanding and experience of the Gospel has radically shifted.

The pitfalls of theological education are numerous. Elitism and arrogance easily accompanies knowledge, and even students of the Bible can become prideful about our carefully crafted systems and beliefs. Equally treacherous is the implied professionalization of ministry- as though a diploma somehow qualifies an individual for the standard Paul sets in 1 Timothy 3:1-8.

Overall, I am incredibly grateful for the education that I received at Boyce. Most of my experiences were great, although there is much that I would change if I had the ability.

I am interested to see where God leads me from here.