Sh'ma, Yisrae'al!

Hello friends!
So it has occurred to me that I havent really completely explained the classes that Institute students take or any of the stuff we do. So, I thought Id take a quick second to do that, as well as share our reading list with you.

Okay... so each day of the week we have one class from 8:10 - 11:30. We have Christian Worldview Studies; Marriage and Family Studies; Family, Church, and Society; and Gender and Leadership Studies. We are also assigned to a Practicum within the Colorado Springs community and we meet every few weeks for a Practicum Class. Each class starts out with Matins, or devotionals, that tie into the class in some way. In CWS, we discuss what it looks like to have a Christian worldview and how to defend the Christian worldview against other worldviews. In MFS, we discuss what the biblical marriage and family should look like, as well as how to go about building a healthy, functional, and enjoyable marriage and family. FCS is taught by Dr. Del Tackett, the creator of the Truth Project. He is an absolutely remarkable man and his class is, so far, my favorite without a doubt! This class focuses on helping us to understand God's design for social order and the relationships between the social spheres, and essentially helping us to answer the question of "what is truth"? Finally, in GLS, we discuss the issues of gender and leadership and the relation between the two. We will be learning a lot about what God's Word says to us about men and women and their roles in family, church, and society. Sometimes we have open forums with our professors after class where can ask any questions we want for an hour. Thats always fun!
My Practicum is working with an organization called Northern Churches Care. It is an emergency crisis clinic that offers help with food, clothing vouchers, gas vouchers, rent, utility bills, and much more. To be honest, I wasnt thrilled with my placement when I received it and I still am not. I am trying really hard to be positive about it though, and am constantly praying that God would change my heart and use me at NCC despite my selfishness.
Each of the classes have been very interesting so far, and it is always neat to get to class each day and realize how much each previous class ties into the next ones. And I think that's exactly how God intended it!
If you know me well, you know how much I despise writing papers. For that reason, I have really enjoyed these classes, which are primarily based off of the readings we do each night. As I have talked about before, there is soooo much reading to do, and although I dont necessarily agree with everything I have read, it is definitely enjoyable and provides me with plenty of food for thought. That said, I have typed up our reading list for the semester below. It doesnt include the countless articles we have to read or the audio recordings we listen to (Bold=the books we actually had to buy). Here it is... Get ready...


CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW STUDIES
To Everyone An Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview by Beckwith & Moreland
Faith Has Its Reasons: An Integrative Approach to Defending Christianity by Boa
Cross and Crescent: Responding to the Challenge of Islam by Chapman
Faith, Film, and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen by Geivett & Speigel
Five Sacred Crossings: A Novel Approach To A Reasonable Faith by Hazen
Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft & Tacelli
The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
God Is Back: How The Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World by Micklethwait & Woolridge
Love Your God With All Your Mind by Moreland
The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith by Moreland
Eyes Wide Open by Romanowski
The Great Evangelical Disaster by Schaeffer
The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by Sire
Postmodernism 101: A First Course for the Curious Christian by White
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY STUDIES
Revolutionary Parenting by Barna
When I Get Married by Clark
Boundaries by Cloud & Townsend
The New Dare To Discipline by Dobson
The New Hide and Seek by Dobson
The New Love Must be Tough by Dobson
Love and Respect by Eggerichs
Safe Haven by Hart & Morris
Hooked: New Science On How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children by McIlhaney & McKissic Bush
Finding the Hero In Your Husband by Slattery
Guilt Free Motherhood by Slattery
Complete Guide to the First Five Years of Marriage by Swihart & Wooten
Sacred Marriage by Thomas
Sacred Parenting by Thomas
The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance by Trent & Smalley
The Case for Marriage by Waite & Gallagher
FAMILY, CHURCH, AND SOCIETY STUDIES
Life Together by Bonhoeffer
Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan To Radically Change Your World by Briner
Democracy in America (Vol. 1) by de Tocqueville
Marriage Under Fire by Dobson
Not Yours To Give by Ellis
Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Kavanaugh
Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue by Lee
Why You Cant Stay Silent: A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture by Minnery
William Wilberforce: A Man Who Changed His Times by Pollock
Idols for Destruction by Schlossberg
How Christianity Saved the World by Schmidt
The Vision of the Anointed by Sowell
The Fathers Speak—For Life! by St. Benedict Center
Common Ground—Without Compromise: 25 Questions to Create Dialogue on Abortion by Wagner
GENDER AND LEADERSHIP STUDIES
Every Man’s Battle by Arterburn & Stoeker
Desires In Conflict by Dallas
Bringing Up Boys by Dobson
Beyond Appearances by Focus on the Family
The Feminine Mystique by Friedan
101 Frequently Asked Questions About Homosexuality by Haley
Ethics: Approaching Moral Decisions by Holmes
Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders by Jantz
Leading Change by Kotter
Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner
The Way of the Shepherd by Leman & Pentak
The Search for Significance by McGee
In The Name of Jesus by Nouwen
Feminism: Mystique or Mistake? by Passno
When Good Men Are Tempted by Perkins
Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Piper & Grudem
Spiritual Leadership by Sanders
Genesis In Space and Time: The Flow of Biblical History by Schaeffer

Soooo... wow. Thats A LOT of books. I havent read them all yet, and for some of them we only read specific sections. However, if you are interested in one of the topics I have talked about and want me to recommend a book, let me know! :)
Since I have already talked a little about social activities in my previous post, I'll skip that for now...but I do feel it necessary to say that I have found that the whole Institute experience, above all, is about learning what it might look like to truly live out the love of Christ in a way that is relevant to our culture today.
Before I leave ya for tonight, I thought Id share a few other thoughts besides just the logistics of FLI... On the second day of class, our matins time was based on 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4:7. As I sat and thought I just began to write whatever streams of consciousness came to mind about these pretty common verses. I encourage you to read them and really think on them. Here's what I wrote, and thought it was worth sharing, although Im not promising it will make complete sense, as I am copying exactly what i wrote-- how I wrote it:
-God is Love- If God is in us, we should have Love- A choice to make... to keep that Love bottled up OR to let it be poured out into the lives of others...
-To keep that Love bottled up would be SELFISH- Love is not selfish- IS THERE REALLY A CHOICE?
-LOVE = HUMILITY/SELFISHNESS
-Love humbly. Love selflessly. Love joyfully. Love justly. Love relentlessly. Love without boundaries. Love like Christ. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.LOVE.

Last, I have always been told that whatever you take in, is what comes out of you. As I spend my semester I am finding that to be more and more true. One of our practices/traditions here at FLI is to recite the Sh'ma togthether each morning. The Sh'ma is part of the prayers that the Jewish community recites at their morning and evening prayers together. It is astounding, how even just making these words a part of your daily routine can totally change your outlook on how your day is going to go. It is my prayer that each of you would join me in beginning to truly live out the true meaning of the shema in every single moment of every single day. Be a world changer. Here it is below... (Hebrew scholars enjoy!):

Sh'ma Yisrae'al!

Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad

Ve'ahavta et Adonai Elohecha

Be'chol lava'cha

Uve'chol nafsch'cha

Uve'chol me'odecha

Ve'ahavta rayacha kamocha

Hear O Israel!

The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord you God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Grace and Peace.