Going Back to School

I don’t know if it was getting all the mailers from AARP (in anticipation of my 50th birthday I presume), reading the article in Time Magazine about people working into their 100’s, reading “The Earth is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, or just listening to the clock ticking inside me, but I have been moved to think about some unfinished business of late, and preparing myself for a calling I sense upon me, and for employment for, you know, when I get old!

So, I am taking a couple of classes this term in Plant Science – at NC State – starting tomorrow.

There are several strands of motivation…

First, I have a crummy BS degree in Biology with so many obvious holes I wouldn’t give myself a second look if I were looking at my transcript. I have been wanting to fill in those holes for 30 years. And, well, I’m just out of date.

Second, as I have written before, I have sense of calling upon my life to tend to the care God’s creation. There are some folks in the community motivated to start a non profit local Christian environmental association. We’re working on the details – the vision and mission – though that may take a little while. Upgrading my credentials will give me more credibility in that area as well as more exposure to people involved in these things from State, Chapel Hill, and Duke

Third, filling up some of the holes in my knowledge will help me as I seek to frame better some of the writing projects that have been rattling around in my head for years. I still want to write that “Natural History of Guilford County”!

Fourth, as I begin moving into second half of my century :), I want to be ready to supplement my income, or do a different thing down the road when I’m, you know, older. Building upon what I started doing a long time ago seemed to be the best approach.

Why NC State? Because of all the universities anywhere near they have been the most receptive and they have the program that best fits my background and goals.

Basically I will leave about 7:30 or 7:45 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and get back about the same time PM. I’ve tested the route – I’ll be taking 421 to 64 to I-440 right into the heart of the campus. I have two classes – one from 10AM to 1PM and the other from 4:30AM to 5:45PM.

It is interesting…I can already feel the cobwebs starting to come off my brain as I get ready. Yes, I think intellectually and physically I have been in a rut for a while, just due to following the same pattern day to day for 14 years. It’s amazing how turning on another part of the brain gives light to the rest! I already feel more creative and mentally energetic.

As a Christian pastor working for the most part with professing Christian people in a Christian church setting, the truth is, I can lose touch with what life looks like and feels like for people who are not professing Christians – whether they are simply not religious or whether they are of different faiths. I’m kind of looking forward to rubbing shoulders with a broader diversity of people again. Just might make me a better person, and better Christian.

Yes, this means I will be working later on the other days and more on Saturdays and in the evenings. I watch too much TV anyway. But I plan to be there with my “24” compatriots in January!

This is kind of an experiment. We’ll see how it goes. If it does not seem to work out well for me or for the church I pastor I won’t do it again. It’s a one term experiment.

I think it will be fun, and definitely fun-gal (one of the courses is The Kingdom of the Fungi!)

For those that got this far, thank you for reading this post and bearing with my verbosity. Maybe jumping back into the world of scientifically concise descriptions will cure me of that problem a little!

Joel