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.
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.