God's Grand Narrative

I covet your prayers today (and over the next four months) as I begin a new DMin course at BGU called Theology: God's Grand Narrative. Here is the course description:

"This course will help the DMin student relate to God's Grand Narrative, the Old and New Testaments and Hermeneutics, while thinking and reflecting about global and urban contextualization. It is presented online using a "social constructionist pedagogy," which suggests that students actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their environment where the student is constructing something for others to experience where collaboratively a group creates a small culure of shared artifacts. The course follows Tom Wright's (Bishop of Durham) five-act-play model as a way of presenting Scripture for a better read and a way of thinking about living in the Story that Scripture presents. The course provides the gluing themes of Covenant in the Old Testament and Kingdom of God in the New Testament, which are two ways of saying the same thing: God has invaded this present evil age with his Rule. The course is presented from Genesis to Revelation set in chronological fashion. It will take into consideration how one interprets the Grand Narrative in present ministry."

Sounds fun, huh? I'm sure I'll be posting a lot over the coming months. Please pray specifically for:

• My focus as I integrate what I am learning into my ministry context in Pittsburgh.
• My health (I've learned that these courses can take a physical and spiritual toll on me if I don't manage my time well).
• Julie and Kyra and Sierra (they make many sacrifices so that I can work, study, and live out incarnational leadership in Homewood).
• The LAMP and MICAH ministries at North Way (everything I am learning I plan to pour back into others who are engaged in these ministries).

Thanks!