Celeste’s mom also used the opportunity to train their dog to stay away from snakes by letting her start to smell it then jerking on her leash and yelling a lot at her.  She (the dog) stayed WELL away from even our mentioning the snake from then on.  Lesson learned I think.

To start, I was just thinking about how my dad always had CB radios when I was a kid. It was the 70s and CBs were the only way to keep in touch with people “on the go”. A lot like cell phones now-a-days we used the CB to talk to my mom and dad when they were driving around town. My dad’s call sign was “Star Duster” and my mom was “Lady Starduster”. Jason and I had numerous call signs through the years… “The Hulk” was one of mine I remember… but mostly they just called us “boys” or by our names.

We had a big antenna on top of our house and you could pretty much talk to anyone all over town. It was all hooked up to a “big” CB that was located in my dad’s photography studio and we would leave that “big” CB on all the time and when my parents would leave… always “listening” for it to sqwak in.

The best thing was when they’d be gone and we’d here them calling us to ask us if we wanted anything from McDonald’s, or Burger King, or Cashew Chicken. That was something you always hoped for with the CB.

Well, we’ve been busy. I guess that’s proof that it’s summertime. What’s happened around the Green House? Let’s see . . .

1) We welcomed our dear friend, Wendy, to our house for her first visit to NM. We drank a lot of coffee, went to Madrid, and enjoyed some NM scenery that we often take for granted. It’s so nice to have visitors. They make us see things differently. I especially enjoyed getting to know Wendy better. I hope to have her (and Dave )out again soon!

2) We celebrated Noel’s Birthday! I must say I did a good job planning his day. He pretty much had a “stormtrooper” themed day (just like a kid!). We saw Ironman, had yummy Thai food, and he got to order the Master Replicas stormtrooper helmet:).

3) Our great friends, Kim and Chris came to visit us for about a week. We got to go see Spamalot (finally) here in town! We had a great time enjoying and catching up with our dear friends.

4) Noel and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on the 12th. We’ve decided that we are the most blessed people in the world. I’m so thankful - every day - for the gift of Noel.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten something major that’s happened. But for now, that’s enough:). We hope everyone is having a great summer!

If you’re looking for a online degree program this one sounds amazing!

Overview

The graduate program in family ministry offers a 48-hour, non-thesis Master’s degree. This program is designed to help ministers strengthen marriages and families in churches. As our culture attacks Christian values about families, churches need to respond and help prepare Christians to be healthy marriage partners and nurturing parents to their children. The training in the Masters in Family Ministry will help ministers provide strong ethical leadership for the spiritual development of families in churches.

The course work emphasizes a proactive Christian perspective toward family education which gives ministers the skills to provide educational opportunities, mentoring relationships, and support groups to help families who are struggling before they are destroyed. Courses address family ministry issues from birth through gerontology and how to develop effective ministries to recognize those issues and meet the needs of individuals and families across the lifespan. In addition, the Master of Science in Family Ministry includes the course work required by the National Council of Family Relations to become a Certified Family Life Educator (see www.ncfr.org for more information).

Designed to accommodate working adults, the courses will be offered online and in an extended weekend format. All instruction will be delivered by faculty with earned doctorates and extensive experience in working with families in churches and social service agencies.

Faculty

Wes Crawford, Ph.D. (candidate)
Mr. Crawford is Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies and his scholarly interests involve Church History. He has been involved in ministry in several roles including work as a Chaplain for Carpenter’s Church, as a Singles Minister and as a Pulpit Minister. He currently serves as the pulpit minister for Broadway Church of Christ.

Brandon L. Fredenburg, Ph.D.
Dr. Fredenburg is well-respected scholar and teacher. He has authored a commentary on Ezekiel from both College Press and ACU Press. He also has contributed articles to noted scholarly journals. He has a particular interest in spiritual formation and also has served as an education minister and conference leader for churches around the country.

Dr. Shauna Frisbie, Ed.D.
Dr. Frisbie is a licensed professional counselor and specializes in working with individuals who have eating disorders. In addition, Dr. Frisbie is a certified Family Life Educator and maintains a private practice.

Dr. Michael Hardin, Ph.D.
Dr. Hardin is a licensed professional counselor, a licensed marital and family therapy associate and an approved supervisor for licensed professional counselors. He has previously worked as a supervisor at the Buckner Residential Treatment Center, has been an investigator for Adult Protective Services, and most recently was the supervisor over social work, chaplaincy, and bereavement counselors for Hospice of Lubbock.

Jesse Long, Ph.D.
Dr. Long is a well-respected archaeologist who is co-director of an archaeological excavation in Jordan (the Early Bronze Age site of Khirbet Iskander). Teaching archaeology, Old Testament, and preaching, he is published in numerous journals and is the author of the College Press NIV commentary on 1 & 2 Kings. His academic interests include archaeology, narrative criticism, and narrative preaching.

Michael Martin, Ph.D.
Dr. Martin is a nationally respected New Testament scholar and has published several scholarly articles in the field. He has worked in a variety of ministry roles including as a ministry and recreation director at a children’s home, as a youth minister, and as college and young professionals minister.

Stacy Patty, Ph.D.
Dr. Patty serves as professor of World Religions, Church History, and Ethics at LCU. Dr. Patty is respected nationally as a scholar with a particular expertise in world religions. He serves in the administration of the American Academy of Religion and as a Fellow for the Lilly Foundation. Dr. Patty has authored articles on Ethics and Religion and is one of the most popular teachers on campus.

Dr. Beth Robinson, Ed.D.
Dr. Robinson is a licensed professional counselor, approved supervisor for licensed professional counselors, and a certified school counselor. Dr. Robinson speaks and consults with churches across the country on issues related to families. In addition, Dr. Robinson has written several books for ministers addressing family ministry issues.

Mark Sneed, Ph.D.
Dr. Sneed serves as professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Lubbock Christian University. Dr. Sneed is an internationally recognized scholar in the Wisdom Literature in Old Testament. He has authored several articles and texts on Ecclesiastes.

Barry Stephens, Ph.D.
Dr. Stephens serves as a faculty member and is the pulpit minister for the Monterey Church of Christ in Lubbock, TX. Dr. Stephens serves as the program director for the Masters in Family Ministry and teaches graduate ministry and preaching courses. Dr. Stephens has an interest in the emergent church movement and church growth.

Charles B. Stephenson, Th.D.
Dr. Stephenson serves as professor of New Testament at Lubbock Christian University. He has taught Bible at LCU for over 25 years. His interests in the text include the Pastoral Epistles and the Gospel of John. In fact, he served as part of translation group on the Gospel of John in recent years. Dr. Stephenson has many years experience in pulpit ministry, and is an elder at the South Plains Church of Christ.

Dr. Andy Young, Ed.D.
Dr. Young specializes in crisis intervention work and debriefing first responders. He is the Clinical Director for the Lubbock Police Department’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team and the Crisis Team Coordinator. In addition, Dr. Young works as a negotiator in critical incident situations.

Purpose
The purpose of the M.S. in Family Ministry is to provide qualified students with advanced academic training. Overall, graduate family ministry courses are designed to prepare students to:
Recognize developmental issues in individuals and families in churches;
Understand the internal dynamics of families;
Provide effective Christian family education and guidance;
Utilize research to develop family ministry programs
Provide leadership for family ministry programs in churches;
Adhere to ethical, moral, and legal guidelines for providing family ministry services in churches.

The M.S. in Family Ministry requires the following 48 hours:

BIB 6300 Intro to Graduate Studies
REL 6334 Intro to Christian Thought
Two additional courses in BIB

FLE 6301 Family Life Education
FLE 6310 Social Development of Individuals and Families
FLE 6322 Human Sexuality
FLE 6324 Family Resource Management
FLE 6316 Parent Education
FLE 6332 Helping Professions and Public Policy
FLE 6333 Ethics in Helping Professions

MIN 6304 Church Leadership
MIN 6301 Family Ministry
MIN 6323 Family Systems
MIN 6330 Internship 1

REL 6333 Ethics

Admission Requirements
A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university or college in psychology, bible, family studies, social work, education, ministry, or a related field. Students who do not have a baccalaureate degree in the specified field areas will be required to complete leveling courses as determined by the Director of the Graduate Family Ministry Program. Students will not be considered for admission to the family ministry program until they complete leveling courses.
An official transcript from each college or university attended.
A minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in the baccalaureate degree.
A combined verbal and quantitative score of 800 or above on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GRE equivalent.

Contact
For more information:

Department of Biblical Studies
806-720-7662
donna.taylor@lcu.edu
saundra.pounds@lcu.edu

Graduate Admissions
800-933-7601
806-720-7599

Lubbock Christian University
5601 19th Street
Lubbock, Texas
79407

If you’ve not gotten an email from us yet, and haven’t noticed the new link at the top of our site, then I want to point you all to the page for our 2008 Halloween party.

The theme this year is “Villains” and tickets are only $15. There are going to be a lot of fun surprises and twists, so if you enjoyed last year’s party, or have wanted to come to one of ours before, or just found this website and want to make a trip to Springfield, MO for a family friendly good time, then please, get tickets, start on your costume, and we’ll see you there!

We asked about getting on the lot, and while they were really nice they didn’t let us on.  Very secure set they said.  And they verified that it was T4 being filmed.  However, we did get some pretty cool pictures of some “apocalyptic cars” that they had outside of the confines of the studio gates.

This area had apparently just recently been filmed as the “Special Event Ahead” and “flag man” signs were still up on the road before we got to them… not that the road would’ve had much traffic at all since it’s out in the middle of no-where.  The cars were painted to look rusted and old and had tumbleweeds strategically placed around them.  So we had to jump out and grab a few pictures.

We saw this today, and all I have to say is THANK YOU George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg, Harrison Ford, and everyone else for NOT screwing this up!!!

It was perfect!