Help with "Well Said"

Said at Southeastern has been... well, pretty silent lately. If there are any SEBTS bloggers out there that are interested in helping to maintain the "Well Said" portion of this website, send me an email or leave a comment with contact info and I'll be in touch.

New Baptist Podcast features Dr. Nathan Finn

A new website has been created for Insight, a podcast manged by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

The sight already has several interviews available, including one with J.D. Greear of Summit Church in Durham and Southeastern's own Dr. Nathan Finn.

You can listen to Dr. Finn's interview at the Insight website or link directly to it here.

To read more about the purpose of Insight, visit this article.

Dr. L. Russ Bush goes home to be with the Lord

Tuesday evening, January 22, 2008, Dr. L. Russ Bush, SEBTS' Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty Emeritus, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

More information about his memorial service can be found at the SEBTS website.

Featured Blogger: Dougald McLaurin

This month's featured blogger is Dougald McLaurin, a Ph.D. student at Southeastern. He has an excellent blog entitled Meditations on the Law. We took the time to ask Dougald a few questions that will hopefully encourage you to check out his blog. Enjoy!

Tell us a little about yourself:
I was born in Fayetteville, NC and grew up in a Christian home. My father was a pastor. I lived in Fayetteville for about fourteen years and then we moved to Lumberton, NC for four years. This was followed by a move to Nashville, NC outside of Rocky Mount. After a year of living with my parents and attending community college I came to Southeastern to finish my BA. I came here in 1998 and since then I've earned two degrees and I begin my third degree in January (Ph.D. Old Testament). I attend First Baptist Durham where I teach. I also co-lead mission trips to Central Asia with fellow SEBTS blogger Wesley Handy.

I guess I should also mention that I work at the SEBTS library in the reference section.

Tell us a little about your family:
I'm single. My mother and father still reside in Nashville, NC. My sister, Lisa, lives in Rocky Mount.

Tell us a little about your walk with the Lord:
I became a Christian at 7 years old. I grew in the lord during this time. I was even called a 'Christian Nerd' at school growing up. Around the age of twelve I felt a pull towards ministry/doing something more with my life. I ran from that for about seven years. With the move from Lumberton to Nashville I went on my first mission trip to Cherokee, NC with my father's new church. It changed my whole perspective on things. When I came to SEBTS I wanted to participate in missions. My first chance came in 2001 when I went to Kazakhstan with a church in Raleigh. In 2002 I took a J-term class called, "Linguistics of Turkic Languages." Through this class God gave me a passion to work in Central Asia. In 2005 I was able to help lead a mission team from our church to Kazakhstan and our church is very supportive of our overall vision there.

On the more personal note: I'm currently learning how to put to death a murmuring heart. Also, I'm learning what it means to truly understand that to be in the presence of God is better than anything else. It is one thing to say that, it is another thing to live it.

How long have you been blogging?
About a year and a half.

Why did you decide to start blogging?
Nathan Finn. :) Actually, I like to spew out my opinions so I thought it was a good avenue for that. My reason for blogging has changed throughout and now I am more focused on biblical/devotional type stuff. I suppose I'll get academic every now and again in the future.

How did you choose the name Meditations on the Law?
Since the Old Testament tells us in two key places (Josh. 1 and Psalm 1) to meditate on the law, I figured it was an appropriate title for a blog concerning the Old Testament.

Is there a primary theme or passion associated with your blog?
The Old Testament, but I seem to talk more about missions and other things. I hope to write a dissertation that deals with the OT and missions so there is a thin line between the two topics for me.

How much time a week do you put into your blogging?
It depends. But, for each post I may spend an hour or more if I am putting a lot of effort into it. Of course, I'm only limiting my answer to the writing process. I research things periodically and if I count that it would probably be a little more time devoted to blogging.

Do you or your readers have a favorite post or series of posts?
Voltaire's Candide. I don't know if it is the favorite of my readers but it is the most read post. I think its been read over 600 times.

Personally my favorite is the series on Reflection on Central Asia. It includes a discussion on Mutual Discipleship. Which, come to find out, is a term used in Feminist's circles. We'll have to find a new term I suppose.

If you could give us a list of several blogs you regularly read and enjoy, what would be on it?
The Fullness of Time
Missions Issues
Mission Driven Life
SBC Witness
SBC Impact
The Assembling of the Church

These would be the ones that I read the most. I think only two of these aren't connected to SEBTS.

Thanks Dougald!

How many states will you be in over break?

How many states (and which ones) will you travel to or through within the next several days?

Dr. Nathan Finn

Congratulations to Dr. Nathan Finn, who is now officially a graduate of the SEBTS Ph.D. Program.

Did anybody else graduate today?

Is there a biblical mandate to celebrate Christ's birth?

This week's question is:

Is there a biblical mandate to celebrate/remember Christ's birth?
What implications might your answer have on the Christmas season?

This is the first installation of Said at Southeastern's weekly question. Our goal is to foster comunication between Southeastern students and alumni outside of the classroom. Feel free to leave a comment below or submit a question.