Today was a rather nerve racking one. It was warm last night, so I kept the window open, and my neighbor’s alarm went off at 6:00am…then again at 6:05am…once more at 6:10am…until 6:20. Since I could have used a little extra sleep due to my “Holy Roller” routine from about 11pm to 1am, and since class wasn’t set to start until 9, I was a little miffed. Being that this is a Christian institution I figured that it might be bad form to go next door and strangle the poor fool until dead, so I didn’t. Well, I thought I might as well just get up and get back at the studying for the TI…remember? That stands for Theological Interview…that I had scheduled for 3 this afternoon. As I began looking over the material once again it seemed to be appearing in foreign languages, not just one, but a whole bunch of them. As that didn’t seem to be too fruitful, I went to breakfast. If I could only get them to talk about food in the “TI” I would be home free. I am becoming a real expert at consuming the cuisine here!
Once class got started the day began quickly. I’ve got to tell you, my professor, Dr. Schulz, is a real hoot. He is of German heritage, and was born in South Africa to a missionary family, so his mixture of a German and South African English accent, along with his incredible “dry” sense of humor, and even his appearance, reminds me of Craig Ferguson from the Late Show on CBS. He’s a brilliant man, incredibly funny, and a very good teacher so class is extremely enjoyable and enlightening.
Now a good share of my classmates had their “TI” today, with the first being at 11:00am. Remember yesterday? The first of the lambs that was led to the slaughter (Rich) didn’t make it through, so we were all on edge today. Well, we found out at lunch that Frank nailed it, and passed with flying colors, and then Aaron did the same in the early afternoon. A whole bunch of us had TIs between 2 and 5 this afternoon, and all of the other guys passed theirs as well.
That leaves me. I went into battle at 3:00pm and didn’t stop talking for an hour, at least it seemed that way. Some of the questions were rather tough, but I knew the answers, and when the two professors wanted to me to delve more deeply into a subject, I was pretty much able to stand my ground. After the hour was up I was told to wait in the reception area while they deliberated by fate. Should I be passed? Or should I be fed to the lions? After about two of the longest minutes of my life the door to the office opened and I was shown the secret handshake and given the password needed to enter the secret room with the stash of communion wine under the catacombs…I PASSED!
One of the things that Prof. Schulz continues to tell us is that a pastor needs to work hard, and should not drink his beer until 8 in the evening, not at 3 in the afternoon. At 8:00pm I cracked open a beer, a Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest…Prosit!
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