Dr. Dale the Seminary Professor

Somehow the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary received information that I had earned a Ph.D. in New Testament. So all of the documents for my classes have me listed as Dr. Dale Thiele or simply Dr. Dale. Even the students have been greeting me as "Dr." Oh boy! I have spent my first two weeks here explaining to the students in my classes and the administration of the seminary that I do not have a doctorate, but I am sure that God has equipped me well for this task of teaching in these classes.

After finishing the first full week of classes, I am beginning to feel comfortable with the classroom setting. The first day with each of my classes was awkward, and I left doubting my ability to fulfill the task. But, God continues to be good in giving me wisdom and the peace needed to teach each of the classes.

I am teaching three classes this semester: Systematic Theology 1 (17 students), New Testament Introduction (over 30 students), and Exegesis of Galatians (over 40 students). I am also supervising/assisting with the Greek Grammar class (the TA for this class started teaching this class in September and asked if he could finish the semester... which I am happy to let him do). Since we started late for the three classes, we have added additional hours each week to make up class time. I am in the classroom teaching 20 hours a week (even a student asked me how I was not killing myself with this schedule)! Only 5 more weeks of classes (and you thought only students count down to break)!

Two of my classes are adding hours in the evenings, which proves to be challenging with the unpredictable electricity. This last Wednesday evening I was teaching NT Intro and the power went off 5 minutes into class time. I turned on my flashlight, along with a few students' flashlights, and I lectured for the two hours. This is life at CBTS.

I think the Galatians class is my favorite. I am teaching the students tools for studying Scripture and we're using Galatians for practice. Working on passages of Scripture in class with the students is just like preparing for a sermon, which I love. And, this group of students has been fun to interact with.

The three greatest challenges at this time are: 1. The amount of material we need to cover in the classes in such a short period of time; 2. My lack of understanding everything the students are saying (I frequently have to ask a student to repeat himself); and 3. Managing my weekly schedule so that I stay ahead of all the work. I have lectures to prepare for, quizzes to create, and homework to grade. Needless to say, my week is full (did I say only 5 more weeks until Christmas break?).

I am thankful we are here and that I have this awesome ministry opportunity. I am excited for my classes and the topics we get to study together. I trust that God will sustain my family and me for this short window of intense schooling, and we will have the chance to give him praise on the other side.