31/01/11 10:57
Though not a British Bible School event,
the recent Men's Day at Wembley was well
represented by the school. The event,
entitled: "Three Kings," looked at the
lives of Solomon, Ahab and Hezekiah,
considering valuable lessons for today's
believers. The three speakers: Mark
Hill, Mike Glover
and Patrick Boyns, along
with John Griffiths, one
of the main organisers, are all teachers at
the British Bible School. The four are also
graduates of the school. Among the fifty or
so present was one current student and
others who have previously completed the
programme.
22/01/11 12:24
In 1859, Dr Constantine von
Tischendorf discovered a priceless
manuscript at the Monastery of Saint
Catherine at Sinai. Now known as the Codex
Sinaiticus, this manuscript contains
virtually the entire New Testament in
Greek. Written around A.D. 340, it is the
earliest known Greek manuscript to do so.
In 1933, with funds raised by public
subscription, the British Museum purchased
the manuscript from the Soviet Union for
£100,000. It is now housed in the British
Library where a portion of it is usually on
display to the public.
In 2011, a limited, facsimile edition of
the entire codex was published. It weighs
almost two stone and is faithfully
reproduced in full colour. Thanks to
generous donations made by the Thomas
Blackmore Fund and Eye-Opener Publications,
the British Bible School has been able to
purchase a copy of this rare document.
Without doubt, this will be a most valuable
teaching tool and should serve our students
for whatever years might lie ahead. It is
an excellent example of a fine Biblical
codex, it has a clear text and will well
illustrate many aspects of the transmission
of that text in its earlier years.
Pictured here under the studious eyes of
teacher,
Steve Whitehead,
we will be bringing it along to various
events as appropriate, so look out for it
at a venue near you!
16/11/10 17:18
The Study Weekend in Antwerp seemed
to go exceptionally well. There were some
two dozen in attendance - more than had
been expected - and plans are already being
discussed for similar events in the future!
Students came both from Antwerp and from a
number of other congregations, including
some from Haarlem in the Netherlands.
Paul Brazle of Antwerp
co-ordinated the Belgium side of
operations, ensuring that all were suitably
fed and watered as appropriate.
Students were presented with material from
our third introductory module,
Understanding the Bible (INT03) in
a series of eight sessions throughout the
day.
Patrick Boyns and
Trevor Williams (pictured)
shared the teaching during the day and
taught and preached on the Sunday in
Antwerp too. Students wanting to take the
module towards a BBS award need to
undertake additional assignments after
enrolling on the programme.
We are most thankful to all those in
Belgium who provided accommodation and
food, and we look forward to our next
European study event.
03/11/10 17:45

We are excited
about our first European Study Weekend
to be held in Belgium later this
month.
Patrick Boyns
and
Trevor Williams
will be heading across the Channel to
Antwerp for the weekend of 13th
November and presenting material from
our third Introductory Module:
Understanding the Bible
(INT03). The schedule will
look something like this:
08.30 - Arrival
09.00 - Session 1 - Biblical Authority
(Patrick Boyns)
10.00 - Session 2 - Can we understand the
Bible? (Trevor Williams)
11.00 - Break
11.15 - Session 3 - Some basic principles
(Patrick Boyns)
12.15 - Session 4 - Recognising Biblical
genre (Trevor Williams)
13.15 - Lunch
13.45 - Session 5 - The Old in the New
(Patrick Boyns)
14.45 - Session 6 - Historical context
(Trevor Williams)
15.45 - Break
16.00 - Session 7 - Biblical context
(Patrick Boyns)
17.00 - Session 8 - A missiological
approach (Trevor Williams)
17.55 - Closing words
Timings are given as a rough guide but will
be as flexible as necessary. Each session
will last up to around 55 minutes, allowing
time to stretch in between.
For more details please either get in touch
or see the event page on
Facebook!
21/12/09 14:30
Coming so close to the end of year
festivities, we were very pleased with the
turn out at this, our final event of 2009.
Patrick Boyns and Steve Whitehead travelled
to Bristol for the afternoon event which
began with a short time of praise followed
by a presentation on the school's
development and new Distance Learning
Programme. There were a good number of
questions asked and some healthy interest
expressed.
Following tea, teaching sessions were
conducted on Biblical Genres and Early
Development of the Text of the Old
Testament. We are thankful for the
congregation who supplied all with food and
refreshments, and for the tremendous
interest and support in these new
developments.
03/12/09 11:42
Last weekend's Taster Day at
Kirkcaldy was a hit! All who came were
treated to four teaching sessions and a
presentation of the school's new Distance
Learning Programme.
Patrick Boyns and Mark Hill travelled to
Kirkcaldy to conduct the day's events and
presented sessions on: Visionary
Leadership; King David; The Fruit of the
Spirit and Early Development of the Text of
the Old Testament. The sessions were
designed to encourage others to consider
pursuing more serious Bible study and often
raised more questions than provided
answers.
The congregation kept all well supplied
with food and refreshments throughout the
day. Mark and Patrick stayed over and
taught a Bible class and preached on the
Sunday morning before heading back south.
It is hoped that we will be able to conduct
more events like this north of the border
in 2010.
26/11/09 18:02
Look out for upcoming events near you ...
Kirkcaldy - on Saturday,
28th November we will be
holding a
Taster Day at
Kirkcaldy. Patrick Boyns and Mark Hill
will be presenting sessions from
various areas of the school's
curriculum. Plans are to conduct
sessions from the modules:
"The United Kingdom of Israel" (OLD05)
"Galatians" (NEW09)
"The History & Development of Biblical
Texts" (GEN01)
"Leadership" (PRA06)
The day's events will commence at 10 am and
will include 4 sessions with inter-session
breaks. Things should finish by no later
than 4 pm. A light lunch will be supplied
and the
congregation would
appreciate knowing how many will be
present for catering purposes.
Reading - on Sunday,
6th December, the Reading
congregation will be hosting a Distance
Learning Programme Launch event after their
weekly assembly. More details to follow
shortly.
Bristol - we will be
travelling west to Bristol on Saturday,
12th December for another
Taster Day -
look out for more details!
08/09/09 12:04
Look out for our new postcard
adverts! The Publicity Group recently
commissioned
Aubrey Boyns to
design a postcard around the theme
'Mission is possible' and this is what
he has come up with - we are
delighted! With an increased emphasis
on mission, the idea is to promote the
opportunities the school offers to
help prepare workers for service,
according to the abilities God has
given us. The flip side of the card
simply points others to our web site
where there are details of our
Extension and Distance Learning
Programmes.
01/08/09 00:54
At a recent meeting of the school governors
it was decided to focus attention on the
development of the Distance Learning and
Extension Programmes. The need for a much
more flexible access to the curriculum is
seen as a priority, as well as being
necessary to sustain a residential
programme in the medium to long term. To
this end a new strategy paper,
A Bible
School For Our Time, has been compiled
to help move things forward as development
continues.
"The world is in as much need of
salvation as ever. People are living and
dying without ever hearing the simple
message of the cross of Jesus. Paul wrote
to Roman believers asking “how are they
to call on one in whom they have not
believed? And how are they to believe in
one of whom they have never heard? And
how are they to hear without someone to
proclaim him? And how are they to
proclaim him unless they are sent?” One
might be tempted to ask: “and how will
they be sent unless they are first
prepared? And where will they become
prepared if there is no provision for
training?”
The people of God have always needed
servants who will devote themselves more
fully to the mission of God, according to
the abilities and opportunities he
provides. They need shepherds and
teachers, those who will feed them with
the Word that is able to build them up
and keep them from harm. The need to
teach others “who will be able to teach
others as well” is as vital now as it
ever has been. But without adequate
training there would be no workers
prepared to take the message of Christ
into an increasingly hostile world. And
without thorough grounding in the Word it
would only be a matter of time before
essential truths of Scripture were lost
or forgotten amidst ever-increasing moves
towards secularism.
Training God’s people for mission may
take many approaches. Traditional
full-time classroom-based training has
its place, as do more contemporary
methods involving distance and part-time
learning. Apprenticeship and In-Service
Education and Training might also play an
important part as seen perhaps in a
number of New Testament examples.
Whatever methods may be employed,
training is essential and must be part of
the planning of any mission-minded people
- to train those who have been won to
Christ to win others also. Rufus
Anderson, the 19th century mission
strategist who was particularly concerned
with the self-propagation of local
mission work, wrote: “Without education,
it is not possible for mission churches
to be in any proper sense self-governed;
nor, without it, will they be
self-supported, and much less
self-propagating.” The importance of
education and training among the people
of Christ has long been recognised as
essential to healthy growth."
The paper continues where the initial
strategy document left off, with a further
analysis of statistics relating to student
numbers and the proportion of those coming
from the U.K. It briefly reviews recent
developments before addressing the issues
of vision and curriculum relevance. Access
to the curriculum is a major consideration
and the rationale behind the focus on
flexible provision.
If any with a particular interest in the
development of the school would like to see
a copy of this paper, please get in touch
with us.
16/06/09 14:47
If attendance is anything to go by,
then our second Study Weekend held at East
Kilbride on 12th and 13th June was equally
as successful as the first one, just three
weeks before. Those able to return for the
second weekend did so, along with a number
of others joining us for the first time. We
mostly kept to the same format, providing
an intensive period of learning over a
relatively short amount of time. We
continued with the second half of our
module on ‘The History & Development of
Biblical Texts’ (
GEN01).
Classes began on Friday evening with a
review quiz followed by an introduction to
the text of the New Testament. On the
Saturday we looked at the manuscripts and
ancient versions bearing witness to the
text before considering some of the
processes of textual reconstruction.
Students spent a total of just over nine
hours in class over the weekend, being more
than adequately catered for by the ladies
of the local congregation who did an
admirable job (once again).
One of our students, Nick Wilson from
Hyvot's Bank gave a class presentation on
the Lindisfarne Gospels - a splendid
Vulgate manuscript copied on the Holy
Island and arguably the finest example of
Anglo Saxon/Celtic art known to exist.
We look forward to conducting Study
Weekends on a regular basis throughout the
U.K. These may be based on any one of our
modules. If you are interested in hosting
one in your area - please do get in
touch.
25/05/09 15:04
Our first Study Weekend, held at East
Kilbride in Scotland, was very well
attended and seemed to be well received.
Unlike a ‘typical’ study day, the weekend
provided an intense period of learning
covering the first half of our module on
‘The History & Development of Biblical
Texts’ (
GEN01).
Classes began on Friday evening and
concluded on the Saturday with
students being ‘in class’ for a total
of nine hours over the weekend.
The weekend covered approximately half of
the module and included an introduction to
textual transmission along with a study of
the development of the Old Testament text.
The second half of the module will be
covered at the next study weekend to be
held from 12th to 13th June at the same
location. Here students will look at the
development of the New Testament text and
begin to examine the processes of textual
reconstruction from the evidences
available.
Whilst a number of those who attended the
first study weekend are simply wanting to
take part in the class sessions, several
are planning to undertake the assignments
which include an in-class presentation and
essay to be submitted at a later date. The
module counts towards internal certificates
for which a number of students are working.
All are welcome to attend the
next study weekend -
even if you missed the first. For more
information, please do not hesitate to
get in
touch.
30/04/09 19:10
The first of the two
East
Kilbride study weekends to be held
over the next couple of months is only just
over a fortnight away. The dates are: 22nd
to 23rd May 2009. All are welcome to attend
and a booking form is available
here.
The study weekends also form a part of our
module on
The History & Development
of Biblical Texts (GEN01), though any
may attend without completing the
additional assignments. Those enrolled on
our module-point credit programme will need
to attend both study weekends and complete
all assignments as given.
This first weekend will begin with an
introduction to the subject of Textual
Transmission, set in the context of God's
revelation to mankind. We will move on to
examine the documents of the Old Testament
text, including the manuscripts and ancient
versions with special attention to the
contents and significance of the 'Dead Sea
Scrolls'. Finally, we will consider the
implications of our findings for life and
mission in the 21st century.
For more details look
here, or contact
either Jon Galloway on 01355 247798 or
Patrick Boyns on 01733 223331.