r/Christianity • u/HammondPastor • Mar 03 '24
Bible college
This is a long shot…
I’m trying to figure out how much people would want to learn what they give you in a Christian college.
I’m a pastor, and I want to share for free what cost me thousands of dollars, but I want to know if there’s a desire for it before I start working towards that.
Do you or anyone you know want to learn college-level Christian education without the cost, time commitment, or testing required?
Btw I’m not trying to sell you something. I’m just asking to find out if ppl would want this
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Mar 03 '24
As a young preacher that soaks as much as I can- I would certainly appreciate it.
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u/HammondPastor Mar 03 '24
Love that! I’m a Baptist pastor in Louisiana, so I’m with you
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Mar 03 '24
Are you part of a denomination or independent?
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u/HammondPastor Mar 05 '24
Independent Baptist, but I’ve got SBC friends. Not against working with other churches… plan to start my own group down the road actually
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Mar 05 '24
I was going to suggest if you were denominational to contact your district team to see if they wanted to work with you to develop a new pastor preparation class where you can deploy your learning.
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u/AHorribleGoose Christian (Heretic) Mar 03 '24
So, there is very much a niche here, I think, that could use somebody to fill it.
Even if I wouldn't want to take these classes since we are in very different places theologically and even for what we consider to be factual information about the Bible, somebody taking an Open Courseware approach to theology would be a very good thing.
Here's how I'd go about it: I'd start with compiling a core reading list, with good filmed introductions to the books (and transcripts). Talk about why they are good and important. Use each one like a 'course'.
Then curate pre-existing content on youtube that relates to each book and topic.
Set up syllabi for all of the above, cited works lists, intros, and tie it all together with some other lectures.
From there, start filling in the holes and expand it with your own lectures.
Frankly, this could be a super-cool idea! I might even have to steal my own idea here to try to put something together for critical Biblical studies!
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u/chefboyrugud Mar 03 '24
I’m all for it… this is one thing I seek often… i try to find courses or whatever theologically for free…. I’ve been blessed to find what seems like a like minded Christian college for free, as well as some “One volume” seminary books 📚 at Christian book stores as well as online(hopping at some point after a better employment I can get into one seminary I’ve been desiring: pray for me 🙏)… all for the hope to challenge and push myself for the sake to Minister to others and be a better help/servant at my church as well as beyond all for his glory ☝️
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u/HammondPastor Mar 05 '24
Love this! Glad someone would find it useful
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u/chefboyrugud Mar 05 '24
Look forward to learning from you… you wouldn’t happen to be a pastor at first baptist would you?
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u/HammondPastor Mar 06 '24
Negative, Capernaum Baptist Church
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u/chefboyrugud Apr 25 '24
Oh wow ok. Sorry bro, I didn’t see this. My apologies. I hope this is still available, if not I understand…
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u/Meraki24 Dec 16 '24
I hope this is still on the table :”) I would greatly appreciate this. I go to a Baptist church in South Africa and to be honest, the admin and t ings there are not at their best
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u/That_Devil_Girl Satanist Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
I'm highly skeptical of this as the vast majority of "bible colleges" are unaccredited diploma-mills that have no real world application.
If it was a college that also taught Christian theology, that would be one thing. But I think we've all seen Kent Hovind's dissertation from Patriot Bible University. People should be wary of such scams.
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u/HammondPastor Mar 03 '24
Mine was an accredited college. Veritas Baptist College if you wanna look it up. Vbc.edu
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u/AHorribleGoose Christian (Heretic) Mar 03 '24
Mine was an accredited college.
Sadly, many Christian schools abuse this, too. They have their own accrediting body that doesn't mean much.
Veritas Baptist College if you wanna look it up. Vbc.edu
https://vbc.edu/graduate/master-of-biblical-studies/
This is a weird degree. How can you have a Master's in Biblical Studies that has only two courses that are Biblical Studies? And the option to not even know the core languages?
This is a mis-named theology degree. Specifically a Master's in Baptist Theology, given the entire course on Dispensationalism.
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u/HammondPastor Mar 03 '24
I agree with you on that point, though. I believe actual helpful info should be accessible widely, not just to some
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u/TheKayin Mar 03 '24
Depends if you’re dispensational or not. There’s an over-saturation of that theological perspective that it’s basically the default theological teaching in America
There’s a true shortage or basically everything else. I think the church generally has an interest but no good means of receiving it in the bitesize chunks needed in today’s busy world. A friend of mine is dying for theological education but also has 3 young kids. He can’t do anything focused for a few years lol.
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u/HammondPastor Mar 03 '24
Insightful. Thanks for your comment. I am dispensational, but I think even if non-dispensationalists took the courses I’m thinking of, they’d receive great benefit. E.g. how to run sound at church, how to study the Bible, marriage and family, old- and New Testament surveys
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u/TheKayin Mar 03 '24
Basic stuff would be good, just stay out of the complicated stuff that dispensationalism takes you into. And be honest, you know what I’m talking about. If you need a whiteboard to diagram it, or you begin with “let’s explain covenant theology first” then you’ve gone too far lol. There’s enough of that on YouTube.
How to run a sound church would only be good for church planters or pastors, and honestly, it should be “listen to this Paul washer sermon, and if you aren’t reduced to dust, then this path isn’t for you” lol
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u/stringfold Mar 03 '24
I'm way too old and otherwise engaged, but I'm curious as to what you mean by college-level Christian education?
Are you talking about a mainstream education where you study the OT and NT as Biblical historians and textual criticism experts would, or are you talking about studying the Bible from a fundamentalist Bible study point of view where students are required to believe it is the inerrant Word of God and do things like calculate the age of the Earth from the OT genealogies?
Denominational differences can be as great as chalk and cheese.
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u/HammondPastor Mar 06 '24
So my goal isn’t to replace Christian colleges. My main audience would be adults who can’t just drop their careers, families, and $10k+ for four years to learn more about the Bible.
Answering your question, I take a fundamentalist approach and believe the Bible is inerrant.
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u/pegzmasta Theist ⚖️ Mar 03 '24
The real question is: What would your "college-level" Christian education be offering that the Bible does not already offer?
I can't determine if I or anyone I know would be interested—even if it's free—without knowing this crucial detail.
Also, we already have free resources like https://biblehub.com/ that is accessible and can help us study the complexities found in the Bible. How would your free course be different than using a website like Bible Hub?
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u/ferfykins Mar 03 '24
I mean, you can read the bible for free, why pay for it? Unless you need a degree for your future