Solparvus
Puritan Board Senior
I'm nearing the end of my first semester. How profitable it's been for me with just two classes!
Of course, I have tons that I need to read and know. If the Lord confirms I'm called, I want to make sure all my studies are not wasted.
So, I'm looking for a method of making sure everything retains, is on-hand when needed, and well thought-out to be useful. I'm interested in what others think is a good idea to make sure things don't just slip out of the head. I won't have time to read six big books on any topic once ministry begins, I am sure.
My own philosophy is to weave a web. All truths have a source, all truths are connected, and all truths are at an end; so for me, it's a matter of seeing the connections, as well as bringing it all to an end goal.
A few ideas I've had:
- Do nothing without seeking the highest and fullest obedience possible to Deuteronomy 6:5, which I think sums up the object of the Christian life, its practice, its motives, and its result.
- For any systematic topics, take notes from your reading and incorporate them into a Word document where ideas are recorded in a logical flow according to systematic loci, so you not only have the ideas, but their connections
- Keep a timeline of church history events in which name, a short description, and the location are recorded. Nothing exhaustive.
- End of semester, spend time reviewing not only the semester, but searching out new connections between current semester subjects and past ones as well.
- Always be in the original languages whenever looking up a passage, even if you don't understand it.
- Craft sermons out of the things learned.
- Write a short essay on either a topic learned, or one branching out of material learned.
Perhaps I'm making more work for myself, but then again, it's a lot of work to get it in once, and I hate reviewing things I've forgotten.
I want to know what ideas others have.
Of course, I have tons that I need to read and know. If the Lord confirms I'm called, I want to make sure all my studies are not wasted.
So, I'm looking for a method of making sure everything retains, is on-hand when needed, and well thought-out to be useful. I'm interested in what others think is a good idea to make sure things don't just slip out of the head. I won't have time to read six big books on any topic once ministry begins, I am sure.
My own philosophy is to weave a web. All truths have a source, all truths are connected, and all truths are at an end; so for me, it's a matter of seeing the connections, as well as bringing it all to an end goal.
A few ideas I've had:
- Do nothing without seeking the highest and fullest obedience possible to Deuteronomy 6:5, which I think sums up the object of the Christian life, its practice, its motives, and its result.
- For any systematic topics, take notes from your reading and incorporate them into a Word document where ideas are recorded in a logical flow according to systematic loci, so you not only have the ideas, but their connections
- Keep a timeline of church history events in which name, a short description, and the location are recorded. Nothing exhaustive.
- End of semester, spend time reviewing not only the semester, but searching out new connections between current semester subjects and past ones as well.
- Always be in the original languages whenever looking up a passage, even if you don't understand it.
- Craft sermons out of the things learned.
- Write a short essay on either a topic learned, or one branching out of material learned.
Perhaps I'm making more work for myself, but then again, it's a lot of work to get it in once, and I hate reviewing things I've forgotten.
I want to know what ideas others have.