Serving God in a Foreign Land
Daniel's Faithful Improvisation in the Court of the Babylonian King In his famous list of the OT heroes of faith, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes the following claim: ‘All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been
The Mission of the Church in a Post-conflict Context: A Reflection on Reformed and Anabaptist Approaches among Christians in Northern Ireland
My Masters dissertation focused on the core purpose of the Church, as it applies to our post-conflict and still intractably divided community in Northern Ireland. Twenty-Two years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland public and their political representatives appear to have settled for ‘an end of violence’ and protracted division of the two main communities, each with its own separate culture. The Church in Northern Ireland has, in the main
Seeds. Season 2
Seeds. has returned for a second season, focusing on personal encounters with Jesus. Seeds. is a weekly series of stories about the interesting and diverse people who study, work for & visit the College. These stories of encounters with Jesus are created with the hope of sharing the work of God through personal testimonies of real people. Tommy Karla Underneath it all, whether we are Christian or not, we have all been there - when w
Theological Thoughts
Our Theological Thoughts series is posted on our social media (Facebook & Instagram) on a regular basis. This is where we ask readers to pause for a couple of minutes to consider a thought written by one of our lecturers that will make them think a little bit deeper about their faith. 10 Commandments of Theological Study by Dr. William Ford 1. I shall remember that my relatio
The Groaning of Creation (Romans 8:18) and Contemporary Christian Attitudes to Climate Change
‘Climate change’ is a modern problem which is not addressed specifically in the Bible. However, the doctrine of creation was central to the biblical authors’ understanding of the world and consequently Scripture is peppered with relevant references that can guide modern Christian attitudes to the environment. Some Christians hold that the Earth is only a temporary home which will ultimately be destroyed but such a stance can make believers ‘careless stewards’ (Orr,
Graduate Internships
We are excited to offer a range of internships at Belfast Bible College to give graduates an opportunity to gain skills and experience to help with their vocational development. Particularly the in the context of Christian Ministry and Higher Education. Communications, Film Making & Graphic Design Residential Assistant for Student Accommodation About the Programme Apply What type of internship could you apply for? Here are a few options: Communications,
Charlie's new publications
We're delighted to share that our Old Testament and Hebrew Lecturer Dr. Tchavdar Hadjiev (Charlie) has had two significant academic books recently published. These are wonderful resources to Church Leaders and Academics alike. It is a wonderful testament of Charlie's deep study and brilliant teaching that these books are widely available and we pray the Church would be blessed through them. They are both available through our library to our students as well as widely available f
Bias and Biblical Faithfulness: Becoming Self-Aware Readers of Scripture
Many of us spend a lot of time reading the Bible. It is a core tenet of living out our faith. The triune God has revealed Himself to us through His Word and, therefore, it demands our attention. Not only that, but it demands our best efforts to faithfully understand what it means. Because the text is revelatory and divinely inspired it has an authority (Goldingay, 1995, 3). More than that, a genuine engagement with it should transform us and provide us with a perspective for how to live as faith
Changing Context: An Interview with Karen Webb
ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN THE GREATER SHANKILL ROAD AREA AND THEIR CHANGING CONTEXT Peter McDowell: Karen, you’re very welcome to this conversation. Could you tell a little bit about yourself, who you are, what you are doing and then perhaps why did you apply to do this MA course? Karen Webb: I am a Church Army evangelist. Church Army are a group of evangelists across the UK and Ireland and I am the lead evangelist in the North Belfast area. I’m married to Tim. He’s a jou
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Spiritual Abuse: Making Churches a Safer Place
‘Abuse in any form is a serious problem…not least for the church’ (Ozanne, 2017, 1). This is the unfortunate reality. Abusive environments, both past and present exist. For the church, accepting that abuse can and does exist within these environments is a sobering, yet inevitable, reality. In recent years, the Church has worked hard implementing safeguarding policies and practises and this deserves to be celebrated. I would suggest, however, the Church has so much more to cont
Self-Awareness and Spiritual Development of Adolescents: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a Possible Tool for Youth Ministry
YOUTH MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT Young people are masterfully and uniquely designed by the Creator who calls them beloved. Those within Christian youth ministry have the privilege to highlight these unique designs and to guide and encourage each young person on their journey. The potential is great for young people to grow spiritually when they understand the intricacies of how God created them. Amy Jacober (2014, 107) writes: [Youth ministers] play a vital role in celebrating t
Insight Magazine
Launched in January 2020 'Insight' is a digital magazine by Belfast Bible College filled with news, articles, updates on alumni and much more about the life and community of the College. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please click here. Issue 4 - October 2020 Our biggest issue of the magazine yet. Issue 3 - July 2020 We hope that the articles we have written this month help to shape your thinking on issues and he
God Sent His Son - Devotional
The reflections focus on five texts where the phrase, ‘God sent his Son,’ is used as a way of summarising the event of the first Christmas. This year we are suggesting that this devotional would be good to use after Christmas and before the New Year, to dwell and reflect on the significance of the incarnation.
COVID 19
COVID UPDATE 18 NOVEMBER 2020 In response to guidance from the NI Executive and UK Government all teaching and events by Belfast Bible College will be delivered online for the remainder of the semester. The campus remains closed to visitors during this time. If as a student you are experiencing difficulty accessing your online classes, college email or Moodle please contact IT on kward@belfastbiblecollege.ac.uk Should you have any questions regarding your studies, please email
Seeds.
Seeds. is a weekly series of stories about the interesting and diverse people who study, work & visit the College. These stories of growth are created with the hope of sharing the work of God through personal testimonies of real people. Jordan "I'm preparing and I'm studying and I'm doing things to hopefully help people I haven't even met yet." Excitement about future possibilities can distract us from what God is doing now. Jordan, a se
Look Past the Headline
Dr. Cindy Brown urges us to listen to and love the world as God loves the world. As we interact with the news, let us look past the headlines to where the Spirit wants to bring the Gospel to meet the needs of the world and move past ‘hashtag’ trends to a deeper understanding as people of the Kingdom of God.
Context is Everything - lessons from Nepal
Peter McDowell is our new Lecturer in Missiology, so he took a moment out of his preparing for teaching for us to ask him a few questions. So how are you? I'm good, it’s good to be here. It feels like my wife and I have done a lot of different things in a lot of different places, but at each point we look at what’s coming next. For me, teaching has always been a vocation. I like sharing with groups, and helping people (and myself) learn, grow and develop. So this feels
Chapel Tuesday
One of the ways the ways the College aims to create community, encourage worship, and introduce speakers with a variety of backgrounds in ministry and mission work is through Chapel each Tuesday. Chapel Tuesday is a series to give a glimpse into this special time each week. Passover Celebration Come Let us Adore Him Mission for God's Glory What is the Reward of Prayer? Is It Really God Leading?
Announcing our new Principal
Belfast Bible College are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Principal, Helen Warnock. Helen has been the General Director of Scripture Union Northern Ireland since 2003 and worked in Christian ministry in Northern Ireland for the last 20 years. Our Board of Directors carried out a comprehensive search to find the right person to lead the College forward, to continue our strong links with the local Church, Missions and Ministries as we seek to offer quality, relevant Theo
The Foreigner
Kill the Foreigner? Love the Foreigner? What should our attitude be towards 'the foreigner’? Living in Belfast as an Englishman with a German wife and two Northern Irish children, I often feel that I occupy a strange position between ‘local’ and ‘foreigner’. This is not to complain in any way about the hospitality that I have received here, quite the opposite! However, the question of how we respond to the foreigner has intensified in recent years with the in
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Our Annual Appeal Letter
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Dear Friends,
Since starting as Principal last August, I have been inspired and challenged by the faculty and students here, in their passion for ‘the knowledge of God’s glory [filling] the earth.’(Habakkuk 2:14) I am convinced that Belfast Bible College has a crucial role to play in training and resourcing the Church, locally and globally.
Our heart at Belfast Bible College is to equip and send disciples; we want to
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The Merciful God of the Conquest?
Keep Reading
The story of the conquest of Canaan in Joshua is a central part of the biblical story of God’s salvation. However for many Christians, the portrayal of God in the conquest is one of the most difficult issues in understanding and using the Bible in the modern world. How can the picture of God commanding Israel to slaughter the Canaanites and show no mercy (Deut. 7:2; cf. 20:15-18) be reconciled with the picture of God in Christ who loved the