Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

What is your religious/denominational background? Briefly describe you level of participation in a local church. Include any ministry experience, ordination, etc. My dad was a Baptist preacher. I grew up in church and my senior year of high school I surrendered to the call of ministry. I have been serving in the church in some capacity since that time. I have been a youth minister, college minister, and camp speaker for many years. What is your educational background (e.g. your undergraduate major, other degrees, etc.)? My educational background is a long one. First, in my defense a lot of people go to school for a decade, usually they are called doctors, but that is just a title right? I took a hiatus from school to work and finally finished in December of 2006 with a Bachelors of Science in Speech Communication from Texas A&M Commerce. What are your career plans for after Truett? I have been preaching for 16 years in various venues. I had no plans to attend seminary, so as it usually goes, when you aren’t going to do something, that is when God calls you to do it. I applied at the advice of a mentor and was excepted a week later. We moved down another week later. After Truett I plan on pastoring in some manor. My passion is preaching. I eat, drink, and and sleep it. How can this course best serve you? I want to gain a better understanding on how to see themes and meanings of the text in order to teach and grow a people.

I am 22 years old now. You might say that I have been attending Baptist Churches for 22 years and 9 months. That is the kind of home I grew up in. We were at church every Sunday and Wednesday night, for as long as I can remember. My Grandpa was a Baptist minister; When he was a kid, his mother moved their family from Louisiana all the way to Waco, specifically so her kids could attend a Baptist college. That is how strong her belief in the Baptist faith was. So my family is deeply rooted in the Baptist tradition of faith, and so am I. Like my Grandfather, my Mother, my aunt, and numerous other relatives, I also attended Baylor University. There I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Digital Media. I graduated last December and started Truett in the spring. In June I began working as a Youth Pastor at a Church near where I live. After Truett, I plan to go into the ministry in some form or fashion. I do not know if youth ministry is where I am going to be long term, but that is where God has me right now. So I hope that this class will help me to understand the Scriptures better and what they mean. Hopefully, this will transform my life and in turn I can better teach the scriptures to the students God has blessed our ministry with as well!

I am a Southern Baptist who serves as part-time pastor to Liberty Community Church in Milano, TX.  Because this church is a Baptist/Methodist congregation, I conduct the Baptist services on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of each month, and the Methodist pastor takes the second and fourth Sundays.  This is truly a wonderful congregation, and I am blessed to serve them.  On weeks that I do not attend Liberty, my family and I attend First Baptist Church, Belton, where I just finished the mentoring section of my MDiv degree.  I also attend and contribute to a group called the Onion, which can be described as something like a house church.  I am licensed, though not ordained.

Before coming to Truett, I graduated from Wayland Baptist University with a dual degree in religion and English.  I then took a four year hiatus from school in which I served as a worship leader, technical director, and eventually Assoicate Minister of Music in the Technical Field at Alice Drive Baptist Church in Sumter, SC.  I came to Truett when I realized that I wanted to have a more pastoral role in the congregation, and this continues to be my drive as I look to the future.  I hope to engage in some form of pastoral ministry, though the exact form of that ministry is not yet certain.  I do know, however, that I would like to preach and teach if at all possible.

In regard to Scriptures 2, the course can best serve me by strengthening my knowledge of the prophets, a section of the Bible of which I am largely ignorant, and helping me consider how to preach the prophets to my congregation, a task which I have seldom seen performed.

I am married to my beautiful wife, Emily, with whom I have a beautiful daughter named Bella.

I grew-up in a Baptist home and have been a part of a local church all my life. I have had some experience helping in youth groups and children programs. I did my undergrad at Missouri’s State University in Springfield, MO and it was a bachelors in Construction Management. I currently plan on starting a construction company when I graduate from Truett. I hope this course will give me a better understanding of Scripture and how God related to people in th Old Testament. I also hope to take what I learn and be able to teach it to others around me.

I am currently serving as youth minister at FBC McGregor TX.  I have been there for two years now.  I have had a number of opportunities to preach at this church as well.  This has been very beneficial for me because I feel called to Pastoral Ministry.  I taught College and Youth in Sunday School for three years at Central Baptist Church in Jacksonville TX.  While I was there I also served as the youth minister for the Eagle’s Nest ministry in Jacksonville.  I was licensed into the ministry by the former pastor of CBC before he resigned to to to FBC the Woodlands.  I am starting my third year at Truett and have plans to graduate next fall.

I did my undergrad work at a Baptist Seminary in Jacksonville where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Religion.  When I graduate from Truett my desire is to be a full time pastor, hopefully somewhere in TX, but I am not opposed to the possibility of leaving this state to do ministry.

I think that this class is going to help to further increase my knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures.  I have studied the Bible for years but have always felt more comfortable within the pages of the New Testament.  I believe that all of Scripture has been purposefully recorded and should be studied and taught thoroughly.  I am very excited about getting into the prophets and learning more about the way that God’s message was communicated to His people through the words of the prophets.

I am serving as Pastor of a small church just outside of Glen Rose, TX.  The church is Rainbow Baptist Church (yes I know all the good and bad that goes with that name), it is a small country church with some of the most rural and real people I have ever met!  I grew up in a small town so this is right up my alley.  I have worked as a youth minister, music minister, and Young Adult minister in my time in the ministry.  I was ordained on November 5th, 2005 at FBC Longview. I did my undergraduate at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.  I graduated with a BA in Religion and minor in music. After Truett, I intend to do what I am doing now.  I love the pastorate (especially preaching), and I feel like this is my lifelong calling.  I have toyed with doing doctrial work of some kind, but at this point I (and my wife) are ready to be done with schooling (being as we have a 5 year old, almost 2 year old, and are planning on adopting from Africa (possibly as early as this summer). This course can help me in the study of the latter portion of the Hebrew Bible.  I thoroughly enjoy the OT and feel like it needs to be preached as much as the NT, because it is a unified work that has relevance for all of life! Brad Reedy!

I am Chandan Bardewa. I am from India and currently doing my M. Div in Missions and World Christianity at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University Waco, Texas. I was brought up in a Hindu family. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior at the age of 25. After accepting Christ I joined Jesus Film ministry and took Jesus Film to the nook and corner of Manipur (a northeastern state of India). After serving for three years I got married to a wonderful Christian woman Joy. In 2001 I joined an organization called Leadership Training Center where I served as a co-ordinator for short term mission trip with all my capacity. God help me led more than 300 mission trips from 2001 to 2008. I also served as associate pastor of bilingual and multicultural church before joining Truett Seminary in Aug 2008. My wife and I have one son Mark. We are expecting one more son this November. I praise God for another arrow he put in my quiver. After my graduation I will go back to India and serve God with all my capacity.
Thanks for reading about me. Please pray for me and my family for God’s guidance.

Okay, so some basic information about me is that I was born and raised in  El Dorado, Arkansas.  I left El Dorado for college at Ouachita Baptist University where I graduated with my BA in Christian Counseling and Psychology. After taking 2 years off after college to “figure things out” I came to Truett in 2006 as a MDiv/MSW student.  I graduated in May with my Master of Social Work and I am now completing my final year at Truett.

Career plans after leaving Truett include more school!  I plan on obtaining my certificate for Assisted Animal Therapy (click here for a better understanding).  I truly feel that my calling is to help families with children living with disabilities.  This will allow me to combine two loves (children and animals) into a career.

I grew up Southern Baptist in a church that was very traditional.  I learned hymns and Bible stories at an early age.  After moving to Waco I became very involved with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and can safely admit that I am drawn into the CBF way of thinking!  Up until December I worked at a church in Waco as the Assistant to the Children’s Minister but left due to a move for an internship.

Hopefully, this helps to better understand a little more about who I am!

My religious denomination is Disciples of Christ. I was baby dedicated and baptized in the same church as my mother.

1. I am currently involved in youth ministry in a local church. I am also currently going through the ordination process in my denomination.

2. I did my undergraduate work at Baylor University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts as a religion major. I was also involved in football recruiting and quit last year.

3. After graduating with my masters I plan on working in a hospital doing chaplaincy while staying involved in youth ministry.

4. This class is going to give me a new perspective on the Bible, Old Testament and new ways to keep learning fun. Last semester was not a good semester so I anticipate this class to be what gets me even more excited and enthusiastic about life and learning.

I grew up in a small church on the edge Dayton Ohio. Dayton was a northern city with de facto segregation. The black folk were set on the west side, where I grew up. Beyond that was the county where our church was located.  I went to a church related college. There I majored in religion at Manchester College in Indiana. I went to seminary in Chicago at Bethany Theological Seminary. I took a Ph.D. at Emory University in Atlanta.

I have served congregations as interim pastor, associate pastor and member in congregations in Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, California and Texas.

What are your career plans after Truett? I came to Truett last year and I hope that my career plans after Truett as retirement.

How can the course serve me best? I want the course to help me hear the text afresh every day. The church in Texas that is North America today must address the reality of global Christianity.