Reflection Paper On Evangel University

How successful was the lesson? Did the students learn what you intended for them to learn? How do you know?

The word “Christian” in Colorado Christian University is more than just a belief shared amongst the Faculty and Student Body. It is the foundation on which all aspects of the educational experience are built. Beginning with a strong Statement of Faith, which aligns with core beliefs of the National Association of Evangelicals, the University proclaims its belief “in the Bible as being the only authoritative Word of God, that God exists in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as belief in the salvation and resurrection that is only found in Christ Jesus” (Statement of Faith at Colorado Christian University, n.d.).

This class has really opened up my eyes to many new views and opinions toward certain information and assumptions. Before taking this class I did not believe I was racist or had any downward views towards any people or cultural. This soon came to my attention that everyone has a little bit of racist in them no matter how hard you try not to be. I also thought that Columbus discovered America, I found it very interesting and almost common sense when we discussed this issue and how the school curriculum has been lying to students in a sense about the discovery of America. The finial bias I soon came to see was that no matter how much you think you will not face other cultures or other religions in schools that you are not familiar with your chances are very slim. No matter where you plan to teach at their will always be situations that you are unfamiliar with.

I would like to be considered for admission to this Colorado Christian University because I believe that it will be a perfect fit for me. I will have the opportunity to receive a degree and strengthen myself in the Word of God. For many years, I have been interested in studying Psychology. My interest in pursuing this field stems from many factors, but the number one reason will be my love for people. I consider myself to be big hearted and a compassionate person. God has blessed me with a caring spirit. I have love for people and I desire to be a helping hand to as many people I can reach. For many years I have found myself working with foster children or taking care of those who needed caregiver assistance and I want to go further. I believe

The subject for the day was whom God was talking about when he promised eternal life. The discussion became a debate, everyone started giving their beliefs and Steve would let them know if he agreed with them or not. Something else I found interesting somewhere the conversation switched to why other religions did not make any sense. I have never been in a church where another religion was being talked about. However, that was not the most intense nor interesting moment for me.

This semester has been a revelation for me in my spiritual walk and building relationships with others. I have taken what I have learned in this class to bless others and encourage them that they can make it because God loves them. During the times of witnessing and servant hood, I have found so, many people that just want someone to listen and love them. My perception of people has changed because now I feel that I am more compassionate now, sensitive to the needs of others, humble, loving, and willing to be servant.

The main example I can recall where I knew and recognized the “integration of learning” concerned westward expansion through Manifest Destiny in the United States. I had learned about this event previously in grade school, so this was not an unfamiliar concept. Yet every time I was taught it, it was viewed as a positive thing, how it settled the country and led to the building of countless railroad tracks and telegraph lines. However, in my Environmental Studies class this year, this event had a much grimmer picture. The desolation of tribes and the pure fact that we justified our horrible and extreme actions in the name of God defined this event. I had always had the inkling in the back of my head that something was wrong with the picture

On June 26th, I started my first online college class. I thought World History would be a great place to start and relatively easy course to pass. I had no idea how the class would make significant changes in my life. This class was far from a few easy credits I thought I would acquire in the short 8 weeks. The few weeks with Professor Jared Harrington increased my literacy towards topics I would have given up in the past. This class affected my world view, improved me as a student, a learner, enlightened my view on world religions, forced me to analyze information from readings, and helped me formulate my own thoughts. The amount of material covered in this course was immense and I now believe I have a better view of religion, its role in history, and where the world is heading due to all the historical events of the past.

In general, how successful was the lesson? Did the students learn what you intended for them to learn? How do you know?

The first lesson that stuck with me would be lesson three on note taking. This lesson was valuable to me for many reasons. At first I use to try to write down every word I saw on a power point or heard the teacher say. Also, when I wrote notes I never would go over them and I never really understood what I wrote or what they meant. But in this lesson I was taught not to write down everything but the things that are important and that I would see on a test. Also in this lesson I learned that it is always a good thing to go over your notes and to test yourself on the notes you take. In class we learned that you

We place great emphases with the horizontal relationship and we try to do our best to keep those relationships in a healthy zone, but our vertical relationship must be kept up with as well.

When asked the question on my definition of religion, I decided to look at it in a way that goes beyond just my religion. Religion goes much deeper than being something that we just believe in, it is a relationship or a part of a person’s culture. My purpose of religion is something for me to try and understand what my goal in life is, as well as building a relationship with a higher being. Religion gives people that higher being that they can look to for guidance and comfort. I feel that you can also express your culture through religion as well as explain some of the reasons for some of the things that you have done in your life.

To understand where I am now in relation to Catholic theology I feel that it is appropriate to look back on the thoughts and ideas that I had when I first started this THEO 1001 class. Honestly coming into college I have thought about my faith very little and studied the bible and what it means even less. In my mind I have always thought that theology was primarily a group of people just sitting around reading the bible repeatedly and then coming up with ways on how to interpret certain beliefs and messages in it and what they mean to us as Christians. Now I understand that theology has many more aspects to it than just the one example I gave earlier. The fact that this class was just about Catholic theology doesn’t really have a meaning to me because I haven’t studied other religions or denominations theology. Diving deeper into what I thought about how Catholic theology impacted my life will be a very shallow dive, given that I am neither Catholic or a theologian I honestly thought that this class was going to be a history of how Catholics are the greatest Christians and their way of looking at the bible. Thankfully I was very wrong about both those things and have learned about some very interesting topics throughout the class, one being the fascinating section we did about anthropology and what role it plays into theology.

When you first begin a class you never know what to expect. When I first began Intro to Ministry, I did not know the level of insight that I would have about myself and about the character of God. I have been able to combine the things that have happened in my past and things that are happening now to try to paint God's picture in my life to come. Although you do not need to pinpoint the exact moment in time when you received your call for it to be legible, I am thankful that I do. I think it was a series of people and events unfolding in my life and God opened my eyes to the plans He had for me that lead me to that night. The day that I accepted my calling to be a youth pastor (December 30,2015) I did not go into that evening thinking “I’m going to listen to God and go into Ministry” - but I guess you never do. Since then God has been preparing me emotionally, physically, and mentally through programs that I have gone through, people in my life such as my friends, family, and professors I have gotten to know during the short time that I have been at Indiana Wesleyan. I am nowhere close to being where I want to be but that is the beauty of accepting God's call into any type of ministry, you do not have to have it all figured out, you just have to trust Him.“God is a God of infinite variety, and His call comes to people in many ways.” (Drury, K. Pg.67). I didn’t receive my calling in a damascus road way, instead God knew my heart and character so He gave me my calling in a

Christian Tradition course exposed me to the Christian Tradition based on Biblical and church history. The course taught me the differences and similarities of Christian Tradition from other major world religions. I learned about the significance of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Trinity based on the teachings of the Bible. The course also briefly covered 2,000 years of church history but with emphasis on the impact of the Council of Nicea, Council of Chalcedon, and John and Charles Wesley on Christianity. The professor emphasized the importance of the reformation that sparked a revolution in the church.