Undone By Wonder: A Reflection on the Master’s in Theology and Biblical Studies

When I began the master’s program in theology and biblical studies at Trevecca, I knew a few things for certain. I knew I was deeply passionate about the subject matter, I knew it was relevant to my career goals and I knew I would be reading many books and writing many papers, balancing it all with my already busy life in the hopes of being more theologically equipped than I was before.

What I didn’t expect was to be undone by wonder. The Oxford Dictionary defines wonder as a feeling of surprise and admiration “caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar or inexplicable.” In the midst of formatting papers and perfecting citations, I encountered it. I found wonder in the rich interplay of insightful teaching and discussion, in perspectives on God I had never considered and in the consistent challenge to ground my learning in the realities of ministry, a sacred classroom in its own right. These two years have been a call to live in wonder, and to bring robust theology into direct conversation with the places most in need of God’s abundant life.

I did in fact write a lot of papers and read a lot of books. The program required an investment of time and energy that involved sacrifice. But when you are learning about something you love, the effort required can still be a joy. I spent many late nights and early mornings analyzing scripture and diverse theological viewpoints and exploring how they applied to the global church and my ministry context.

Working with Nashville’s unhoused population every week gives me regular opportunities to look for and share the wonder of God. When I speak with our ministry’s volunteers, I no longer just give them the overview of the ministry and safety regulations. Now, I attempt to invite them into a little bit of the wonder as well. I invite them to see the relentless power of hope and a God who treasures the poor, pulling from my classes on the Old and New Testament. I spend time imagining what it would be like for our ministry to be even more focused on dignity, applying assignments from classes on hospitality and the theology of race and culture. There was always room for my academic work to connect to real life. I was challenged to let scripture and theology transform my worldview and anchor me in the goodness of God, to think creatively about ministry and to be bold in seeking justice and advocating for the vulnerable.

I did not grow and learn on my own. At one point, as I was going through the grocery store, I heard someone excitedly call out my name. I turned around to see a familiar face that I had never seen in person before. He was a classmate. We had been in multiple online classes together, had done a group project, participated in small group discussions and responded to each other’s discussion posts. We had participated in prayer with our professors for classmates who faced hardship and learned about each other's backgrounds and hopes for the future.

Don't let anyone tell you that you don’t build relationships in an online program. When I sat with some of those classmates at graduation this past May, we fell into comfortable conversation as if we had been friends spending time together for years, and honestly, we had.

Support didn’t only come from my classmates. In every single class, I had professors who believed in me–who looked at my work with a discerning eye, who encouraged me when I was on track and who challenged me to go deeper when I was not. They not only taught theology with expertise, but engaged scholarship with testimony. Their lectures, assignments and feedback were all undergirded by a belief that God is still moving, still speaking, still redeeming. The Bible was not viewed as a relic of the past, and they were not disillusioned with faith–a common flaw of theological academia. Their passion for what they taught was rooted in a genuine belief that the Kingdom of God is coming and is already here, and that belief was contagious.

Ultimately, my experience in earning a master’s in theology and biblical studies was an invitation to wonder. An invitation to see beyond the familiar patterns of ministry or academic Christianity, and instead to engage with a God who descended into the mundane—and in doing so, has made everything holy.