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how to have a bad day at seminary

(Disclaimer: This happened on Tuesday. If I were writing an entry on how to have a bad week then I would fill you in on why I'm just now getting to this...)

Step 1: Tell a room full of wannabe preachers that there's a difference between prophesy and what they'll be doing for the rest of their lives. Now. I'm not saying there are no modern day prophets. But I am saying that the 20 people sitting in that classroom are in for a surprise if they think that's what they're going to school for. I really struggle with this. A lot. So much so that I said this out loud, in class, with other people in the room. And while 9 people immediately shot their hands up in the air to offer their own indignant defense, I filled 2 pages of my legal pad with frustrated stream of consciousness. Here's the deal. I grew up in the church. And I preach now (more like, give a speech every Sunday morning - since that's what it is). And I've seen what a church can do to a pastor and it's not what these people think. I could go on (and I did). But that's the beauty and the danger of waiting 3 days to write this.

Step 2: Engage in a discussion with 3 PhD students and (mistakenly, it seems) assume you have something to contribute. I won't say any more about this, but I'm sure they would (while exercising their unneccesary and pompus vocabulary).

How you know you've succeeded: As you sit in traffic on Lake Shore Drive, play Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA (don't judge - it happened to come on the radio station I was listening to). So the song is on, are you crying? Are you crying and singing along because of the undeniable maturity and wisdom clearly exhibited in the lyrics, "So hard with my girls not around me, it's definitely not a Nashville party 'cause all I see are stilettos. I guess I never got the memo." Oh, Miley, it is hard.

Now, the important part. How to have a better night: Go home to your boyfriend, your dog, and a glass of wine. Don't do any homework, cry just a little more (to mourn your very short lived popularity) and then laugh about it.

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