CH-BOLC Phase 2 Week 2

This was a pretty boring week. We began the week with a day off from PT as the other three platoons had their PT test, which meant I got to sleep in and not show up until 8:20. The rest of the day consisted of boring classes. On Tuesday, my platoon took the PT test. I did better than expected, scoring 237 points, with 62 PUs, 51 SUs, and a 15:45 two mile run. Hopefully I can improve on that a little bit between now and the final PT test which is only two weeks away. Thursday we took a trip to Paris Island, which I felt was pretty pointless. We were given a tour of the depot by the Navy chaplains, but really didn’t get to see any actual training. I had been to Paris Island before so I wasn’t too impressed. We ate in a trainee Mess Hall. Marine Corp chow is about like Army chow when produced in mass quantities, edible but tasteless.  Friday was an easy day, as the class was split up by platoons. Sunday I attended three chapel services, which completes all my chapel visits except for the Muslim service.

First week of CH-BOLC Phase 2

Just finished my first week of CH-BOLC Phase 2 here at Ft. Jackson. It was a long and busy week. I arrived on Sunday at around 12:00 and went directly to the Clothing Sales to get some needed items. After that I went to the Chaplains School, where I spent the next several hours in-processing. After being released from the school at around 17:30, I headed back for the hotel. I hadn’t even gotten settled in before we had a platoon meeting in the hotel conference room, where I was assigned to a squad, and paired up with a battle buddy. The rest of the week was pretty much classes, with the exception of Tuesday which was a trip to Charleston, SC where we had classes on ramp ceremonies, and a ferry boat ride to Fort Sumter.

Next week will probably be more of the same, with a trip to Paris Island on Wednesday. I don’t know what we will actually be doing there, but I am sure it will beat sitting in the classroom. PT has been pretty good so far. Muscle development days really make you work, and on run days we have went between 2 and 3 miles. Nothing too bad. On Tuesday I will take my diagnostic PT test. I am still a little worried about the run, but I think I will be okay.

Looking forward to the rest of training, and can’t wait to get this part of the chaplaincy journey behind me

My First Video Blog

Return to the Blog

I have not updated this blog since early January. I intended to, but I have had my hands full with all that I have been doing in my life. I hope that is all about to change. This week I turned in my final assignments of the semester. I completed all requirements for the M.A. in Biblical Studies, and the educational requirements for the Army Chaplaincy. This means that I will no longer be taking full loads of seminary courses. However, I will continue to work toward the Master of Divinity, but I will take my time. I still have a few Greek courses to take, and then about a year of Hebrew, along with a couple of other courses. But since these courses are for my personal benefit, and not requirments for the chaplaincy I have no reason to hurry.

This summer I will be off to Fort Jackson again. This is the 3rd straight Summer that I will spend in South Carolina. This time I will be finishing CH-BOLC. After CH-BOLC I will have all the required military training that I need to enter the chaplaincy. All that I require now is my ecclesiastical endorsement. I am still working toward those requirements through my local church and my endorsing agency. The good news is that I can see myself serving as a chaplain in the Army Reserves by early next year.

I have had great opportunities to minister at my home church. I was blessed over this past year to teach the teenage Awana class. I hope to do that again. And since we concluded Awana for the summer, I have been holding Wednesday night youth services with our group. These have worked out really well, and everyone seems to look forward to this time. I have also had the opportunity to preach to the Sunday morning congregation several times this year, and with each oppurtunity to stand in the pulpit I get more comfortable preaching God’s word. My church has really been good to me in giving me the opportunity to minister, and I thank God for them.

So, what’s next? Even though I have not been blogging, the site has still been getting a lot of traffic. Most of the hits are on KJV only issues, and come from searches. This is something that I am really interested in, and I hope to continue writing articles to expose the myths of KJV onlyism. I have also been able to devote much time to studying other theological topics and would like to write about some of these issues as well. I started out on my book-a-week plan at the beginning of this year, but I must say that I am way behind. The books that I have read this year have all been for class.  So, as I begin to catch up on my reading for the year, I may post small reviews of some of them.

As the title says, I am returning to my blog. I may not blog every day, and I may not blog every week, but I will blog more often. There is so much to write about, and I am looking forward to it. My family and church responisibilities still come first, and the family ones have increased, as we now have four children with the birth of my new daughter. She is beautiful. Actually, all my children are, and so is my wife. They definitely deserve more of my time, and I will give it to them. But I promise, this blog will not be neglected for so long again.

What Kind of Baptist Are You?

The following has been around the internet for a while. The earliest I found it posted was 2002. However, it is still funny and somewhat truthful. Baptists would rather look for the one thing which they disagree over, and fight about it, rather than unite over the important things and work to glorify God.

I was walking across a bridge recently. I spied this guy who looked like he was ready to jump off. So, I thought I’d try to stall him until the authorities showed up.

“Don’t jump!” I said.

“Why not?” he said. “Nobody loves me.”

“God loves you,” I said. “You believe in God, don’t you?”

“Yes, I believe in God,” he said.

“Good,” I said. “Are you Christian or Jewish?”

“Christian,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Protestant or Catholic?”

“Protestant,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “What kind of Protestant?”

“Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Independent Baptist or Southern Baptist?”

“Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “New Evangelical/Moderate Independent Baptist or Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist or Lose-Your-Salvation Arminian Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist OR Historical Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist OR For Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist OR Strict Separation of Church and State Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Pro-Disney Boycott Pro-Life Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist OR Anti-Disney Boycott Pro-Choice Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Pro-Disney Boycott Pro-Life Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “KJV Only Pro-Disney Boycott Pro-Life Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist OR Modern Versions Pro-Disney Boycott Pro-Life Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“MODERN VERSIONS Pro-Disney Boycott Pro-Life Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women in Ministry Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Auugghh!!! You heretic!” I said. And I pushed him over.

This is adapted from a joke by comedian Emo Philips.