I start each class

with a reading from the Psalms. Not necessarily in strict numerical order, I read one Psalm and then offer prayer at the beginning of each class. I might add a brief comment here or there; I might take the chance to explain something like Selah, Mikhtam, or 'Psalm of Ascents.'' Occasionally I'll drop "parallelism" on them when appropriate. But by and large I just read and pray. Often I will pray the psalm or a sentiment in line with the gist of the psalm. I want my students to see that the beauty and richness of a meditative reading of scripture: one that is not informational but transformational; not exegetical but practical; not for the grade but for the soul. I'm of the opinion that practicing Lectio divina is the best way to teach it.

Lest Room 152 be an intellectio-exegetical (is that compound legitmate?) ivory tower, I intentionally want to model a reflective, meditative, life-touching way of Bible study that touches the heart. The Psalms are neglected in our curriculum; there is no formal teaching of the Psalms at Ezell-Harding. So this is my attempt to provide some exposure to the material in a way that is, quite frankly, non-instructive, non-"educational", non-"intellectual." Not that we turn off our minds, but that we see a different side to Bible study. I feel like I should do this since so much of what I do in Room 152 is an (explicitly) academic inquiry into the text, its background and interpretation. Someday I'd love to offer an elective course in Spiritual Disciplines; I have no doubt it would be a memorable course. In the mean time I can practice and model the disciplines of study, prayer and meditation. For my veteran Juniors they will have heard many Psalms (and I throw in some Proverbs as well) in three years. Maybe this is just as effective as a semester course(?).

Along these lines I'll refer you to John Willis' blog (see link in the sidebar). He's an OT prof at ACU and elder at Highland Church. His blog is a nice, brief resource for Psalm study. No doubt you can find lots of stuff online about the Psalms; you may or may not have stumbled onto Dr. Willis's stuff yet. It'd be worth your read.

For my students: you may comment on any of his posts for extra credit.

All: Grace and peace.