Classes at Wheaton

This past week I have had the privilege to take two classes at Wheaton College. In order to earn a semester's worth of credit in 3 days, I had to read an average of 7 books for each class, sit still and focus for 9 hours at a time, and write a whole notebook full of class notes! It was SO worth it though. I LOVED being at the school, sitting on the trees and eating lunch with new friends and being at a campus where so many amazing people learned to follow God.

The first class I took was called Planting and Reproducing Growing Churches and it was taught by the two wonderful, innovative founders of Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL- Dave and John Ferguson. These guys have helped thousands of people find their way back to God through their church structure and strategy to reach the Chicago area (www.newthing.org). I never knew anything about church planting before I started prepping for this class and now it is definitely on my radar as a BIG way that God is working in the world to let people know of His purpose and presence!

After 3 days of interesting discussion and knowledge from the Fergusons I showed up for Jerry Root's class on C.S. Lewis. We spent two days talking about the Romantic publications and thoughts of Lewis (which doesn't just mean lovey dovey poetry but instead some real deal heart based theology) and then one day focusing on the Reason approach Lewis had to literature. One of the most interesting lectures Dr. Root presented to us was Lewis' journey from atheism to Christianity. As one of the most influential minds in this past century- thought to be true by those inside and outside the faith- Lewis' brilliant understanding of God can make a huge difference in the life of readers from all backgrounds! My favorite books by Lewis that I would recommend are...

• Mere Christianity- Lewis leads the reader through his pilgrimage from doubt to faith with some awesome tips along the way
• The Great Divorce- This piece of fiction provides a really interesting look at heaven and hell with characters that you can totally identify with. It's scary to see hell from this perspective but the hope of what heaven could be like is worth your time and thoughts.
• Screwtape Letters- This fictional book describes the conversations between a senior devil and his nephew, also a scary view on what hell might be like as well as the ways that eternity influences how we live our lives in the present

Ones I can't wait to read based on my classmates' perspective...

• The Silver Chair and Voyage of the Dawn Treader (both from the Chronicles of Narnia series)
• Surprised by Joy (Lewis' autobiography on how he came to faith)
• God in the Dock (a bunch of theological essays I probably won't understand!)