I just finished participating in a nine-month intensive Bible training program at Emmaus School of Biblical Studies (ESBS) in Lake Lure, North Carolina. What an amazing, edifying, intense and life changing experience. As I reflect on my experience at ESBS, I only wish more people knew of the program and had the opportunity to learn the Bible in its totality. Hence, this is blog post purposes as two things. One my shameless plug of ESBS, and why you should not hesitate to do the program. But most importantly my praise to God for the program of Emmaus School of Biblical Studies.
The Staff.
The staff at Emmaus are Christ-exalting, Jesus-saturated, Spirit-filled, Gospel men and woman who love truth more than their own opinion or reputation. They know the bible, love the bible, apply the bible, and want to see others do likewise. They are in no way perfect nor do they pretend to be, but are humble people, quick to repent, admit when they don’t know something, and own up when they’ve messed up. They invest in the students through discipleship and want to see people live a life that brings attention to the glory of God. I have a personal relationship with all my teachers; a few of them especially have carried over into deep God-centered friendships.
The Teaching.
Not only does one learn the Bible, but also the background to the Bible. They help you get “into the shoes” of the the original reader and original audience. Furthermore, they are now offering Logos bible software included in the tuition!
In 9 months, you will have studied the Bible in it entirety and read through the Bible verse-by-verse a minimum of 5 times. (thats four more times than most professing Christians will read it in a lifetime.) There’s no tip-toeing around hard passages, but attacking them ferociously, head-on, inductively, and with humility, grace and truth.
You will have an understanding of each book as a whole (everything from authorship, dating, original readers, theology, themes and most importantly application). You will spend so much in-depth time with each book that you will start to feel a personal relationship with certain books or authors. Not only will you have an understanding of each book, but you will see clearly how each book fits in with the big picture of scripture and God’s story. You will be more confident about scripture and the Bible, who God is, what he is like and how that changes everything about your life and the way that we interact with one another. No other 4 year, let alone one year, programs can give the depth and intensity as ESBS can and will.
It is a gospel-focused community, where you learn how to live with the understanding that what Jesus has done for us is way more important that what we do for him. Good deeds are done because of God’s love for us in Christ, and not to earn His love. That’s the tone of the community, it’s the focus of the discipleship, and it permeates the culture.
The Affordability.
The staff are not paid, but are supported. Should they be? Yes. Could they be? Yes. Why don’t they? Because they want to see all men and women trained in the word, in a way that is affordable. Even if that means not being paid and raising their own support. They are not there for the money, they are there to teach the bible to those who hunger for it.
The Scenic.
Emmaus School of Biblical Studies is a branch of Camp Lurecrest ministries. It is located on the large camp property, in the mountains, on the lake. A perfect place to engage Gods word distraction free, while seeing his glory reveal in a deep appreciation of his creation.
Any one can do it.
Evan is a teacher; he did it.
Caleb is a pastor on Sabbatical who brought his family; he did it.
Rich is a bible teacher who brought his family; he did it.
Mary Austin and Heather are recent college grads; they did it.
Abigail is a message therapist; she did it.
Sean is a graduate with two masters at seminary; he did it.
Jon, Josh, and Bryson are all recently graduates from high school; they did it.
Ellen is a missionary; she did it.
Rylan and I are Canadian; we did it.
To you reading these words; you do it.
The Staff.
The staff at Emmaus are Christ-exalting, Jesus-saturated, Spirit-filled, Gospel men and woman who love truth more than their own opinion or reputation. They know the bible, love the bible, apply the bible, and want to see others do likewise. They are in no way perfect nor do they pretend to be, but are humble people, quick to repent, admit when they don’t know something, and own up when they’ve messed up. They invest in the students through discipleship and want to see people live a life that brings attention to the glory of God. I have a personal relationship with all my teachers; a few of them especially have carried over into deep God-centered friendships.
The Teaching.
Not only does one learn the Bible, but also the background to the Bible. They help you get “into the shoes” of the the original reader and original audience. Furthermore, they are now offering Logos bible software included in the tuition!
In 9 months, you will have studied the Bible in it entirety and read through the Bible verse-by-verse a minimum of 5 times. (thats four more times than most professing Christians will read it in a lifetime.) There’s no tip-toeing around hard passages, but attacking them ferociously, head-on, inductively, and with humility, grace and truth.
You will have an understanding of each book as a whole (everything from authorship, dating, original readers, theology, themes and most importantly application). You will spend so much in-depth time with each book that you will start to feel a personal relationship with certain books or authors. Not only will you have an understanding of each book, but you will see clearly how each book fits in with the big picture of scripture and God’s story. You will be more confident about scripture and the Bible, who God is, what he is like and how that changes everything about your life and the way that we interact with one another. No other 4 year, let alone one year, programs can give the depth and intensity as ESBS can and will.
It is a gospel-focused community, where you learn how to live with the understanding that what Jesus has done for us is way more important that what we do for him. Good deeds are done because of God’s love for us in Christ, and not to earn His love. That’s the tone of the community, it’s the focus of the discipleship, and it permeates the culture.
The Affordability.
The staff are not paid, but are supported. Should they be? Yes. Could they be? Yes. Why don’t they? Because they want to see all men and women trained in the word, in a way that is affordable. Even if that means not being paid and raising their own support. They are not there for the money, they are there to teach the bible to those who hunger for it.
The Scenic.
Emmaus School of Biblical Studies is a branch of Camp Lurecrest ministries. It is located on the large camp property, in the mountains, on the lake. A perfect place to engage Gods word distraction free, while seeing his glory reveal in a deep appreciation of his creation.
Any one can do it.
Evan is a teacher; he did it.
Caleb is a pastor on Sabbatical who brought his family; he did it.
Rich is a bible teacher who brought his family; he did it.
Mary Austin and Heather are recent college grads; they did it.
Abigail is a message therapist; she did it.
Sean is a graduate with two masters at seminary; he did it.
Jon, Josh, and Bryson are all recently graduates from high school; they did it.
Ellen is a missionary; she did it.
Rylan and I are Canadian; we did it.
To you reading these words; you do it.
Thanks for this, Chance! I am going to be doing the Emmaus SBS in 2012-13, and I am so excited about it! Your post is an encouragement to me. And, yes-anyone can do it! I quit a stable job at 45, did my DTS, served with YWAM for a year, and am now going to get to do the Emmaus SBS. 5 years ago, I would never have guessed this would be my life! :)
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