I once heard a pastor confess that, upon the completion of his final class of seminary, he sprinted across the seminary campus to his car and sped away, vowing that he would never return. Thankfully, upon the completion of my M.Div. degree, my response is the exact opposite. I am hungry for more—more knowledge of God and his Word; more understanding of his ways, and more wisdom as to how to apply this knowledge to my life and to my ministry. The depths of the knowledge of God are infinitely deeper than we can ever attain to in this life. Therefore, the completion of this degree is not the end of my expedition.

None of this is to say that my studies at RBS have left me ill-equipped. Just the opposite is true. My ability to stay and serve in my local church while completing seminary has allowed me to apply, in real time, what I have been learning. Rather than going off to seminary away from the church, only to end with a degree and no experience, the experience is baked into the RBS degree. I am ending with confidence of serving in ministry in whatever ways God calls me to.

While in seminary, God has blessed me to be able to serve as a lay elder at my church for the past couple of years, where I have been given the opportunity to preach regularly. My hope, Lord willing, is to pursue further education, whether it be a Th.M. or a Ph.D. and prayerfully consider how the Lord can continue to use me.

I am so thankful for my wife, Tracy, and my kids for supporting me throughout the seminary process. I am also thankful for Doctor Gonzales and the many professors who have served me. There has been no question in my mind that I have been able to fully trust that what I have been taught has been nothing but the truth. My prayer is that God would continue to bless RBS in bringing about godly men to further his Kingdom.

Michael Curtis