At FBBC in Jamaica

A little later than 2:00 pm.  Getting settled in.
Thank you everyone who was praying for my flight today.

Things at the beginning and the end of the flight were good.
The flight itself was probably one of bounciest I have ever had.

I am getting settled into the guest house on a cool Jamaican night in the mountains.
In getting settled in I would love for you to pray for a couple of specific things;

1. Health related:  While I am very much looking forward to jerk chicken at Border Jerk (those who were on the JAM13 trip know what I am talking about), please pray that I would be wise with my diet.  Diabetes creates a real challenge in cross cultural situations.
2. Teaching related:  I am very much looking forward to teaching and I have many ideas and principles I want to share.  Pray that I would have wisdom in what and how to share and when to listen and help students discover things.  
3. Ministry related:  This a very personal request for me.  I love ministry opportunities God has given me.  In thinking about "my" ministries at EBC, help me to remember that they are the Lord's.  My mind is racing through details I may have forgotten but I know first of all, there are godly, wise people who are able to do the work of the ministry without me there.  The second truth I know is we serve an amazing God is able to do great things.  Pray for me to trust in God.  

Thank you so much for your prayers.  

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock. TIme is quickly passing

Today I am planning to finish up lesson preparation.
I would especially appreciate your prayers for this work.
Pray for wisdom in planning 40 hours of lessons that engage the students.
I want the class to be so much more than an information dump.

Some Specific Prayer Requests

I would appreciate your prayers for the following items over the next two and a half weeks.

• Pray for my final preparation for the class
• Pray for Krista and the kids while I am away
• Pray for the students, pastors and teachers who will be taking the class.  For updates on the trip and the topics we will be studying each day, go to http://boonedy.blogspot.com  You can check this blog, boonedy.blogspot.com, at 2:00 every day for the next three weeks for more about the trip.
• Pray for the ministries of EBC that I oversee and so many of you and others serve in, specifically      the children & family ministry.  Pray for Andrea as she works with the children’s ministry and the disciple makers.  Pray for Mindy as she directs UPWARD.  It is exciting to see what God is doing and going to do with these ministries to families in our community.  To read how you can be praying for these family ministries go to www.ekidzministry.blogspot.com

The Bible is Perspicuous but what does that mean?

This word that you may not know is very important in Biblical counseling and in the class I am teaching we are going to talk about this concept a couple of different times.

Basically it means "the Bible is clear."
Now don't misunderstand this word.  It does NOT mean everything in the Bible is easy to understand.

A major part of Biblical counseling is the counselor/disciple-maker helping the counselee/disciple understand the truths of God's word so it can be properly lived out.
The counselor/disciple-maker does not want to set himself up as THE ONE source of truth.

In teaching this class, in developing EBC's children's ministry, in teaching classes and in parenting, I want to help people grow in their desire to know God through His Word.  Not only when I am presenting it but also when my children, the families in EBC's children's ministry and the people I am teaching are studying it on their own.

As it relates to the Bible and children here are two principles taken from an article entitled The Perspicuity of the Scripture . (www.tms.edu/tmsj/msj15.2.pdf)

Parents can teach Scripture to their children and children can learn them.

Deuteronomy 6;6, 7 gives parents a command.  “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”

 Even a child can understand Scripture’s message.

In 2 Timothy 3:14-15a Paul tells Timothy  “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings. . . ” 

If parents are to teach the Bible to their children and adults are told to remember what they learned as children, it must be true that their doesn't need to be some secret knowledge or years of training to understand the truths of the Bible.

"Protestants hold that the Bible, being addressed to the people is sufficiently perspicuous to be understood by them, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and that they are entitled and bound to search the scripture and to judge for themselves what is its true meaning"
(The Master's Seminary Journal, p. 209)

Great Teaching Opportunity in Jamaica

I am very thankful for the opportunity to teach this class and want to use this blog to help you know what is going on and how to pray for the trip.

I will be teaching a class entitled Counseling Problems & Procedures at Fairview Baptist Bible College in Jamaica.

Here is some general information about the class.

What time and days does this class meet?

The class will be meeting from 2:00 to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.

           

Why take this class?

This class will assist the student in understanding and developing a Biblical counseling ministry in the church.  General Biblical principles along with specific tools to be used in counseling depression, anger, addiction and other problems will be studied.

What textbook will this class be using?

The obvious foundation of this class is God's word.
Our textbook for the week is going to be Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling:  Changing Lives with God’s Changeless Truth by James MacDonald, James, Bob Kelleman and Steve Viars (2013).  
We will be looking at select chapters in this book.

What is Fairview Baptist Bible College's mission?

Fairview Baptist Bible College exists to train competent, compassionate, effective servant leaders for the ministry of Christ in the local churches of Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world.

How does this class contribute to fulfilling the mission statement of FBBC?

This class is designed to help the student become a better counselor/disciple-maker and train others to be better counselors/disciple-makers.