We're in our second week now

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We're in our second week of the school now.  Tomorrow we will finish our second book (Philippians).  We call the first three weeks of the school the "seminar phase."  During these weeks we have class in the morning and the evening, spending lots of time together in a lecture environment learning the basics of inductive Bible study.  It's a challenging three weeks for the students, as they're having to learn a lot of new concepts in a short period of time, as well as adjust to the workload of the program, which typically exceeds there expectations.

I'm happy to report that all 7 of our students are doing really well.  I can say honestly that I feel better about these 7 students right now than I have about any group we've had thus far.  I have totally been impressed with the caliber of people we've been given to disciple this year.  All 7 of these folks are totally motivated to be here and they're all excited to do this well.  I've seen some things in this years class that I've never seen before: like students helping other students understand and complete assignments once they've already completed their own assignment.  I'm impressed with how well they all get along, and with how well they include each other in extra-curricular activities.  So far Im very pleased.

As a point of prayer please pray that God would continue to bond us all together, and that he would continue to give the students excitement and motivation to press on with the work.  Also pray that God would begin to reveal truth to the students in powerful and life-changing ways as they begin to study these books on their own.

Class of 2011

Today was the first day of class.  It's hard to believe that we're entering our fifth year!  Notice the MOST EXCITING new addition in the front row (little Caleb Hartzler!)

We have 7 students.  Please pray for them as they begin a wonderful. and challenging journey through the Bible.  Two of our students (Nathanael and Abby...red shirt, black long sleeves) are still in need of most of their tuition.  They have just enough for the first quarter, and are doing everything they can to scrounge up money for the rest of the school.  Pray for their finances.  Daniel (back row yellow shirt) is from Norway and needs to get a visa extension or he'll have to leave in Feb...so we need to pray for that also.

SBS North America Leaders

I've had an incredible time in Montana meeting with the leaders of the other 9-month Inductive Bible Study schools in North America.  Listed in this Photo are the school leaders from Kona HI, Calgary AB, Lakeside MT, Col Springs Col, and Boise Idaho.  We've spent three days sharing ideas, praying for each other, talking about how to improve the curriculum, and just getting to know each other.  It has been such a blessing and encouragement to meet with so many other people passionate about doing what we do at the ESBS.  I'm so thankful for this time.  I return to NC on Friday to prepare for our Aug 16th start date.

We have 3 potential students (out of a total of 7) who DONT HAVE FINANCES FOR THIS FALL.  Please pray that God will meet their needs quickly.

Going to Montana

On Saturday Im headed to Montana for the SBS North America Hub meeting.  It's a 4 day conference for the leaders of the SBS schools in North America.  We're getting together to pray, share our vision for the program, strategize, and fellowship.  More to come as the week progresses.....

Joel podcast episode 1

I recently finished recording a three-part podcast series on the book of Joel.  This series is part of a year-long project that I've been working on in conjunction with SBS international (the conglomerate of all 55 + Inductive Bible Study schools like ours across the world).  The goal is to post free audio lecture files online for every book of the Bible.  These Joel lectures can be found online at "www.thesbspodcast.com."  The podcast site is recording thousands of downloads a month!  Yes thousands!  People are hungry for solid Biblical teaching!

Click on the above title "Joel podcast episode 1" to listen in.