Hello, friends. I’ve just returned from Chiang Mai, Thailand where I took two courses through the doctoral program with Biola. They have an extension campus there, and these courses are only offered a certain times and places, so it was a long trip but I believe it was well worth it. Both on the way there and back I stopped in China, so was able to add that to the 50 countries I’ve now visited.

The courses I took were “Culture and Transformation” and “Learning the Story.” The first was an in-depth look at theories and theorists related to how cultures change, how innovations diffuse throughout societies, and how we can learn from these in effecting changes in cultures in which we work. The second course was closer to my wheelhouse, focusing on the metanarrative of Scripture, the themes, symbols, stories, rituals and characters that run throughout the Bible, developing the overarching revelation of God for His people.

Chiang Mai is a beautiful, interesting city, with a fascinating night market, many temples, a strong ex-patriate presence, and a rockin’ night life. However, I must admit I caught very little of any of this, since I was studying all day in classes each day and then each night working in my room preparing for the next day. 17 hours/day of sitting and studying took its toll, and by the end my brain was thoroughly saturated. I still have more papers to submit and projects to finish, but the time was well-spent as I advanced not only in my coursework but also in gaining more clarity on the topic for my dissertation. God give me strength to persevere and learn all I can toward improving our trainings in equipping pastors to study God’s Word in Africa.

Pressing on, Eric