About Me
Hi! I’m Jill Barbour and I’m a student in the Master’s of Arts degree in Christian Studies at SEBTS. I am currently in my 4th year of part-time studies. I live in Clayton, NC with my two children, Luke, 21, and Emme, 10, and my supportive husband, Rusty. We have been married almost 27 years. Our oldest son, Wes, got married to a beautiful woman, Allison, this summer; they live in Chicago.
This is not my first master’s degree! I received my Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing from ECU and several years later, I received my Master’s in Nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill. So why in the world would I want to return to college for another degree? Have you ever studied the Bible or listened to a sermon and knew that there was far more that you wanted to know? Or heard of a missionary and wish that was you? I had never envisioned going back to school again and yet, I realized that God was calling me to an opportunity to study under great teachers at SEBTS.
We have been members of Baptist Center Church in Clayton for over 40 years. Baptist Center is a small church with only one paid pastor on staff. The opportunities for service are abundant. I have enjoyed working in all areas of the church but the same area that called me to my career as a women’s health nurse practitioner was the same area of ministry that I was being called to in the church: women’s ministry.
While many of the degrees interested me- women’s studies, biblical counseling, etc- I decided to go with Christian Studies. I liked the broad nature of the degree. Since obtaining this degree more than likely will not change my career, I wanted the broadest education that I could receive. My desire is to increase my knowledge so that I can better serve others in the local church. I don’t know if there is a specific order of classes that is best but I began with Old Testament 1 with Dr. McKenzie. It was truly a life altering class! He taught me how to properly view the Old Testament. The OT went from a book of interesting yet disconnected stories to a beautiful grand narrative of God redeeming the world to Himself through His Son.
I can honestly say that all of the professors I have had have been incredible examples of men who love the Lord and want to help each of us to grow in our depth of understanding of Scripture. They live the lives that they teach. Hermeneutics with Dr. McKinion was an incredible class that taught me how to read and understand Scripture and see the interconnectedness like never before. I have used so much of what I have learned already in my local church. I think I practically taught my entire hermeneutics class to our Wednesday night Bible Study group. My Sunday School class could teach Genesis to anyone after we studied it for almost six months!
Is
school easy with a family and a busy job?
NO!! Do I want to give up at
times? Yes!! But I keep hanging on because of the value of
what I am learning! I don’t want to miss
out on a single class. I’m not sure how
this might change my future, but do know that it is giving me a direct
application within the local church every single week and for that I am very
grateful!
0 comments: