Training has begun!

We are now a week and a half into our classes and we could not be enjoying them more!  Our school breaks up the semesters into five blocks which are three weeks in lengths.  The classes themselves vary in length with some classes lasting one block and some lasting up to three blocks.  There is plenty of homework, but, believe it or not… we are actually enjoying homework!  We usually have about two-three hours of reading each day (sometimes more), at least one paper or assignment each week, and usually has about two tests per class. Our current classes this block are Biblical Foundations, Bibliology, Evangelism in a Postmodern world, and Job.

Biblical Foundations: This class is a basic introduction to the Chronological order of the bible.  We’re learning the main events through scripture and learning about the prevailing themes.

Bibliology: This is a great class that helps us better understand the bible.  We’re currently learning about the background and contexts in which the original writings of the bible came about.  We’re covering topics and debates such as the “inspiration” of the bible, the Cannon, and the transmission of the bible.

Evangelism in a Postmodern World: This is a great class that is teaching us about the history of apologetics and the journey through history that has brought us into the current postmodern worldview of our day-in-age.  Along with reading, some of our class assignments take us downtown into the coffee shops were we have surveys to learn about the current worldviews of society today.  We are also memorizing some scriptures.  Bree and I have worked with kids and used the “hand motion” method of memorization with them, so, we decided to stick to our roots!  Check out this little video that we wanted to make for the Zone Kids who we worked with for so long!  See kids, we do MemoryMax too!!!

Job: This is an AMAZING class as our teacher is one of the most compassionate storytellers I have ever known!  To say he brings Job’s story to life is truly an understatement.  I have read Job before (which is a hard one to read as it has always seemed too depressing to me…) but WOW is there so much wisdom and meat in those passages when you stop to understand what is really happening there.  Wow!

So, that’s a glance into our current training here at NTBI!  We love our training so far, and are thankful to be here.  We thought we knew a ton about the Word and who God is… but man, we are so humbled by His Word and how little we actually know about Him.  We just can wait to learn more!

-Pete’n’Bree