Staying in Lake Lure
Thank you so much for joining us in prayer about the future location of the ESBS. After much consideration we're happy to announce that the ESBS is staying right in Lake Lure! We've looked at new properties in lots of new places, and over and over my heart keeps beating to the rhythm of this quiet mountain town we've all grown to love as home. It's right where God wants us to be, and its a perfect place to run our school.
Recently we've begun forming a rental agreement with a property owner in Lake Lure, and we couldn't be more excited! It's a fantastic new location, in a fantastic town!
We'll be announcing specifics early in 2015, until then, rejoice with us that God is making a way for the ESBS to stay right in the town where it began!
Tom
Join us in PRAYER!
So, I've been a full-time Bible teacher for 9 years, and admittedly I still function some days like an atheist when it comes to prayer. I can tell you all the Bible passages about prayer, its effectiveness, and the priority it should have in our life, however when it comes time to do it...I'd rather sit on Facebook.
Where's God in that? Nowhere...like I said...functional atheism...
So, I'm challenged for a change to act like I actually do have a God who hears prayers, and a
God who's totally geeked out with a tangible expression of ruthless trust and irrational dependence...aka serious prayer.
Most of you know that after nine years at our current property the ESBS is leaving Camp Lurecrest, but only God knows where it's going. For a year now my everyday life has been consumed with planning for moving the school. In the past year we've started a new non-profit, totally re-organized how we administer the school, and how we function as a staff. We've spent hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars and lots of road miles meeting with all kinds of property owners and non-profits, hoping to identify a new location for the ESBS. We've gotten a lot done, but in my heart I can't say that I'm a whole lot better at trusting God with what still remains uncertain.
For a leader, uncertainty about the future is hard to admit. It sounds like poor planning. It makes me think things like: "Oh don't admit that, because some potential student may read it and decide "oh man I shouldn't sign up for that program, because it sounds a little tenuous." Well, my response to that thought is "when you say yes to Jesus, you say yes to something that goes way beyond tenuous. You say yes to the biggest, scariest, most gloriously uncomfortable adventure possible, where the only guaranteed certainty is the eternal love of Christ. You say yes to unmet expectations, unforeseen suffering, and unlikely joys. You say yes to peace, but not certainty."
So with that, I admit that the future still remains a little uncertain. We really don't yet know where the ESBS will be next fall. We have some strong ideas, and we're in some really exciting dialogues, but we're not home yet.
We need God to lead the way to our new home. We need God to make His way known. We need to hear and obey.
We need your prayers!
So we've committed as an ESBS community to prayer over this Christmas break. We're committing to asking God to show us clearly the way forward, and to give us renewed faith to continue on the journey.
We're asking you to PARTNER WITH THIS PROCESS!! If you could, we'd love for you to set aside a few minutes a day asking God to lead and direct the ESBS to it's new location.
As a community, lets spend some time telling God we believe that he's still in the business of miracle making, and that we want to see it happen with the ESBS!
Where's God in that? Nowhere...like I said...functional atheism...
So, I'm challenged for a change to act like I actually do have a God who hears prayers, and a
God who's totally geeked out with a tangible expression of ruthless trust and irrational dependence...aka serious prayer.
Most of you know that after nine years at our current property the ESBS is leaving Camp Lurecrest, but only God knows where it's going. For a year now my everyday life has been consumed with planning for moving the school. In the past year we've started a new non-profit, totally re-organized how we administer the school, and how we function as a staff. We've spent hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars and lots of road miles meeting with all kinds of property owners and non-profits, hoping to identify a new location for the ESBS. We've gotten a lot done, but in my heart I can't say that I'm a whole lot better at trusting God with what still remains uncertain.
For a leader, uncertainty about the future is hard to admit. It sounds like poor planning. It makes me think things like: "Oh don't admit that, because some potential student may read it and decide "oh man I shouldn't sign up for that program, because it sounds a little tenuous." Well, my response to that thought is "when you say yes to Jesus, you say yes to something that goes way beyond tenuous. You say yes to the biggest, scariest, most gloriously uncomfortable adventure possible, where the only guaranteed certainty is the eternal love of Christ. You say yes to unmet expectations, unforeseen suffering, and unlikely joys. You say yes to peace, but not certainty."
So with that, I admit that the future still remains a little uncertain. We really don't yet know where the ESBS will be next fall. We have some strong ideas, and we're in some really exciting dialogues, but we're not home yet.
We need God to lead the way to our new home. We need God to make His way known. We need to hear and obey.
We need your prayers!
So we've committed as an ESBS community to prayer over this Christmas break. We're committing to asking God to show us clearly the way forward, and to give us renewed faith to continue on the journey.
We're asking you to PARTNER WITH THIS PROCESS!! If you could, we'd love for you to set aside a few minutes a day asking God to lead and direct the ESBS to it's new location.
As a community, lets spend some time telling God we believe that he's still in the business of miracle making, and that we want to see it happen with the ESBS!
What's new at the ESBS!
Hey Everyone,
We hope you're having a great week!
It's that time of year again here in Lake Lure as the leaves have fallen, and each day it's getting a little colder.
The school is still going strong and our students are doing an amazing job. Each week it's amazing to see how the Lord is speaking to them, and as staff we count it such a privilege to be a part of this amazing ministry!
Last week we had Kaari Speer from YWAM Asheville teach the book of James, and this week we have our very own Ellen Stark teaching 1 John.
Next week we have 2&3 John, and then we break for Thanksgiving!
I also wanted to take a minute and remind you about our student blog.
Each week our students take some time and blog about how the Lord is speaking to them through a particular book.
Here's a exert from one of our students Jordan as she writes about 1 Peter:
"Peter knew the deal. He suffered for Christ. He witnessed Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion. He saw the example that he would be called to live by. Jesus is our standard of living. If Jesus is our standard, what do we think our lives will look like? A life of ease and luxury? I'm sorry but the image of a Roman cross doesn't exactly scream ease and luxury to me. This is reality and I think Christians need to know what following Jesus is about."
If you'd like to read more check it out here:
Once again we want to thank each one of you for your continued prayer and support. It's so amazing to teach the word of God, and to see him move in our lives.
We hope you have a wondeful Thanksgiving!
God Bless,
Trey Rogers
STAY CONNECTED:
Staying Connected...
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Hey everyone,
We're almost done with our first quarter!
Next week we have FALL BREAK!
This week we have the privilege of hearing from Judy Smith as she teaches 1 Corinthians.
Her and Ron have been such a blessing to our community, and we can't thank them enough for the heritage they've set before us.
We also wanted to take some time to remind everyone about all our social media accounts.
We're trying to stay connected this year and keep everyone up to date about the school and everything we're up to.
This year we have a great group of students that are hungry to know more of the Scriptures, and it has been such a blessing to walk along side them during this season.
Take a minute and connect with us on these sites:
There are big changes to come for our ministry, and we'd love for you to stay connected as we see where the Lord takes us on this journey.
Trey Rogers
Keep up with the students on our STUDENT BLOG
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We're now in our 5th week of ESBS, and its exciting to see the students encountering fresh and new understandings of who God is as they begin to see books come alive in their original historical context.
Each week, as students turn in their book assignment, we ask them to write a short blog post about what they saw in the book they've just finished, and how that book impacted their heart.
In my view, reading these blog posts is the best way to keep up with what God is doing in the hearts of our students. It's a great way to connect with the every-day changes that God is making in each student's heart.
Check out the blog at esbsblog.com