To be able to laugh, to have humor and to be foolish are all tremendous forms of resistance, of showing love/compassion and affirming life in a time where depression, anger, sadness and disasters are mounting. This course follows a Christian Russian tradition called Sacred Fools and intends to be a practical-theoretical way of engaging humor, …
View course details “Humor, Laughter, Foolishness: Performing Love, Resilience and Resistance”

This is a hands-on preaching and digital ministry course for new preachers. Learn to preach from the ground up comfortable in the pulpit and online. This will NOT be manuscript preaching! We will practice a conversational, video-friendly, note-free sharing of Good News. Preachers will learn to: Use the ‘Triangle Preaching Process’ – Scripture, situation, self. …
View course details “Practical Preaching in the Digital Age”

”Preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.” With apologies to Karl Barth, in today’s church and world you should have your phone in the other hand! This course is for experienced preachers who are ready to ditch the manuscript – and the academic style of preaching from the 20th …
View course details “Get to the Good News”

All current programs and all upcoming courses should be listed on the web page indicated here.  

“Preaching Hope for a Weary World” is the Festival’s response to the hardships and heaviness that have been our reality the last few years. From a pandemic, to protests, to politics, and polarization; from wars, to gun violence, and climate change catastrophes, what is our call to preach? Hope. Surprisingly, in looking back over Festival …
View course details “Festival of Homiletics: Preaching Hope for a Weary World”

This course builds on the exegetical methods established in BIBL 503, using Paul’s epistle to the Philippians as a living lab for further exposure to the methods and tools of New Testament exegesis, particularly those tools and methods relevant to the study of New Testament letters. In the course of study, we want not only …
View course details “Advanced New Testament Exegesis”

This course aims to further student competence in the interpretation of the texts of the Old Testament. It presupposes knowledge of the basic steps of exegesis (as introduced in BIBL 503) and a growing awareness of the history of criticism (BIBL 600). It also presupposes a sound grasp of elementary Hebrew and a desire to …
View course details “Advanced Old Testament Exegesis”

This course introduces students to the art of biblical exegesis and interpretation. It is designed to help students gain confidence in text analysis, become self-critically aware of the challenges and opportunities of reading the Bible in modern contexts, and consider the ongoing relevance of Scripture for the Christian life while remaining open to the work …
View course details “Biblical Exegesis and Interpretation”

The link provided here should take you to the current course listing, along with the various training pathways where courses can be combined to offer different kinds of certification.  

The past several hundred years have seen widely varied approaches to reading the Bible arise, which can challenge the very identity of the Christian Church, much less our ability to read together. The emergence of new critical methods and perspectives with respect to Bible-reading has affected people’s trust in the Bible as well as their …
View course details “Biblical Hermeneutics and Criticism”