I love to give others a love for God’s word (see here), and the context where I learned to love the Bible was InterVarsity, where we studied the text in depth. Because of my experiences doing Scripture study as an undergrad, I came on IV staff, and then later felt a call to teach Old Testament, where I now teach at BTS.
Many IV alumni find it difficult to reproduce their Bible study experiences in churches, in small groups, or in other ministry contexts once they graduate. There are books out there to help them transition from the campus to the real world (see in particular Rich Lamb’s, Following Jesus in the “Real World”), but still they long for a profound experience in the word like they had as undergrads.
If you live in the Philadelphia area, you’re in luck. On April 17-18 (2015) InterVarsity will be hosting an alumni Bible Study at the Conference Center at Valley Forge. It will be a great opportunity to study Scripture, to listen to God, and to others. Jen Eisenberg, Becky Detrick, Liz Kidney, and a few other folks (including Shannon and I) helped organize it.
We’ll be looking at the end of Matthew’s gospel, the less familiar parts that sometimes get ignored. Here’s the schedule:
Friday evening: Jesus’ anointing at Bethany (Matt 26:1-16)
Saturday morning: Jesus’ burial in Joseph’s tomb (Matt 27:57-66)
Saturday afternoon: Jesus’ resurrection and commission (Matt 28:1-20)
Here is the link to register. You can either stay overnight, or drive home Friday night and come back Saturday.
Here is the link to the Facebook page.
It will not only be a chance to study Scripture, but also to re-connect with old friends. So, don’t just register yourself, invite some friends you haven’t seen for awhile. Please tell other IV alumni you think might be interested, or send them a link to this post.
We plan to schedule more of these alumni Bible studies in the future.
I’m going. Hope to see you there.