Church

As I start to write this I first want to make it be known that these blogs are not meant to be grammatically perfect. In fact about the only safe guard I have is spell check. If you notice something glaringly wrong and insist on letting me know that is fine. Otherwise just enjoy my idiocy.
I have written about my experiences thus far; however I have yet to mention my time in church or the Christian Union here on campus. Despite the fact that Christianity is not a “big thing” here, what they do have is quite impressive. The Aberdeen University Christian Union is made up of a little over 100 students. While this may not sound big for a campus of 12,000 people, their presence is made know. No other organization comes close to being able to advertise and mobilize the way this one does. I have also been very impressed with the way the church responds to people here. The Christian Union owes its success to the fact that one of the local churches bought a building on the edge of campus and has given it to the union for its use. They have anything they need, all they must do is ask for it. In addition, they attend over ten different churches in the area.
You must understand that here an average church has 50 people at most attend service. There are a couple of big ones that are 100-200 people. I have had an opportunity to visit two of them so far. The first Sunday I went to a Church call Hebron. It was very nice and the preaching was amazing. Late in his preaching he was giving instruction on why every Christian should read their Bible. Let me tell you when a man with a strong Scottish accent says “men died here in this country and others that you may have a translation of that to read”, it has quite an impact.
The second church I visited was Garrod Street Baptist Church. I went to the evening service. I think the morning service is a bit more mainstream, but the evening service was quite contemporary. I felt as if I was home. The message was also very memorable. Last year I had the privilege of hanging out with a few of Northside’s students at Disciple Now Weekend where the theme was verizontal. The idea being that in order to tell the world about Christ you must have your vertical relationship with God right first and then you can begin to reach out horizontally to those around you. The message this Sunday evening was about the church. His main point was that we have to quit looking at each other and the thing we call a church from our horizontal views and start looking at it from God’s vertical view. The church was never and never will be designed for us. Rather, it was designed to bring God glory and be a place for his kingdom to grow. Oh how sweet it will be to have our dress on the day of marriage.
The church here is small, but it cares for the citizens of Aberdeen. They truly seek to see people discover and fall in love with Jesus Christ. It is not unusual to talk to someone who has heard of Christianity and believes in the concept of a God, but has never heard of or has no idea who Christ is. The fields are ripe for the harvest, but here the workers are few.
I have just finished my second book. It was called Three. Scott Blewett suggested I try reading Dekker, a Christian fiction author. He is quite amazing. He very much reminds me of Michael Crichton. I highly suggest him to anyone who enjoys science fiction, psychology, and fiction. This particular book challenges the way we view evil. It wants to make the claim that evil is not merely something that exist, but that it truly is in active battle for our lives. It truly puts into perspective the passage in Romans 7 where Paul speaks of the struggle he has of doing what he does not want to do. Their truly is a battle that is taking place for our lives as we speak.
My final thought for the moment has to do with the people here in Aberdeen. There is one thing that has struck me more clearly than anything else. People are people everywhere. I live in a flat with Germans, Polish, Finish, and Scottish people. They all have hopes, dreams, fears, pains, and a longing to be accepted and loved. This is no different than people anywhere. I know this sounds obvious, but it is so true. It makes the simplicity of sharing the love that is Christ so straight forward. Everyone has the same void that can only be filled by one person. I challenge you to take a look around in your school cafeteria or work office and begin to realize that what stairs you back are not merely faces, pupils, or employees, but rather real people with a real need.
I will leave with that for the time being. I am having an incredible time here in Scotland. I could not have picked a better place for me to spend this semester. If there is anything else you want to know for the time being just let me know.

My Classes and their Abnoralities

Well, classes have officially started. I must admit I am glad that they have. I have four classes and they all require completely different time tables. I am taking Rise of Christianity. This class will examine Christianity from 0 A.D. to right before the beginning of the Reformation. I am then taking the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther and John Calvin. This class picks up where the other is leaving off and brings me closer to the common era. I am also taking an introduction to New Testament Greek. Finally, I am taking an intro to counseling skills class. I have a feeling all of my classes should be quite entertaining. My counseling course will be very easy. In addition I think my previous experience in Ancient Greek will cause my Greek course to also seem easy. My other two classes are no more difficult or easier than a Wabash course in terms of content. However, the amount of work I will be required to do is considerably less. I view this as a bonus. Not only does it make life less stressful, but it gives me more time to read books about the topics themselves. I just finished another book called Three, but I will write about that later. I heard a funny description of one of my Professors. It may not be kind, but funny. My Professor for Rise of Christianity was described as a German/Swiss He/She who looked like she should be out of the Sound of Music. It is quite a look and will be an entertaining course. The final thing that strikes me as different from the USA is the level of teaching. I do not doubt the qualifications of any of my Professors and am sure I will come to appreciate and enjoy all of them. However, only the He/She is actually a doctorate in her field. The others are all Doctoral Students. This is strikingly different than Wabash where 95% have their doctorate and if they don't they are merely a visiting Professor. Well, those are my classes. If you want to know any specifics let me know via comment. Oh, I just got out of my counseling course. I was anticipating a bunch of undergraduates interested in psychology and potentially counseling. There are a few, but I also have a ton of older women who want to solve problems in their own lives and hope this class will help. I felt as if I was attending a self-help session; not to mention 50% of the grade in the course is class participation. It will be fun. There are 14 females and two males. I am the only American and the only male that speaks English well. I will have to speak up for the male sex. I am rambling and will therefore end this here. I look forward to giving you my church update soon.

The Weekend

How is everybody? Anyhow I had quite an eventful weekend. One of my pledge brothers from Wabash (Clay/The Sauce) came up from Lancaster England on Thursday and we spent the day together in Aberdeen. We then left early Friday morning for Edinburgh. It was a fun train ride with a bunch of happy drunks. Upon arriving we discovered an absolutely beautiful city whose crowning jewel was an enormous castle in the middle of the city. Edinburgh has a population of about 450,000. We spent two days there. Our sleep at the local hostel was quite nice. We even had a chance to climb a cliff and oversee all of Edinburgh. While there I purchased my first kilt. I can not wait to wear it in the states. I am share my just look ravishing.

Upon our return late Saturday night we got some sleep. We think we walked nearly twenty miles that day. It was exhausting. However, the next day proved to be just as eventful. I tried out for what I hoped to be intramural basketball and ended up making the Aberdeen University Basketball Team (B squad of course). Who would have guessed? I know not I. So I guess I have found my activity for the semester.

Monday morning is when I had to say good-bye to Sauce. However, before he went I gave him a hair cut. It was a jolly good time. I then proceeded to my first class and he went to the train station. Later post will detail classes here in Scotland and I will tell you about my church experiences. They have been quite interesting and inspiring. Below is the link to this weekend's pictures. As always, if there is anything specific you want me to write about just let me know and if any picture ever strikes you as amazing let me know which one. I will try to get back to you all soon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12609321@N03/sets/72157602142983516/