Back to school, grad school that is.

Some of you probably heard me talking this summer about how I had decided not to go back to the grad program at Huntington University. In the spring they restructured the grad school programs. The program that I was a part of was named "Discipling Ministries" and I had an emphasis in college student development. The restructured program, now named "Leadership Ministry," is more focused on church leadership and they have dropped all their courses that pertain to college students. I don't see myself working at a church, so I am currently looking for a different program - one that even if it doesn't focus on college students, will at least be a bit more focused on those of us who are involved in lay ministry or in a parachurch ministry. I had decided not to return to HU, but after reviewing things I decided to continue taking classes, but choosing ones that will help in my current position as an RD or are broad enough in scope to be transferable to another program

So, September 18 & 19 I spent my days in Huntington back at school. My course this semester is called "Conflict Management." The handbook describes the class as follows, "This course relates theory about interpersonal conflict to the life of the church and helps the students consider the personal, theological and organizational dynamics involved in healthy conflict management. Opportunity is given for students to encourage one another by exploring their real-life conflicts in cooperative problem-solving teams." It is a really good class! I enjoy the professor and like the people in my class, which makes the days go quickly even when the material is pretty intense and a lot of information to process. I think I will learn some good things in this class, and even if I don't drastically change how I deal with conflict, I will have a broader understanding of what is going on when conflict is in my life.