New York, Here We Come
January 19, 2009
By the time you read this we will be on the road again, this time to upstate New York. Our trip takes us from Tupelo to Columbus, Mississippi where we fly to Atlanta, change planes, and then fly to Albany, New York where someone will pick us up and drive us 75 miles north to Pottersville, home of Word of Life Bible Institute. Tomorrow I start my first of ten lectures on the book of Galatians. I will do 3 hours on Tuesday, 2 on Wednesday, 3 on Thursday, and 2 on Friday. I’ll give quizzes on Thursday and Friday and the students will take the final exam early next week.
A scene from last’s year Galatians class.
I keep going back year after year to teach Galatians because I am deeply committed to helping train the next generation of rising Christian leaders. This week I’ll have ten hours to share the message of Galatians with 300-400 students. At Word of Life they invite a different guest lecturer each week. So one week they might take Hebrews, the next eschatology, the next 1 Peter, and so on. Plus they take ongoing courses from the regular instructors. It’s a rigorous schedule that includes counseling during the Snow Camp weekends that draw 500+ teens from all across New England. The first one finished today. I like the concept of taking a year to learn the Bible and the Christian life because it lays a strong foundation for whatever the students do in the future. Many of them will stay for a second year, some will go on to Christian colleges or public universities. Most (but not all) of them end up in some form of vocational Christian service.
It’s been crazy cold in upstate New York for the last week. I heard from a friend in Pottersville who said that on Friday morning it was -25. Right now the temperature is in the teens, a considerable improvement. Plus there is a ton of snow. We’ll be staying in a cabin (well heated) on the edge of frozen Schroon Lake. So with our bags packed with gloves, hats and sweaters, we are ready to head north.